Habitat - Indoor :: Need advice: DIY canister filter design

[Kemul]

Hello all,

Based on the DIY filter thread and various other threads, I've been tossing around ideas for a DIY canister filter.

Below is the design I have in mind:


The container is air-tight and I plan to place it under the tank in the stand. I've read that if the system is a closed syphon, the powerhead will have no problem moving water.

The mechanical filtration is minimal and biological filtration maximized. Current tank has about 25 gallons of water. It will be upgraded to 100 gallons in the future. When it does, I will probably use two powerheads in parallel.

What do you guys think? Is the idea feasible? I'm guessing the total cost of this filter will be around $20.

Unit conversion: 1 US gallon = 3.785 liter

[Rubicon]

Looks like a great design. Would probably required alot of biomedia depending on the size of the container.

[Lantic]

i think its feasible, but its gonna have to be airtight for proper use.

[grem89]

looks great to me. I made a filter very similar to this. The best part about having the pump situated at the bottom like this it is that all you have to do to get it started is syphon some water into the chamber and it will fill itself. The closed syphon takes a lot of pressure of the pump and it can pump with minimal resistance (excluding the head height). Keep us updated! Goodluck

[jameshermanto]

WOW!!!

[Chrisbarnett]

That looks like a good design. The only thing you will have to watch is pressure on the lid seal and watch for leaks.

[ksj]

What if you were to use a 5-gallon bucket with a water-tight lid? Would that work?

[est 032909]

anyone thought of using a gatorade jug as a canister filter? you fabricate an inlet on top and you already have a hole on the bottom for an outlet.

for a little giant pump or the like.

[VeipaCray]

Why not just buy a CFS 500 for $59 USD from aquatraders.com? By the time you get a pump, hosing, fittings, and an airtight container your parts will cost just about as much as buying one. If you buy one you get a warranty and you're done in 5 minutes. Set it up and go. I'm all in favor of DIY and completely understand the satisfaction of designing and creating something yourself, but when I can get a large canister filter for less or equal to what the sum total of the parts cost... why bother? DIY something that you can't just buy... like a cool ATBA, stand, or computer controlled feeding system. Put the money saved into extra care for your turtle.


Here's the CFS 500. It's available on Ebay as well from a number of sellers in a number of countries.
http://www.aquatraders.com/Odyssea-CFS4-Canister-Filter-p/42044.htm

Also Aquatraders.com has really inexpensive ceramic bio media unless you're planning to DIY that too. (kidding)
http://www.aquatraders.com/Odyssea-Super-Porus-Bio-Glass-p/46013.htm

If you do build this, please put up a build thread so we can admire your progress.