My DIY bio tube filter...thing.
- Thread starter Nyquil Junkie
- Start date
Is it just sitting next to the tank on its own or do you have it secured somehow? I have a cat so everything has to be bolted down if you don't want it knocked over.
Nice job RedTailKinG, these work well in confined spaces, I had two 2ft stacked, 4ft, 6ft & 8ft ones. But they definitely need pre-filters (put sponge filter on inlet (pump in my case) and clean frequently).
By the way, your scubbies should not be slimy.
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No, this won't work as a syphon. As so as it reaches equilibrium (when the water is the same height in the inlet & outlet) it stops. The only thing you'll get is minute water movement caused by convection.
Harbor freight has some little pumps that work well for these.
Dr Joe
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By the way, your scubbies should not be slimy.
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RedTailKinG;2680526; said:
No, this won't work as a syphon. As so as it reaches equilibrium (when the water is the same height in the inlet & outlet) it stops. The only thing you'll get is minute water movement caused by convection.
Harbor freight has some little pumps that work well for these.
Dr Joe
.
Power head with a prefilter, excellent idea. I can ditch the HOB filter if I do that.
No I don't have it bolted down but after I took that pic I set a wooden box beside it so the cat cant really knock it over.
The other smaller one was made out of 2" pvc, I had it setting in a coffee can full of sand. Nothing could knock it over.
This one is 4" pipe so you'd need a bucket.
or, put a strap around it and secure it to the wall.
I'll work on that prefilter.
If the pump was strong enough, wouldnt this work as a fluidized sand filter too?
if you dump some marbles in the bottom few inches to cover the water inlet end, and then half fill the tube with pool filter sand, would it work as a sand filter??
I might make another one.
No I don't have it bolted down but after I took that pic I set a wooden box beside it so the cat cant really knock it over.
The other smaller one was made out of 2" pvc, I had it setting in a coffee can full of sand. Nothing could knock it over.
This one is 4" pipe so you'd need a bucket.
or, put a strap around it and secure it to the wall.
the ones on the bottom were slimy in the other one, the rest were just brown and cruddy. I assumed the slime was bacteria too.
I'll work on that prefilter.
If the pump was strong enough, wouldnt this work as a fluidized sand filter too?
if you dump some marbles in the bottom few inches to cover the water inlet end, and then half fill the tube with pool filter sand, would it work as a sand filter??
I might make another one.
If you are anal about thing fitting perfectly, then use 3" pvc.
The scrubbies stack perfectly one on top of the other, and if you clip out each ones center where it is tied, stick your finger in there and stretch it a open a bit, a 1/2 cpvc pipe will slip down right through the whole stack to the bottom.
I was going to make this DIY out of 3" but I couldnt find a reduced tee for the overflow. So in the 4" pipe they are packed in kinda
.
If you use the 3" and stack the scrrubbies in there, you could put a screw on adapter cap on each end, put hose barbs on those and then lay the pip on its side, and run water on one end and out the other back to the tank.
You could hang it, hide it, or set it in pretty much any position that way, since it would be watertight.
cleaning wouldn't be hard, if you put end caps that screw on.
see diagram:
You know, this will eat at me till I go build one now.
The scrubbies stack perfectly one on top of the other, and if you clip out each ones center where it is tied, stick your finger in there and stretch it a open a bit, a 1/2 cpvc pipe will slip down right through the whole stack to the bottom.
I was going to make this DIY out of 3" but I couldnt find a reduced tee for the overflow. So in the 4" pipe they are packed in kinda
.If you use the 3" and stack the scrrubbies in there, you could put a screw on adapter cap on each end, put hose barbs on those and then lay the pip on its side, and run water on one end and out the other back to the tank.
You could hang it, hide it, or set it in pretty much any position that way, since it would be watertight.
cleaning wouldn't be hard, if you put end caps that screw on.
see diagram:
You know, this will eat at me till I go build one now.
wow another triumph of good old fashion know how ...bro this has put a lot of new ideas in my head thanks and keep up the good work.
and let me know how its running and how its copeing with the bio mass.
thanks
and let me know how its running and how its copeing with the bio mass.
thanks
Looks a lot like my DIY fluidized bed, if you ever get tired of scrubbies, put some sand or aragonite in and I'll bet it would fluidize well. I personally like aragonite because as it slowly dissolves, beside acting as a biological media it helps buffer the water.
Nyquil Junkie;2681613; said:Power head with a prefilter, excellent idea. I can ditch the HOB filter if I do that.
No I don't have it bolted down but after I took that pic I set a wooden box beside it so the cat cant really knock it over.
The other smaller one was made out of 2" pvc, I had it setting in a coffee can full of sand. Nothing could knock it over.
This one is 4" pipe so you'd need a bucket.
or, put a strap around it and secure it to the wall.
the ones on the bottom were slimy in the other one, the rest were just brown and cruddy. I assumed the slime was bacteria too.
A: Slime algae.
I'll work on that prefilter.
If the pump was strong enough, wouldnt this work as a fluidized sand filter too?
Yes, a diffuser at the bottom will help.
if you dump some marbles in the bottom few inches to cover the water inlet end, and then half fill the tube with pool filter sand, would it work as a sand filter??
Sand will just sift down thru the marbles and make the marbles mute.
I might make another one.
Is it done yet?
Nyquil Junkie;2681814; said:If you are anal about thing fitting perfectly, then use 3" pvc.
The scrubbies stack perfectly one on top of the other, and if you clip out each ones center where it is tied, stick your finger in there and stretch it a open a bit, a 1/2 cpvc pipe will slip down right through the whole stack to the bottom.
I was going to make this DIY out of 3" but I couldnt find a reduced tee for the overflow. So in the 4" pipe they are packed in kinda
If you use the 3" and stack the scrrubbies in there, you could put a screw on adapter cap on each end, put hose barbs on those and then lay the pip on its side, and run water on one end and out the other back to the tank.
You could hang it, hide it, or set it in pretty much any position that way, since it would be watertight.
If used horizontally it is best kept below water level to keep unit full of water.
.
cleaning wouldn't be hard, if you put end caps that screw on.
see diagram:
You know, this will eat at me till I go build one now.
Dr Joe
.
