[greaser84]

So I have this 20 gallon long on my kitchen counter top right now, it has this ugly HOB bio wheel filter mounted on the side. It looks terrible. I just got a aquaclear 50 to replace the bio wheel, I'm letting the aquaclear build some bacteria before I remove the bio wheel completely. The aquaclear has a smaller profile but I don't know if I like it any better. I can't put the filters on the back on the tank because I'm already short on counter top space and don't want to move the tank any closer to the edge. Now there is a cabinet below the tank to the left but I'm not going to drill out my new counter top. The only other thing I can do is put a canister filter in the cabinet above and run the plumbing down the backside of the cabinet into the tank. Can this be done? I've heard external canisters have to go below the aquarium, why is that?

 

[discuspaul]

Have you ever tried getting a proper, continuous water siphoning action by having/holding the end of the suction hose higher than the top of the water level ?
That's why.

 

[jrman83]

Right. The pump returns water, not suck it out of the tank. Canisters rely on natural siphoning to fill the canister.

I have to say that I have never seen an aquarium on a kitchen counter unless it was a Betta in a bowl.

 

[Korya]

Why could you put a canister where the dog bowl is? Hide it under a side table and put a long table cloth over it. Then you would only have hoses going up the side. Although if you do that make sure to cover the hoses with material or something because they would be near the window and would probable develop algae.

 

[PlantedRich]

The last suggestion is one I would really look at before passing. I find I can sneak in a tank in places where they might not go IF I can convince my wife that it won't look too bad or if it serves another purpose. The idea of a stand at the counter end might work.
And then maybe a bit more kitchen storage might be good? A storage unit with closed doors on the bottom for the canister and open above to add storage for dishes, maybe? A small desk, just big enough to cover the canister with a riser made of wood which covers the tubes as well as supports a small light for the "desk"? A pegboard to display kids pictures and "art" that just happens to be hollow space to hide tubing.

 

[greaser84]

Right. The pump returns water, not suck it out of the tank. Canisters rely on natural siphoning to fill the canister.

I have to say that I have never seen an aquarium on a kitchen counter unless it was a Betta in a bowl.

Haha if only you could see the rest of my kitchen...

 

[greaser84]

Korya and plantedrich very good ideas, i would of never thought of that.

 

[PlantedRich]

Sometimes when the fishroom is full of tanks and you just have to have another, you get desperate and the only place left is next to the dining room table?
Been there, done that and my wife sure needed another place to set some flowers!

Hope it works as well for you!

 

[charlie 1]

A possible solution, Zoo Med has launched their line of aquarium canister filter filters, will tuck away nicely on the counter behind the tank.
I`m currently testing the Nano 30 on a 15 gallon long ( same foot print of a 20 gallon but shorter) & it`s plenty for that tank,too soon to review it quality & reliability, but so far I`m impressed- power & operating noise.
http://www.zoomed.com/db/products/EntryDetail.php?EntryID=376&DatabaseID=2&SearchID=3&Sear

Regards

 

[psalm18.2]

Could use internal or sponge filters instead.

 

[jeffkrol]

First I had to see if such a thing exists.. In a "form" it does..
http://www.aquaone.co.uk/documents/Aquastyle850-980T_instructions_lowres_new_000.pdf

Starting from that and thinking outside the box a bit.. an option (i'll start by saying it isn't exactly a great one ) is use a canister filter but reverse the hoses and add a pump in the aquarium.. This will pump water up to the tank (coming in the top now) and then return through the bottom..
Couple of things 1)sizing the pump is interesting 2)Eheim like cans are sealed.. so apump will more than likely pressurize the tank slightly so your return "should be" more than gravity fed (and you have the pump pressure) .. how much of a spray??? Well this is DIY and out of the box..

Small "fountain" pumps come to mind..

As to off the shelf. I'd bet it is out there.. somewhere.......but most seem "open top" drip types..

AS to next to it..seems no problem.. w a few niggles.. like the priming thing...
my canister is next to my tank w/ the top about 1" below the water line.. no problems there..

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=141858

 

[Tihsho]

I currently have a ZooMed 501 on one of my cubes and it sits right behind the tank.

