Also, I had considered making it smaller, but being 24" long (not counting the added length of the end caps), you really need to be able to reach your hand down into it. The 4" diameter pipe was the perfect fit. I can reach my arm all the way down to the bottom to pull out media. Anything smaller is just too small for my hands.
My DIY canister filter...
- Thread starter Conner
- Start date
I just bought a 24" x 36" sheet of 50 micron filter pad. I'm going to cut circles out of it just a hair larger than the diameter of the pipe, so that they fit nice and snug and don't let water/debris channel around them. I will use several layers of those, plus a bunch of the filter floss and some other floss pads that I have laying around. I figure 50 microns ought to filter out most of the mulm from the sump...
I just wish I could figure out how to outfit it with a 50-100 micron filter sock. Then I could have it flow into a filter sock, then put some biomedia (balls, scrubbies, or sponges) underneath the sock, and it would work really well as a nice fat canister filter for regular use on a tank.
I'll have to see if I can figure that out.
I just wish I could figure out how to outfit it with a 50-100 micron filter sock. Then I could have it flow into a filter sock, then put some biomedia (balls, scrubbies, or sponges) underneath the sock, and it would work really well as a nice fat canister filter for regular use on a tank.
I'll have to see if I can figure that out.
Just caught this thread. Ingenious!
Have you considered those pool filter (Intex) cartridges? They look exactly the same as the magnum 350 cartridges only they come in different sizes.
An example:
http://www.brandsonsale.com/intex-pool-filters.html
There are several different brands and sizes on that page. Find one that fits your "canister" best. Cap one end and then fit the PVC outlet to the other.
Handy dandy sizing chart:
http://www.brandsonsale.com/filters-by-size.html
Have you considered those pool filter (Intex) cartridges? They look exactly the same as the magnum 350 cartridges only they come in different sizes.
An example:
http://www.brandsonsale.com/intex-pool-filters.html
There are several different brands and sizes on that page. Find one that fits your "canister" best. Cap one end and then fit the PVC outlet to the other.
Handy dandy sizing chart:
http://www.brandsonsale.com/filters-by-size.html
i did the same thing but used an old 25w uv sterilizer someone gave me,it had no power cord transformer bulb or quartz so it was basicaly a 20" x 3" piece of black pvc with bulkheads already built in. im using course pond filter mat as well as "coco puff" type bio media,but i may change it if any one has any inexpensive ideas. oh yeah.. i wasnt thinking and plumbed and pvc glued my plumbing into my stand so its a pita to clean.
Brilliant! Which way is the water going? Are you pulling or pushing water through it. In other words, which is the inlet and which is the outlet? Nice job!
oblrman;3743144; said:
Thank you! It's very simple, easy to clean, and you can stuff just about anything you want in it (mechanical, chemical, biological, etc).
johnd651;3743168; said:
Thanks!
egwu123;3743180; said:
The pump pushes the water through the filter. So water goes from the tank/sump, to the pump, to the filter, back to the tank/sump. With this kind of external pump, its better to restrict the outflow than the inflow.
I'm hoping to get the canister painted black tomorrow, and I will probably attempt to mount it to a diy stand as well (possibly inside a bucket, just in case it springs a leak), once the paint is dry. Then its just waiting for the mechanical filter media to show up in the mail so I can hook it up and start running it! I'll update again once I have some more pictures to show.
