Cracked 5-Gallon Aquarium as a box filter?

[Sir Guppy]

I got a 5 gallon from a garage sale a while back, only for it to turn out to be cracked.
I am setting up a 75 gallon tank, and am looking at filter options.
If I were to try and turn the 5 gallon into a box filter, how would I?

 

[Tacocat]

I feel like a major requirement for any filter is to be leak proof. If you're comfortable with a cracked glass tank to be a filter, you can try, but me personally I wouldn't. We just had someone on the forum almost lose interest in the hobby after their filter leaked all over the wood flooring, so it is quite risky.

 

[Sir Guppy]

The filter *would be inside the tank.

We just had someone on the forum almost lose interest in the hobby after their filter leaked all over the wood flooring, so it is quite risky.

I had quite the flooding when I first tried using an old canister filter . Not fun. Thanks for the warning though.

 

[Tacocat]

The filter *would be inside the tank.

I had quite the flooding when I first tried using an old canister filter . Not fun. Thanks for the warning though.

Ohh sorry I misinterpreted your question.
I've seen some mini-under gravel filters in caridina tanks, so perhaps you could do a similar concept.
Alternatively you could also get creative and use it as like a plant pot, and put all your plants in there so you could see the roots.

I'm not entirely sure how you would make an internal box filter, as I've never heard of those, but good luck with whatever you try!

 

[GaryE]

I toyed with that idea once, with a good 2.5 gallon. It took a surprising amount of space and looked awful. I wouldn't ruin the look of a tank with it.

 

[MaloK]

It's big to do that, but...

Maybe if you cut a part of the top to make it lower like 3-5 inch tall. Install a UGF, fill with not too coarse lava rocks and cover the top with plants.

 

[Sir Guppy]

I toyed with that idea once, with a good 2.5 gallon. It took a surprising amount of space and looked awful. I wouldn't ruin the look of a tank with it.

Its for a pleco breeding tank, so I don’t mind it looking..questionable. When I’m finished it might give some poor visitor a nightmare…but hey its cheap

It's big to do that, but...

Maybe if you cut a part of the top to make it lower like 3-5 inch tall. Install a UGF, fill with not too coarse lava rocks and cover the top with plants.

Is an UGF an underground filter?
I plan to have a thin layer of sand to make maintenance easier.
I’m trying to be really cheap for now, but maybe in the the future I could get a long 2 gallon aquarium

 

[MaloK]

Is an UGF an underground filter?

Yes.

 

[GaryE]

I make my own box filters, more for the fun of it, and if they are hidden behind decor, they're fine.

A tank will raise some issues. First, unless that's a huge crack, water will only get in at the surface. A box filter works best if there is some flow through the sides, as well as the top. I have some efficient commercial models with holes very low down, to increase flow through. How do you do that with glass?

I also have commercial box filters that only draw water through the top, but they tend to be tiny ones for small tanks. My homemade ones (we have a brand of tomato juice here, V-8 - that provides excellent bottles to work with - are drilled through the sides as well. One will do for a 20 gallon. They're a fun crafting product.

My original idea was to make filters for small tanks, as they are hard to find and I have a central air set up. In time I went for large filters. But because of that experience, I see the point about making an UG filter out of the leaker (I also have homemade UG filters). That's the only way I can see converting a glass tank to an inside the tank filtration system.