In-canopy filters.

[Shocker6966]

So I've built an in-canopy wet/dry filter. It doesn't use a sump, but rather the tank is the sump if you can picture that. It works well, and it was relatively cheap but now it's time to improve upon the design.

Today I'm going to start production of an in canopy wet/dry v.2. This time around I'm going to incorporate a pre-filter similar to a HOB filter but the overflow will feed the wet/dry portion of the filter, rather than cascading back into the tank. It's going to be huge, 12"w x 8"h x 16.5"d with about 12"x6"x4" being dedicated to the pre-filter and the rest for the wet/dry.

The current model is top fed using a 400gph powerhead and simple hose spraybar setup, the new model will be bottom fed with an AC280 powerhead(one on sale for cheap at the LFS :) )

[Shocker6966]

bah - totally messed up my last piece of plexi. Guess it will have to wait till I can get into a store to get more.

[sawyer1206]

We need Pics!!!:laugh: :laugh:

[beblondie]

they are quite popular in Japan

[Shocker6966]

I'll do some rough drawings and scan them. Phonecam pics just won't do it any justice. On a side note, the LFS was out of cheap powerheads, so I'm going to wait to order one online. Going to take me a couple weeks before I have the new unit up and running, but for now I can swap my other 400gph powerhead for test runs.

The first one I made is simple, just put a hopper full of bio media on top of your tank and spray the water over top of it and have some type of run back into the tank. In my case, I borrowed from my HOB filters and made a waterfall style return and added a bit of sponge where it contacts the water to break the sound of flowing water. My lessons learned from that design involved my overzealousness when drilling the drip tray. I put too many holes in it and needed to build a pretty involved spray bar to ensure decent distribution of the intake water. This time I'm going to use a multiple drip tray system and I'll start small and tweak the size and amount of holes to suit the flow.

[Native American]

We need Pics!!!:laugh: :laugh:

Seriously, we admire the effort...DIY creations inspire all of us to give them a try.

v/r, N-A

[sawyer1206]

Seriously, we admire the effort...DIY creations inspire all of us to give them a try.

v/r, N-A

:laugh: :laugh: I Like the pic, very Funny!!!!:laugh:

[Shocker6966]

After overwhelming demand, I spent a few minutes on MS paint and whipped up a rough drawing of what I have going now. After the wife is done with the comp, I'll draw up my next concept.

http://tkfiles.storage.msn.com/x1piYkpqHC_35nHsW5NYfRbI4d76_s60l_O1nEl84Jj6pkbE6V ZL2efhanqwSmKTvrGlI8awdTXQiW8x9GyWUooGti4YzB7F91hX _wrUGAfTM8

Excessively simple, but efficient both in biofiltration and economics of space.

edit: if you can't see it, there are three views, left side, front and top respectively.

[Shocker6966]

and for my next trick....

http://tkfiles.storage.msn.com/x1piYkpqHC_35nHsW5NYfRbI8bHSKy_oqLrWgebhlomog5UFDT pRxbxM00Jtro4lCxTbyQ7hL-fqNVhI5sqEaViFugjBlb0IqeqCxwRI2QmlCA

If you look on the side view, you can see I'm working with 2 drip trays on this one to try to spread the water across the media efficiently. I'm thinking that if I start with a moderate amount of medium sized holes on the upper tray, and then double the amount but half the size of the holes on the second, it should diffuse nicely over the media.

[Jaysn]

Where does your lighting fit into this system?

[Shocker6966]

The first one fits neatly in the end of the canopy and doesn't obstruct the 4ft fixture at all, the second one will have about a 1" overlap on the useable part of the bulb. It casts a slight shadow, but nothing major. I'm thinking about adding a couple incandescent spots to hit the ends of the tank.

I suffered a couple phonecam pics:

http://tkfiles.storage.msn.com/x1piYkpqHC_35nHsW5NYfRbI-MN3xq9ph4gXf4VgqGMFa8XtgYE9w5YoNcjFeOv40tc6ikbcHi8 BVYCJtjvJfwEDik6KEESt9sUjFb4PhiEihc
http://tkfiles.storage.msn.com/x1piYkpqHC_35nHsW5NYfRbI2iWM1wkgwbXaZN4exo8uWuiwpg zqp-vNltoWhQyBKVIUvTCgYXHmJrrtrhPDVWTvHzoShCUL6sK5zSsv JjGoV_23J7e7p7Jew

[Native American]

In the words of Borat.....

...."Very nice!"