my diy tube/sponge filter

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Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jul 25, 2009
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i dont have a pic yet but will somebody please ensure me that my money hasnt gone to waste.

I set out to home depot today to make a diy filter that i saw on this site. well i couldnt find a way to mount this onto or next to my 55 gallon. it consists of a 14 inch long piece of 3 inch pvc pipe. there is a cap on the bottom and it stands straight up. a power head is connected to a 1/2 inch piece of pvc going down into the 3 inch pvc, leaving about 1 inch from the bottom. i packed (fairly hard) full of cheap scrubbies. will this make a good filter for beneficial bacteria? i would say it contains about 2 liters of scrubbies and bio material. its pretty simple and theres nothing special or cool about it all...im just hoping its something that is worth the time and space it uses.


oh also...the powerhead is rated at 170 gph...can this slow down if it is packed too tightly?? its shooting out a heavy current.
 
yes your powerhead will definitely slow down if pushing water through tightly packed media... or loosely packed media... Also powerheads are not designed to deal with head pressure, so if it has to lift water at all this will also reduce it's flow rate...

It is very difficult to make a DIY "canister" filter that is sealed and is accessible to replace/clean media...

Naturally, there is no way we can evaluate the efficiency of your filter without seeing it... even then, a drawing with arrows and descriptions would probably help a lot more...
 
heres a crappy picture that resembles my build. pretty easy...it hold a lot of bio material...my tank is heavily stocked so i hope this gives a place for bb to grow.

when fish swim in front of the outflow of the powerhead they get swept to the side...so i can tell its putting out a good flow.
 
zennzzo;3542723; said:
Crappy picture? I see nothing...
Click to expand...


its so crappy you cant even see it!
 
well it would be real helpful if i posted the pic huh???

here it is...sry!!
rappyfilter.jpg
 
Ahh... so this is an "in tank" filter? Meaning it is submerged in the tank as opposed to plumbed to the tank?

That removes the concern of sealing & accessing...
 
chesterthehero;3542732; said:
its so crappy you cant even see it!
Click to expand...


We couldnt see it because it was so crappy- you couldnt because that bucket was on your head-

I made one of these filters a few years ago- it works great as a HOB bio filter- so you dont have to open the seal so much for maintenance, just put a coarse sponge on the powerhead intake for the mechanical, and make sure the 1/2" tube that feeds the bottom of the filter either has some relief holes drilled through it and/or run a small hose like an air line next to the 1/2" from top to bottom in case of clogged media- also loosely pack the scrubbers or you will be relying on that relief line all the time
 
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