Over Head Filter - Flowerpot Style

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
rallysman;1890359; said:
Pumps use more power when they're running at full capacity. Pumping water higher doesn't use more electricity. It's like choking it back with a ball valve. It will actually use less (assuming it's centrifugal).

It might use less energy, but I bet it's not by much.

Very cool and simple filter though. I've been tossing around the idea of making one as well.
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Correct me where I missed out. I was always under the assumption that head loss was due to the fact that the pump running full speed could no longer overcome the effect of gravity. This would mean that pumps use the same electricity no matter the head, just the amount of flow is dfferent based on how much gravity the pump has to overcome.
 
cassharper;2293825; said:
Correct me where I missed out. I was always under the assumption that head loss was due to the fact that the pump running full speed could no longer overcome the effect of gravity. This would mean that pumps use the same electricity no matter the head, just the amount of flow is different based on how much gravity the pump has to overcome.
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that is correct the pump has a "set rpm" and a "set elec. usage". The gph decrease with total weight of water it's pushing up. the only way to vary the elec. usage would be if you wired it to a switch like a light dimmer. ;)
 
that is a clever Idea, what size did you make the holes in the pvc pipe? I guess you might wanna place a lid on the filter or you will be replace water like crazy.
 
For some reason, over head filters are unpopular in the west. Don't know why.

Anyway, I have a problem with my setup. The pump is too strong. The canister is always filling up. My pump also vibrates. Will that have an effect on my fish. My tank is a 10 gallon tank.

Currently, I have switched back to my corner filter because my tank doesn't vibrate so much as a submersible pump in the tank.
 
MsMassPoly;2323742; said:
i thought about doing this using plants as a filter media,big plants with lots of roots that could grow up over the tank.
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I thought the same thing when I first read this thread. If it is workable, it could of course remove the "eye sore" aspect of it. ;)
 
cassharper;2293825; said:
Correct me where I missed out. I was always under the assumption that head loss was due to the fact that the pump running full speed could no longer overcome the effect of gravity. This would mean that pumps use the same electricity no matter the head, just the amount of flow is dfferent based on how much gravity the pump has to overcome.
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I think the point here is that you can run it with a smaller pump. A 300 gph pump (generally) uses less electricity than a 600 gph pump. If you're going with a canister that loses GPH because of head and because of the way it forces a lot of water through a small amount of floss, you have to have a bigger pump than you would with a setup like this. Taking the same pump you're using in a sump 3' under the tank and using it to do this would use (basically) the same amount of electricity, it's just that you wouldn't need a pump that strong, because it wouldn't have to generate 3' of head.

How many filters advertise that they run at 350 gph, and when tested out once the media is put in, they only run at 200 gph? You're still paying the electricity for that extra 100 gph. With this kind of setup, you could just buy a smaller pump and only use the 200 gph you'd end up with from a pump that would use more electricity.
 
i also want updates
 
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