DIY Monster Canister Filter!

[Fish Eat Fish]

Has anyone ever tried to DIY a canister filter???

I have a plan in my head for a 1500 GPH DIY Canister that I may use for my 110.

Im going to buy a one of those large square buckets with gasket lids and then plumb my inlet and outlet in the side of the buckets.

Then ill hook up my 1500 gph pump to the outlet close the lid and viola

what do you guys think?

 

[xiahaolong168]

I just buy the Eheim pro II. I think its way easier.

 

[Jgray152]

I just buy the Eheim pro II. I think its way easier

With about 1200 GPH LESS water flow and for about $200-300 MORE than a DIY Canister filter.

OP: I myself am working on a DIY canister filter with a 6 gallon bucket and gasketed screw top lid.

Depending on how tight and secure your cover fits, you may want to put the pump on the output side so it creates a vacuum inside the container to help keep the lid secure. Although if this is an issue at all, I would steer away from it.

How do you plan on purging the canister?

 

[Bawb2u]

Depending on how tight and secure your cover fits, you may want to put the pump on the output side so it creates a vacuum inside the container to help keep the lid secure.

Quoted for truth! You'd be amazed at the pressure inside a canister filter. Any weak spots and you're going to have a major malfunction. Buying a canister filter would probably be a MUCH better idea in the long run. If you need extra bio, build a wet/dry, they're a lot easier and safer.

 

[Jgray152]

DIY "CANISTER" filters takes a LOT MORE thinking then one may think. Its not as easy as the OP has planned. Lots of different pressures to consider and you need to understand pressure differentials so that you can let the canister purge 100% either during or before it operates.

The type of container is an important factor as well. Square containers may not be as good for flow then a round container since you can get the flow to "tornado" through the filter for better performance.

 

[flopping flamingos]

Quoted for truth! You'd be amazed at the pressure inside a canister filter. Any weak spots and you're going to have a major malfunction.

what if you plumbed the outlet of the pump through the lid than wouldnt there be little pressure inside the canister. im tryin to make one atm and have been for quite sometime. its also for my 110

 

[amehel0]

the person who said that eheim run 1200gph less. get this thats what makes them the best bio canister around

 

[Jgray152]

the person who said that eheim run 1200gph less. get this thats what makes them the best bio canister around

Yes contact time is very importance but so if the flow. If you can have a large contact area with increase contact time but with a high flow rate your doing great.

I just relized that you were talking about the pro 2 and not the pro3. Sorry. Thats only about $250 US and then we still run into horrible flow and little bio capacity.

This is where Hagen made their biggest mistake with the Fx5, a high flow rate and a narrow bio column. The contact time for 1" of water column in the Fx5 is less than 1 second.

what if you plumbed the outlet of the pump through the lid than wouldnt there be little pressure inside the canister. im tryin to make one atm and have been for quite sometime. its also for my 110

Are you going to be using a sump pump? Yes if you did this there would be negitive pressure in the canister. Same as if you had the intake of the pump on the outlet side of the canister filter.

Just make sure you have the output sealed to the lid so it doesn't leak. You may be better off running the output through the side of the container so its easier to remove the lid.

Remember that when the pump shuts off, the negitive pressure will now job to a positive pressure. There may be a "spike" in pressure when this happends which could cause a leak in the lid.

You really could get away with 1200 GPH or less for a 110 gallon tank. I don't know what your fish load is though.

When searching for pumps, look at the flow chart of the pump. MarineDepot.com is good at supplying this. IF you want 1000-1200 GPH of filter flow, you may want to get a pump that is said to have 1500GPH. (This is "pump output". Filter output is always lower.)

 

[mach_six]

DIY "CANISTER" filters takes a LOT MORE thinking then one may think. Its not as easy as the OP has planned. Lots of different pressures to consider and you need to understand pressure differentials so that you can let the canister purge 100% either during or before it operates.

The type of container is an important factor as well. Square containers may not be as good for flow then a round container since you can get the flow to "tornado" through the filter for better performance.

My Eheim Pro 3 is square and so are their rest of their Pro lines, only their smaller ones are not. It is not enough for my 110G tank and I need to supplement it with a wet dry or something else to help it.

 

[Jgray152]

You can get more sq surface area with square containers. They both will work just fine just that if you design it right using a round container, making the water flow in a tornado fashin downward and have the intake of the pump in the direct path of the water flow, than you have the momentum of the water helping you out with pressure drops within the canister.