My version of a diy canister filter

[aquanut415]

Originally Posted by ZooTycoonMaster

Well then how did you get the water to get sucked in to the canister/jar?

gravity/suction. this canister works almost exactly like the one you have at home, except it was hand made.

[Sponsors]

[fshfanatic]

Originally Posted by ZooTycoonMaster

Well then how did you get the water to get sucked in to the canister/jar?

Originally Posted by Blue Ridge Reef

With the powerhead!

Actually that is only partially right. Gravity actually feeds the jar, but only as fast as the powerhead can empty it by pushing it back into the tank.

[fendergat]

He's using the Black Magic

nice job though for sure and i'll keep my eyes out for Glass jars....BTW you may want to check out the local pub or restraunt they usually have very large glass jars due to bulk sized pickles...hors' Devours and whatnot

just a thought

[Madhun67]

i`m thinking of trying this with square jars i saw at linens n things and such.Little more to pay for them,but easier i think to deal with the fittings on a flat surface.
Dave

[Oreo]

I'm posting in this thread because you guys tinkering with this idea are following the same path I did. But I'm about 2 years of development & a lot of money (re-designs) down the road in front of you. The biggest discoveries I've made...

Use those "whole house filters" that are meant to work on your tap water. They're much more robust & easier to disassemble / clean when you need to. The trick to making it work is to get REAL creative with some PVC inside the filter housing so that you can use upholstery foam & regular bio-media instead of the filter cartridges the housing was designed to take. Finally, It's WELL worth it to spend the money on the larger diameter "heavy duty" filter body.

If you're not willing to go that far- do yourself a huge favor & just buy an off-the-shelf canister filter. I'm happy to discuss the details via PM with anyone who's serious about making an attempt.

[josh1604]

why do you have to use glass jars why cant you use plastic jars, from what i see there isn't going to be much pressure inside of the canister. it is much easier to find plactic jars

[Naja002]

Sheesh, its all done with smoke and mirrors--its not real, folks--its just an illusion!

[RoyalFizbin]

Originally Posted by josh1604

why do you have to use glass jars why cant you use plastic jars, from what i see there isn't going to be much pressure inside of the canister. it is much easier to find plactic jars

If you have a big tank and you place the filter well below the bottom of your tank, the preasure inside is huge. You'd be surprized.

As of last week I took the filter down and put a hob back on the tank. The small little jar that I used for this experiment clogs up too fast and requires cleaning too often. It ran for a few months and held up just fine with no leaks. Perhaps if I move up to the larger jar I would get more service before cleaning but who knows when or if I'll get around to drilling it.

As for buying all sorts of pvc and whole house fillters, I say just buy a proper filter instead.

[honor]

im still impressed that you drilled a mason jar without it shattering.

[YankyTexan]

Please help me out with this one ... assume the display tank is 24" tall and the bottom of the homemade canister sits 24" below the bottom of the aqaurium (in the stand a likely set up). Would the pressure exerted on the walls of the canister be equal to a vertical water column of 48"s? How many PSI is that?

I don't think it has anything to do with the volume of the tank rather it is the water depth.

[Oreo]

Originally Posted by RoyalFizbin

As of last week I took the filter down and put a hob back on the tank. The small little jar that I used for this experiment clogs up too fast and requires cleaning too often. It ran for a few months and held up just fine with no leaks. Perhaps if I move up to the larger jar I would get more service before cleaning but who knows when or if I'll get around to drilling it.

As for buying all sorts of pvc and whole house fillters, I say just buy a proper filter instead.

You've come to exactly the conclusion that I did about the glass jar idea. I searched far & wide for a container that was reasonably easy to service / clean.

When you get tired of disassembling your canister filters every few weeks you may change your mind about my whole-house-filter idea. They require less cleaning, hold more media, are exceptionally easy to service, and are modular- for when you're ready to upgrade your tank size. But they do take more work to build / setup initially. No getting around that ugly detail. It's an ultra-premium filter alternative, not a budget alternative.

As for pressure, you guys need to think of it this way... the glass jar will easily hold the preassure, but by drilling it you compromise it's integrity. More importanly however is that the glass jar was not meant to accept any type of fittings. Thus, you see that big gob of epoxy he used to seal up the inlet & outlet. Those areas WILL fail eventually. For me, it wasn't worth the risk of a big mess & dead fish.

One simple way to improve on the glass jar design is to use two jars- one for mechanical filtration & one for biomedia. This way you almost never have to disturb the biomedia, & if you use PVC unions & valves you can completely remove the mechanical filter jar to the sink for cleaning. This is a concept I still use on my WHF setup.

[gmccreedy]

Originally Posted by YankyTexan

Please help me out with this one ... assume the display tank is 24" tall and the bottom of the homemade canister sits 24" below the bottom of the aqaurium (in the stand a likely set up). Would the pressure exerted on the walls of the canister be equal to a vertical water column of 48"s? How many PSI is that?

yes and 1.73 psi at the 48" mark. Pressure would fluctuate from the top to the bottom of the unit proportionatly as well. (less pressure at the top then bottom)

Conversion is Head (ft) x 62.4 pcf /(144 sqin/sqft) or 0.43 psi per foot of static head. Not the same as head loss, this is just static.

Originally Posted by YankyTexan

I don't think it has anything to do with the volume of the tank rather it is the water depth.

you are correct.

[gmccreedy]

Did you guys ever think of using old canister filter housings??? Like, if someone has an old blown out motor one, just rip out the guts and add your own...

I really appload what your doing here, and if i can DIY something I am all over it, but honestly, how much $$$ can you spend before the scales start tipping here??

[Oreo]

Originally Posted by gmccreedy

I really appload what your doing here, and if i can DIY something I am all over it, but honestly, how much $$$ can you spend before the scales start tipping here??

A WHOLE FRIGGIN LOT!!!

If you know what you're doing ahead of time you can do a kick-ass filter for maybe $200 that will outdo any consumer grade canister. The problem is making all the mistakes that cost money to repair or redo, while you're figuring out how to do it right. Which is why I say... either go ALL the way & do it right the first time, or save yourself the headaches & a boat load of $$$$$$$$$$

I should add, that an acceptable design could be made from a section of 4" or 6" pvc pipe (& fittings) with a rubber fernco fitting at the top as a lid. This could be done MUCH cheaper. But again, you sacrifice on the ease of servicability.

[Wingsdlc]

I should add, that an acceptable design could be made from a section of 4" or 6" pvc pipe (& fittings) with a rubber fernco fitting at the top as a lid. This could be done MUCH cheaper. But again, you sacrifice on the ease of servicability.

You know that is something I haven't seen yet. I guess all that you would need is an inline pump.