DIY Canister Filter For A Nano Tank

[littlecobra1977]

Ok pics have been laoded to where you can see them now.

[Torpedobarb]

very nice! very descriptive instructions. does it work like you want it to?

[erthlng]

Originally Posted by pwrmacG4

very nice! very descriptive instructions. does it work like you want it to?

I'm really pleased with the results.

We've got 9 guppy fry in that little tank shown in the video and so far that filter has been serving them well. I'm going to probably build a few more. One of them will also have a heating unit inside the canister.

It's a simple project and it makes a great little filter. If you are considering building one, I think you'll be pleased with the results.

Phil

[Wasserpest]

While this is a nice little project, it isn't saving money (same can be said for many DIY projects). It's a good solution to your low voltage needs. But for the average person that deals with line voltage, something like Toms little canister or the ZooMed 501 might be the better choice.

[erthlng]

Wasserpest,

If a person wants to use line voltage, it's not a problem. I'm actually using that now, with a small 6v plugin transformer. You could also use a pump like the mini pump listed here: http://www.accentsbyann.com/pumps.shtml. Just about any micro pump could be adapted to this application as long as it fits into the lid and has good flow control. There are 120v pumps available in that size as well.

But you are correct, the Toms little canister would be cheaper, but I think you could probably put one of these DIY "picofilters" together for less then a ZooMed 501.

From my perspective, the advantages of this DIY filter is the smaller footprint/size, low voltage option and the canister construction is much more rugged than either the Zoomed or Tom's.

Phil

[erthlng]

Update on the Pico Filter.

It's been running nonstop for about a month now. Since I'm using it in a Nano tank with fry, I've got a small sponge filter over the intake line in the tank. I found that if the intake is blocked, that the suction from the pump will draw air through the O-Ring that seals the lid. No water leakage out, just a small amount of air gets in and only when the intake is obstructed. Clearing the intake obstruction and cleaning the O-ring seal resolved the problem.

We built a second canister filter about a week ago using an Otterbox 9000, which is a few inches taller than the 8000. We loaded some small bio-balls and filter fiber into this one and set the pump flow to maximum and tried it on a new planted 29 gallon tank with a sand covered soil substrate. The pump flow rate was not sufficient. So we replaced it with a Zoo Med 501 which worked fine and has about twice the flow capacity.

After playing around with this DIY design for the past month, it works great for Nano tanks down to 3/4 of a gallon and will probably be able to handle up to 15 gallons.

If anyone builds one, I'd love to hear how it worked for you and what pump you ended up using in the canister.

Phil