DIY canister filter

[bamboox]

a ice bucket, a under-water water pump, with a lot of bio-max rings. it's not pretty, but it gets the work done.

[bamboox]

here are more pics.
total cost: around $45
what do u think about this?

[beviking]

Not bad! How do you have the pump (what brand is it?) situated in the bucket? What size is the bucket and what's the flow rate? I assume its a bio only filter so you don't need a high flow rate.
Cool!

[Raskolnikov]

Looks nice. Have any pictures of the inside?

[bamboox]

Not bad! How do you have the pump (what brand is it?) situated in the bucket? What size is the bucket and what's the flow rate? I assume its a bio only filter so you don't need a high flow rate.
Cool!

I used "Top Fin Pond Water Pumps", it's 250GPH, whatever it means (I think it means 250 gallon per hour). and it's a 2 gallon cooler. It's bio plus physical filter, but mainly for bio filtering.
http://www.petsmart.com/media/ps/images/products/detail/standard/i/inp0/inP031125_13be9.jpg

I put this pump at the bottom of the bucket, then put some bio rings and filters on top of it, then connected the output to water-out pipe of the bucket. water coming in from the top of the bucket, throught filters, then bio-rings, then to the pump, and got pumped out from the bottom of the bucket.

[bamboox]

Looks nice. Have any pictures of the inside?

sorry, didn't take any pic of inside, but it's quite simple, just 3 layers inside, top layer is physical filter, middle layer for bio-rings, bottom layer, water pump. then connect the output of the water pump to the pipe connect to outside of the bucket.

[Kasakato]

Thats some good DIYing. How does the input/output in the tank look?

[bamboox]

how does i/o in the tank look ? err.. hard to tell, i guess it not bad, once it sucked one of my 3.5 inches long electric blue into its 3/4 inch pipe (sad...) then i nailed some plastic needle across the pipe opening to prevent it from happening again.

[StreetCypher]

Looks much better than the PVC DIY canisters. I like the design
The main concern with DIY canisters is... do you trust it?

[Kasakato]

Can I get a picture of the I/O? What are the change of it leaking?

[bamboox]

Looks much better than the PVC DIY canisters. I like the design
The main concern with DIY canisters is... do you trust it?

do i trust it? yeah, it's been running for one and half a month, without any leakage, not a drop. i guess the most important thing about it, it's the sealing, need to let it run for a while after you just set it up or after the change of filter material to see if there is any leakage. other than that, it's pretty much the same concept of commercial canisters.

[bamboox]

Can I get a picture of the I/O? What are the change of it leaking?
sure, i will take a picture of it tonight.
chance of it leaking? if you use this tape properly, there is no chance it will leak.

[bamboox]

here is pictures of the output in the tank from canister filter

[Matak]

Looks much better than the PVC DIY canisters. I like the design
The main concern with DIY canisters is... do you trust it?I'm curious, what would your concern be? Performance? Leakage?

[Seaman]

How high is the tank above the pump, 99% chance you're getting a lot less than 250gph due to the height the pump has to push the water. Usually the rated gph is at 0' head height. Also how does the water get to the bucket? are you using an overflow, or is it a true canister where EVERYTHING is sealed and it just pulls the water down? Once its running is there air in the bucket, or does it completely fill with water. Also if its sealed with that tape how hard is it to open up and clean out and then reseal? Also it looks like the input is on the bottom of the barrel? how does it flow through the media.

Hope I dont sound Overcritical, I just like knowing how things work...Im a big DIY-er!!

[StreetCypher]

I'm curious, what would your concern be? Performance? Leakage?

I'd be wary of it leaking. With a DIY canister, a leak or a burst could cause a lot of water on the floor.

[bamboox]

How high is the tank above the pump, 99% chance you're getting a lot less than 250gph due to the height the pump has to push the water. Usually the rated gph is at 0' head height. Also how does the water get to the bucket? are you using an overflow, or is it a true canister where EVERYTHING is sealed and it just pulls the water down? Once its running is there air in the bucket, or does it completely fill with water. Also if its sealed with that tape how hard is it to open up and clean out and then reseal? Also it looks like the input is on the bottom of the barrel? how does it flow through the media.

Hope I dont sound Overcritical, I just like knowing how things work...Im a big DIY-er!!

currently, my bucket is like 2.5 feet below the tank.

because the bucket is sealed, water got suck in the bucket.

once it's running, there could be air inside, or there could be not, if you put the input pipe above an air stone, let air go in with water, then there could be air inside the bucket (but in this case, make sure the input pipe is wider than the output pipe).

everything is seal fixed, except the cap, you can just twisted it tight to seal it, or reverse the twist to get it open, it's very easy to open up the bucket and clean everything inside.

input is at top of the bucket, check my previous reply in this thread for the layout of this bucket.

[beviking]

I'd be wary of leaks too but wouldn't lose sleep over it as long as everything is threaded/taped. There isn't much pressure in the system. A small threaded valve on top could be used to release trapped air.

[Torf]

I'd be wary of leaks too but wouldn't lose sleep over it as long as everything is threaded/taped. There isn't much pressure in the system. A small threaded valve on top could be used to release trapped air.

Yeah, I made one just like this out of a tiny 70 gph LG pump in a Mason Jar. It probably only runs less than 30 gallons per hour due to the load. No leaks at all.

It does get a build up of air in the container, mostly due to high oxygenation. It is easy to release it, but in such a small space like my mason jar, it has to be released every 3-4 days to prevent the pump from running dry.

[bobalston]

I am VERY impressed with your DIY canister filter. I wonder if I could ask some questions?

1) Did you use existing threads in the output at the bottom, where the dispenser was located?

2) ON the lid were there already holes you reused? What did you have to do to them or how did you drill them?

3) Since your last post, how has the system worked? Any leaks?

4) Any changes you would make if you were to do it again?

5) Know of any links to threads of others following your design or doing something similar that was successful and you like?

Thanks very much.

[Khemul]

I am VERY impressed with your DIY canister filter. I wonder if I could ask some questions?

1) Did you use existing threads in the output at the bottom, where the dispenser was located?

2) ON the lid were there already holes you reused? What did you have to do to them or how did you drill them?

3) Since your last post, how has the system worked? Any leaks?

4) Any changes you would make if you were to do it again?

5) Know of any links to threads of others following your design or doing something similar that was successful and you like?

Thanks very much.

Not sure how likely you are to get direct answers. Not only is this thread 6 years old but the OP hasn't been posting here for nearly as long.

[bobalston]

Yea, I know. But possible someone here knows where I can find more info on this. also I sent him a PM in the hope that he had notification set on for PMs.

His is one of a very few successful DIY canister filters I have found that is not made out of PVC pipe or only works when level with the tank or requires the lid to be siliconed shut. There are also some lock-n-lock container based ones I have seem but the seal seems to prone to accidentally opening - like a bad version of the Fluval I have now that always makes me nervous whenever I touch it.

Bob