ArauraDiscus
Fish Addict
Wowza, I made a homeade canister filter. I got a week off from work for whatever reason, so In my spare time at home I thought I'd make use of my time.
I had this idea, could I make a canister filter myself? Surely it would be craptacular and leaky or useless. Suprisingly not! ALl you need is....
-2 pond pumps, probably costing nearly 40 dollars total Or 2 power heads of about the same price with good attachments
-2 long sets of tubing to be cut to size
-1 bucket with a nice sealing top. Must be high quality and with a good seal
-1 sheet of plexi glass or strong plasitic
-1 large tube of aqurium sealant
and some sort of cutting tool.
When your done the filter you will also need media of some sort, foam pads, bioballs etc. Convinient trays are optional.
PICTURES TO COME
Step 1: Ge tthe bucket and open the top. Measure the size of plexi glass you will need. If your bucket is square this will be much easier. You will need to measure the heaight of the bucket and the width. Now cut it as wide as the bucket and here comes the tricky part; cut the plexi glass to about a quarter of an inch less than the height of the bucket. BUT, the last four inches of plexi glass will need to be trimmed in a pitch fork manner. It will look like you are carving a pumkin out for halloween which is a crude analogy. But these will give support and also allow water to flow through the cut parts. Trim the plexi glass or plastic more as needed. Slide it into the bucket and attach it in place with aquarium sealant.
(if this is confusing to visualize, I will be posting pictures soon.
Step 2: Take the top of the bucket for this step. Also take the tubing and measure it's width. Cut a hole to that width. Now gently push the one end of tubing through the hole. Seal it firmly and generouslywith aquarium sealant. Also plastic couplings can be and should be used to help position the hoses firmly so that when the tubes are tugged, they don't twist and rock back and forth. Also thread the tube through multiple inches into the bucket so that it can't pop out andso that the suction tube above all else, is always fully submerged in water. (Pictures will come if this is hard to visualize)
Step 3: Take the other end one side of tubing, and fit it onto the outake nozzle on one of your powerheads or pumps. Take the other end of the second tube and stick it to the intake/suction end of the other powerhead or pump. (pictures to come)
Step 4: Add media and small trays if you have them. Fill it with Bioballs, biostars, Baggies of filter media, and foam padding. Your best bed is poly fiber as your foam pad because it's not pre cut and the crude, trayless canister you will be making will not utilize a precut foam pad as well.
NOTICE: this isn't proffessional by any means, especially because I made it, so leaks can occur. If you are using this inside, house it in a large tray to collect spills that are likely to happen when you open it for maitenance.
And there you have it. Submerging the pump in your tank or pond will start the suction process when turned on. This will fill the canister. When the canister is filled, turn the second pump on and it will suck water from the canister back out into the tank or pond.
By the way, this probably will cost around 50 dollars to make and will be the equivalent of a 55 gallon canister filter depending on the quality of pumps that you buy for it. It is much easier to buy a canister probably, but this was endless fun making> it gave me a huge sense of satisfaction. Plus hey you can name it after yourself and have your own brand of canister filters. If you get the hang of it, you can start selling homeade canister filters too
I made a small one using a small bucket before I wasted money on a larger failed experiment. The small one works and with the proper care and material, you can make a much larger one. I plan on making a bigger one soon and I will post pictures when I do. Tell me what you think of the crazy idea.
I had this idea, could I make a canister filter myself? Surely it would be craptacular and leaky or useless. Suprisingly not! ALl you need is....
-2 pond pumps, probably costing nearly 40 dollars total Or 2 power heads of about the same price with good attachments
-2 long sets of tubing to be cut to size
-1 bucket with a nice sealing top. Must be high quality and with a good seal
-1 sheet of plexi glass or strong plasitic
-1 large tube of aqurium sealant
and some sort of cutting tool.
When your done the filter you will also need media of some sort, foam pads, bioballs etc. Convinient trays are optional.
PICTURES TO COME
Step 1: Ge tthe bucket and open the top. Measure the size of plexi glass you will need. If your bucket is square this will be much easier. You will need to measure the heaight of the bucket and the width. Now cut it as wide as the bucket and here comes the tricky part; cut the plexi glass to about a quarter of an inch less than the height of the bucket. BUT, the last four inches of plexi glass will need to be trimmed in a pitch fork manner. It will look like you are carving a pumkin out for halloween which is a crude analogy. But these will give support and also allow water to flow through the cut parts. Trim the plexi glass or plastic more as needed. Slide it into the bucket and attach it in place with aquarium sealant.
(if this is confusing to visualize, I will be posting pictures soon.
Step 2: Take the top of the bucket for this step. Also take the tubing and measure it's width. Cut a hole to that width. Now gently push the one end of tubing through the hole. Seal it firmly and generouslywith aquarium sealant. Also plastic couplings can be and should be used to help position the hoses firmly so that when the tubes are tugged, they don't twist and rock back and forth. Also thread the tube through multiple inches into the bucket so that it can't pop out andso that the suction tube above all else, is always fully submerged in water. (Pictures will come if this is hard to visualize)
Step 3: Take the other end one side of tubing, and fit it onto the outake nozzle on one of your powerheads or pumps. Take the other end of the second tube and stick it to the intake/suction end of the other powerhead or pump. (pictures to come)
Step 4: Add media and small trays if you have them. Fill it with Bioballs, biostars, Baggies of filter media, and foam padding. Your best bed is poly fiber as your foam pad because it's not pre cut and the crude, trayless canister you will be making will not utilize a precut foam pad as well.
NOTICE: this isn't proffessional by any means, especially because I made it, so leaks can occur. If you are using this inside, house it in a large tray to collect spills that are likely to happen when you open it for maitenance.
And there you have it. Submerging the pump in your tank or pond will start the suction process when turned on. This will fill the canister. When the canister is filled, turn the second pump on and it will suck water from the canister back out into the tank or pond.
By the way, this probably will cost around 50 dollars to make and will be the equivalent of a 55 gallon canister filter depending on the quality of pumps that you buy for it. It is much easier to buy a canister probably, but this was endless fun making> it gave me a huge sense of satisfaction. Plus hey you can name it after yourself and have your own brand of canister filters. If you get the hang of it, you can start selling homeade canister filters too
I made a small one using a small bucket before I wasted money on a larger failed experiment. The small one works and with the proper care and material, you can make a much larger one. I plan on making a bigger one soon and I will post pictures when I do. Tell me what you think of the crazy idea.
my dad made these for his pond. the bucket is like a 5 gallon paint bucket or something(thats what it looks like) that arent really completely sealed. im not sure how he set it up, but he has a bunch set up in line. he just has one super powerful pump spitting it out into the buckets. i can ask him and try to get some pictures or a diagram if anybody is interested. he said he never has to replace anything in them and its the best filtration system you can get.
