Filter?

[Leprichon]

Im in need of an inline canister fish filter…

Must be:
•Top removeable (to remove debree, remove/replace filter media, and to clean etc.)
•Large enough for 80 gal+ (I have a 55gal now but might want a larger tank later)
•Top sealed to water pressure (it is near the bottom of a siphon and if the power goes out, I don’t want it to overflow.)
•Only really need for its depth (to filter out rocks and other larger mechanical filtration parts before water enters my pump)…


Any advise greatly appreciated...

 

[OldMan47]

Welcome to the forum Leprichon.
Please help me understand your concerns.
1. Top removable - Almost any canister filter has access for cleaning. Most of them are cleaned by disconnecting from the tank, removing to a good work location, then removing the top and all of the media for easy cleaning.
2. 80 gallon plus - Again, most product lines include one or more filters that are big enough for an 80 gallon. In the Rena XP product line that would be an XP3 that is big enough for as much as about 100 gallon tank. In the Tetratec product line it would be the largest one, I believe it is a model 1200.
3. Cover sealed - All of the ones that I am familiar with have a sealed top. They are good for 4 or 5 feet of distance between the tank water level and the filter height.
4. Canister filters include their own water pump. They do no use separate pumps. The only way that I know to use a separate pump is to set up a sump system. That can be done but is a bit more complicated than just placing a canister in the correct location, running the hoses to and from the tank and turning it on. Most canisters are far more than a simple mechanical filter, but of course they could have that as their main function.

Some shots of an XP3 showing the outside and the baskets of filter media that I have inside. I made the series to explain how to clean one when someone asked a while back.

 

[Leprichon]

Great Reply, Thanks!

a slightly revised version of what Im looking for:

• prob not really called a canister filter (considering I dont want it to have its own water pump, increase resistance to inlet side of pump, etc).
• Location of filter will be nearly 10ft below surface height of water (I have my plumbing/noise makers running straight down and out of site into my basement directly below)…
• Only really need "filter" for its depth (to filter out rocks and other larger solid mechanical filtration parts before water enters my pump – so very little resistance wanted. I already have a HOB filter for some mechanical but mostly bio and chemical – so don’t need anyting fancy-just to catch small stones etc)…

I think what Im looking for is more of a well sealed 5gal bucket with an inlet and outlet hose running from the top of it (to mostly just catch the smaller stones - more like small shells)...Does such a thing exist or should I just try making my own?

Greg

 

[OldMan47]

You could set up a sump for something like that. By running the sump part way full, the power failure would just fill the sump the rest of the way before the overflow from the tank stopped. The pump can go right into the sump if it is submersible or can tap in near the bottom of the sump if it needs to be run in air instead. Filtration n a sump can be anything that you want and the last chamber in a sump is just a large puddle to pump from with no flow restrictions at all. Something as simple as a divided container with the pump on one side and the inlet on the other side would let small pebbles fall out of the water before it flowed over the divider.

 

[Leprichon]

OldMan47,

a sump would probebly be ideal, in alot of ways...however, Im not sure I see how, in the event of a power failure, the sump wouldnt just fill up and overflow from the continual cyphon from the tank above it...please describe the "overflow shutoff"...

Greg

 

[three-fingers]

OldMan47,

a sump would probebly be ideal, in alot of ways...however, Im not sure I see how, in the event of a power failure, the sump wouldnt just fill up and overflow from the continual cyphon from the tank above it...please describe the "overflow shutoff"...

Greg

Sumps have thier inlets (overflows from the main tank) positioned within the tank to a certain height, so that if the pump cuts out, it cannont drain past a certain point, so the sump will never overflow.

 

[OldMan47]

The way a sump is set up, you have a method of bringing water out of the tank, either by drilling the tank or using a u shaped siphon. That drilling or siphon point establishes how much the tank can drain before it stops because the siphon is no longer low enough to keep draining. The siphon contraption is also set up so that it never runs out of water by using a standpipe in the overflow box that is taller than the siphon minimum level. Once the 5 or 10 gallons that it takes to drain that far are in the sump, the flow stops. Until the pump starts running again, the tank level is not high enough to get the overflow box working again. By selecting the right height for the overflow to stop at, it can't help stopping before the sump is full enough to overflow. You calibrate the whole thing by filling the tank to the overflow point, then filling the sump most of the way. When you start the pump, the level in the sump drops until you have reached an equilibrium state where the water is flowing from the tank as fast as the pump can return it. Once oyu reach that level in the sump, you mark it so that at any time you will know that there is room for the pump to fail without flooding the sump.
There is a post here about a DIY overflow. I have never actually built one so I can't vouch for it, but it should give you an idea how it works.

 

[Leprichon]

so if I understand correctly...a sump would require an overflow box (etc.) that would be very visible and take up room by the tank...Im prob not to interested in that...which would mean that Im prob back to the closed system...the biggest prob I found in this area though is that all the units Ive seen have their own pump (and I allready have one)...
Greg

 

[OldMan47]

If you have an enclosed cabinet for a stand, a self contained filter like the one I use is silent and all that is visible above the stand is the hoses running to and from the tank itself. There is no visible plumbing outside the tank on mine because I ran the hoses down the back of the tank and into the stand.

 

[littleimp]

If you sump drains go deep into you main tank you can drill a small hole just below your waterline to act as a siphon break, when tank starts draining in power out as soon as the hole is exposed the siphon stops.