DIY filter, hope it works..

[GarNiac]

hi, just wandering would this work?



I havent really thought about the media, but could I use stone gravels, or maybe bioballs, and ceramic rings? what do you guys think?
cheers

 

[GarNiac]

bump

 

[Spiritofthesoul]

Only problem I can see is the possibility of the media getting clogged and the water (unable to flow to the next chamber) would raise and overflow.

How about drills some holes above the water level on each top baffle to serve as an emergency overflow?

 

[EastBay]

I use lava rocks in mine. Had to rinse them forever, but they have tons of surface area for bacteria to grow.

 

[GarNiac]

I use lava rocks in mine. Had to rinse them forever, but they have tons of surface area for bacteria to grow.

do you think bioballs n ceramic rings would work instead?

 

[brich999]

bioballs would be junk fully submerged, go seachem pond matrix or ceramic

 

[GarNiac]

ok no probs

 

[Arthur]

I don't see any huge problems with your design. I agree with Spiritofthesoul that your main risk is overflowing of the chambers, but it can easily be solved with making the tops of the chambers shorter than the tank so that if you had an over flow it wouldn't spill, but just go to the next chamber

 

[GarNiac]

I don't see any huge problems with your design. I agree with Spiritofthesoul that your main risk is overflowing of the chambers, but it can easily be solved with making the tops of the chambers shorter than the tank so that if you had an over flow it wouldn't spill, but just go to the next chamber

thanks for the input, the filter is actually finished. I did it yesterday as soon as I finished the sketch. And here I run a test, and nothing seems gone wrong so far. I got plenty of bioballs at home from my previous pond, and I dont wanna spend any more money, so I am using it. There are still 2 rooms for the media, which I still have to fill in. I am thinking of using sponges. Sorry for the lousy pic..

 

[KaiserSousay]

bioballs would be junk fully submerged, go seachem pond matrix or ceramic

Why would you say a thing like that?
Anything, with any amount of surface area will provide a home for bacteria.
I`ll give you for space used, there are better alternatives, but bio balls are far from "junk".

I`m starting to be a fan of overhead filter systems.
Lots of benefits with only one obvious con..it`s right where you can see it.
Guess with some plants or other creative maneuvers it could be made to look pretty good.
If your system was mine, I would sure devote one(first)chamber to some media that would trap the crud.
It would be more efficient if the flow was up through the bio media.
Not sure that having all those chambers is a plus, but hey..sure looks nice.
Having the media inside of a mesh bag would make cleaning a whole lot easier.