DIY - Make your own Cheap Media

[AW7020]

Here's how to easily make your own 20th century media.
It's simple and you can use it to fill up that DIY Filter tank that you have just built.

This is what you will need.
A good pair of Scissors to cut the Media.
A paper carton - I use the photocopier paper carton.
Some time....

Here are some pics to show the way.
First The necessary items.

 

[AW7020]

Here is the media. It's very cost effective. I got 10 packets from the local shop for 30 cents US (MYR 90 Cents) each total about U$3. This would provide about 1.5 Cubic Foot of Filter Media. About 150-200 ft surface area i guess?

To Begin you will need to put the Plastic straws on the cover on top of the larger box. Grab a few pieces of the material. Position the scissors over the ends of the Straws and start cutting.

Note you will need to cut the lengths between a quarter inch to three quarters of an inch. Or between 1 cm to 3 cm in length. Lots of cutting to be done. You will also need to hold the straw below the cover as the material is very light and will tend to fly all over the floor if you are not careful. Any way the mop will clear that up easily.

 

[AW7020]

This is the end result of the cutting. And also some pics to show how it can be used. For my purpose i put the media in a DIY Glass Filter tank into the first compartment. That measures 10" wide by 2' long and 24" in Height.

 

[AW7020]

Pics of the Media in place and during water flow. Since the Straw are slightly buoyant it will take a while before they sink. A little push with the hand should help.

The Media are rather colorful and makes for a rather nice view of the water movement during the actual filtration. At the moment the water are very clear and ph, Ammonia, Nitrite and nitrates are very low. The filter is use for a 8' by 3' by 3' concrete tank with Koi and Pacu's.

Any questions or suggestion would be welcomed.

 

[AW7020]

My Purpose for using the plastic straws was that it is cheap, easily available. It is also light and hopefully lasting. Cleaning is easy as this are quite similar to many of the bead filters media available over the LFS and internet although for a healthy price.

 

[AW7020]

Further Info. The other 3 compartments are filled with 2 Pieces of Black Filter foam and 4 pieces of Jap Fiber Mat. There is a lot of empty space there which are filled with small Gold Fish, Guppies to keep any mosquito larvae in check.

 

[midnight]

slurp slurp
i did this once but not on this scale.lol
i switched to scrubbies for ease of cleaning.
good thinkin tho.
ever try the army men? lol

 

[AW7020]

Thanks Midnight, Wow you've got tons on DIY. This idea of straws is in preparation for my next project which will be a pond out doors. So far so good. will really step up the scale for this plastic straw house then LOL. hope it does not collapse like a deck of cards.

 

[Dr Joe]

Like midnight said.

Glad to see it's working for you, were you just using the 2 Pieces of Black Filter foam and 4 pieces of Jap Fiber Mat before? If so, how was the water chemistry then?

After all that effort I didn't have the heart to tell you we quit using straws 10 yrs ago . For $3 you can have 10x the filter surface area.

I used a large paper cutter for more volume cutting of the straws back then.

For your pond consider http://www.parish-supply.com/floorpad.htm you can design your filter around them (ie barrel with pipe up the center) or cut them up to fit what you have.

Keep up the good work,

Dr Joe

.

 

[fishdance]

If you live near or ever visit a fishing port, ask the net repairer for offcuts or scraps. When they repair nets they cut out the sections full of holes and throw it away. Nets can be packed as loose or tight as you want, chemically inert and easy to pull out for cleaning.