the infamous 5 gallon diy canister filter. can it be done????

A circle/cylinder will equalize. There is no difference in pressure at any opposing point. That's fluid dynamics.

And you have no argument there. However, relative to the lid seal, any bulge is a distortion that could compromise the seal, whether or not it is a "uniform" bulge is not the question.
 
i have 4 layers to go into my canister filter. i have cut all 4 side walls out of another 5 gallon bucket. i have cut the egg crate for 2 of them. i have also put together the first layer or last layer how ever you want to look at it. looks a little crude but should do the trick. if not i guess i will have to redesign later. tell me what yall think. the cut off top of the bucket is just showing where i got the side walls from.

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You know...as I was reading through this post, the ideas started flowing through my swiss cheese head and I came up with a thought....and here it is as posted by Luc: (glad my mind isn't the only one working this way :y220d:)

As for closing the lid and keeping it rigid...
I would use woodworking clamps (the very small ones)....Instead of clamping them directly on the bucket, I would make a wood or steel ring that seats around the bucket. Then have a solid round top (1cm wood)with openings for the hose and other stuff on the top.
Put clamps around, which are easy to remove, the wood top will spread the pressure much better than your current setup and at the same time, the clamps are easy to remove for maintenance/cleaning.

http://imghost.indiamart.com/data/K/H/MY-447979/CLAMP_250x250.jpg

The clamp in the top of this picture is what I mean.

Just for the sake of it...I do not mean to replace the plastic top...just add the wood on top of that for equal spread of force closing it.
Checked back on the first page, and it seems not difficult to add...

Again this goes against the OPs original goal of just using a standard 5g bucket but after this great lesson of pressure and such, the aforementioned design sounds plausible to me.

Hmmmmm....Mythbusters maybe? Or would this be too simple for them? :D
 
I think the electrical-plastic-ties are a good idea but the cotton line wont last too long. Perhaps you can follow-up with some kind of safe adhesive glue. Especially since once the pump starts to draw vacuum around the media you don't want the baskets walls to fold in and deform bypassing water.

I also couldn't help but notice how thin the walls are on the plastic bucket, once filled with water be car full where you set it down as that type plastic will crack easily on the bottom if set on a hard object like a marble or bathtub drain which sits high.

Also keep it out of sunlight as that type plastic is susceptible to UV, I have had the handles snap right off of taking chunks of the plastic after a couple months.

Otherwise your overall concept looks sound.
 
Instant ocean sea salt has a screw on lid on there large buckets..Talk to some salty side friends and get some..I store bulk fish food in some,and transport fish in others without spills..
 
Instant ocean sea salt has a screw on lid on there large buckets..Talk to some salty side friends and get some..I store bulk fish food in some,and transport fish in others without spills..
I have a bunch of these...the lids also have seals in them..
 
Instant ocean sea salt has a screw on lid on there large buckets..Talk to some salty side friends and get some..I store bulk fish food in some,and transport fish in others without spills..

seriously. mabey if you would take the time to read just 25% of the thread you would understand the reason i am using what i am using. i just hate when people make comments on your diy that dont even bother to read just a small portion to understand the reason or mettod behind it.
 
You shouldn't post DIY threads on a public forum if you don't want comments and helpful suggestions from people. No one who has posted on this thread has done so with any malice toward you. We've all just been trying to help you. Many of the suggestions come from years of experience and solely were to help you not make the same errors we've made.
 
The only problem with the screw on lids would be the seating on the plumbing inside the bucket..... it would require a top fed one pipe inlet centrally located and then a bulkhead near the bottom out of the side. Inputs and outputs could be reversed, but the same design would need to be utilized.
 
Vic...it's ok...calm down a bit....we all want to see you succeed on your project. Typical with DIY posts..even though you state your intentions...you're still going to get all kinds of friendly advice/suggestions/what-have-you. It's just normal banter. Don't read anything into it that you have posted your intentions and others seem to "disregard" them. We know what you're doing, what you're looking to accomplish.

I want to see this thing work myself as I'm really curious on it.

GL and keep up the good work!
 
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