DIY filter w/ drawer

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
garvin123g;4701285; said:
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=562865&thumb=1&d=1292143394


Check out my post DIY filther in a drawer.. I did some intresting things with the intake for this filther. IT skims off the top at the surface of the tank and also at the lower 1/3 of the tank
Cheers
Click to expand...

I saw that actually. Its a nice setup but wayyy to complicated for me as i'm a noob and have never done a DIY anything actually. So was looking for something much simpler like a canister filter
 
shua71;4701307; said:
I saw that actually. Its a nice setup but wayyy to complicated for me as i'm a noob and have never done a DIY anything actually. So was looking for something much simpler like a canister filter
Click to expand...

Really simple actually ..

Just pull out the drawers , drill about a hundred holes in the bottom of 2 of them. Fill them with filter media of your choice.. lots of people here use scrubys . Then you cut / drill a whoule in the top of the cabinet for the overflow water to enter the thing.. does not need to be a tight fit..

Put the whole thing in a big rubber maid bin or tub. stick a pump in the tub to return the water to your tank and bang you are done
You could later "Tweek" it by adding a spray bar where the water inters the filter and maybe a filter "Sock" i have seen people here use..

The overflow piping is realatively strait forward and there are many threads / posts on how to do that.. or just buy one.. No idea of cost.

I will be putting a canister filter on my tank also for mechanical filtration.. "Real Soon Now" (Read when I get some spare cash)

I got creative with the intake .. but even that was not to complicated as my tank was drilled..

And I am considering making some changes to it.. Those 2.5 inch horizontal pipes are an eye sore.. Just BIG.. and I may be able to accomplish the same with 1 inch pvc.. don't know yet gotta do the math.. and get some feed back

Good luck
 
shua you could also do 5 gallon home depot buckets. Again just drill a ton of holes on the bottom. In reality you could get 2 buckets, one for mech filtration and the 2nd for bio media. Have it above your tank. Pump pushes water into first bucket, that bucket drains into 2nd bucket, and then is dumped back into your tank.
 
Thanks a lot for the help guys. What scares me are overflows. I've heard they can cause massive floods and i have carpet and live on a 2nd story apartment which would cause a LOT of damage if i don't do it right.
 
thats why overflows are built with a anti siphon. Myself would never use one either just for that fact. And because I like my intake mid/bottom of the tank.
 
i built one.. easy to build and works great..
filter1-1.jpg


the top drawer where you plumb in the inlet .. get a mesh coffee filter and cut the top of the top drawer and make it where it pops in and out.. so it catches the bigger stuff (also creates the "spraybar" effect), if for some reason it gets full < hasn't happed > it will simply pop out and fall into drawer no.1 ... i have used this for 2 yrs now and it eats up anything and everything.. i will look for some more photos of the build if you want just msg me. again easy i used stuff in my garage .. a dremel tool and a couple hours .. i used old vacume cleaner hoses i picked up at a goodwill for the inlet and quick connect on top of the filter.. the 2 canister filters you see.. are used for pumps. since this photo i upgraded to a 75 gal rubber-made container for the sump portion and cut a lid to fit. top drawer is lava rock and carbon .. second is golf-ball-wiffle-balls and pot scrubbers 3rd is poly filter media ... heaters in sump .. .. i have yet to have to clean it.. flow rate is unbelievable. .. the only draw back is if the water level gets low it sounds like rain in the room.... good on one end.. you know when its time to add water. also when you install the water pick up in the bin be sure not to plumb it on the bottom.. that way if god forbid something goes wrong or you allow it to run low it wont pump dry and damage the heaters in your bin. with a little imagination a trip to a couple of thrift stores you would be surprised at what you can do with ten bucks
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
MonsterFishKeepers.com
Top Bottom