 

[greaser84]

First I had to see if such a thing exists.. In a "form" it does..
http://www.aquaone.co.uk/documents/Aquastyle850-980T_instructions_lowres_new_000.pdf

Starting from that and thinking outside the box a bit.. an option (i'll start by saying it isn't exactly a great one ) is use a canister filter but reverse the hoses and add a pump in the aquarium.. This will pump water up to the tank (coming in the top now) and then return through the bottom..
Couple of things 1)sizing the pump is interesting 2)Eheim like cans are sealed.. so apump will more than likely pressurize the tank slightly so your return "should be" more than gravity fed (and you have the pump pressure) .. how much of a spray??? Well this is DIY and out of the box..

Small "fountain" pumps come to mind..

As to off the shelf. I'd bet it is out there.. somewhere.......but most seem "open top" drip types..

AS to next to it..seems no problem.. w a few niggles.. like the priming thing...
my canister is next to my tank w/ the top about 1" below the water line.. no problems there..

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=141858

Thanks for the info, that aquaone filter is a trip. Sounds like if I want a canister above the aquarium I'm going to have to do some modifications to it.

 

[greaser84]

Sometimes when the fishroom is full of tanks and you just have to have another, you get desperate and the only place left is next to the dining room table?
Been there, done that and my wife sure needed another place to set some flowers!

Hope it works as well for you!

I don't have a fishroom more like a fishhouse. hahaha I actually have 3 aquariums on my kitchen counter top! When I had my counter top redone I told the guys I hired that I was planning on putting around 1000lbs of extra weight on it so they added a lot of extra support. As a matter of fact I also have one on the dining room table:biggrin:. My philosophy is I pay all the bills I get to put tanks where I see fit.

 

[PlantedRich]

I would hesitate before going into the mods required for a canister above rather than below. I find quite a bit of interest in setting them up different but none on the market that I have seen. That indicates to me that there are larger problems involved than we might first think. My bet is that if there was an easy way to do it, there would be lots more people doing it?
I like the small filter in back if you can find one large enough to do a good job and still fit but meanwhile my thinking still goes with using one at the end. How's the wood working DIY situation?
I might suggest a "stand" of sorts that would set over the dog bowls with a canister on a shelf just above that and a top for some other purpose. That might set the top of the canister just a bit below the tank top where it would work and the tubing/pipes would not be a big problem. Maybe move the tank to the counter top edge so that the intake/output could go directly into the tank??

 

[AGUILAR3]

If you don't mind putting a water pump inside the tank, build yourself a gravity fed filter using a 2-3g bucket and 10x's the media any canister filter could possibly hold. With a nice big water pump and the use of a plastic inline ball valve to reduce flow, you can filter a 20g one day and a 125g the next.


Check out the filter I built for my tub pond.

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showpost.php?p=5890658&postcount=62

 

[jeffkrol]

I find quite a bit of interest in setting them up different but none on the market that I have seen. That indicates to me that there are larger problems involved than we might first think. My bet is that if there was an easy way to do it, there would be lots more people doing it?

Personally.. it probably more the economics and liability and "standard procedure" than the engineering.. From toilets to fountains, to municipal water systems you put water "over your head" that is not a problem.. As to control.. well I ca nsee more people screaming "liability" than w/ the current fairly fail safe methods.. W an old canister and a cheap "fountain pump" and maybe one valve it is fairly easy to prototype something.

Marketing is a funny thing..

 

[xmas_one]

Dude, put a powerhead with a sponge on the intake in there and call it a day.

 

[PlantedRich]

Personally.. it probably more the economics and liability and "standard procedure" than the engineering.. From toilets to fountains, to municipal water systems you put water "over your head" that is not a problem.. As to control.. well I ca nsee more people screaming "liability" than w/ the current fairly fail safe methods.. W an old canister and a cheap "fountain pump" and maybe one valve it is fairly easy to prototype something.

Marketing is a funny thing..

If something is cheap, easy and effective , I usually find everybody wants to do it. How many are doing this?

It's like the fabled DIY canister filter. The idea is always there but few do it. And even fewer are glad they did.

 

[greaser84]

I would hesitate before going into the mods required for a canister above rather than below. I find quite a bit of interest in setting them up different but none on the market that I have seen. That indicates to me that there are larger problems involved than we might first think. My bet is that if there was an easy way to do it, there would be lots more people doing it?
I like the small filter in back if you can find one large enough to do a good job and still fit but meanwhile my thinking still goes with using one at the end. How's the wood working DIY situation?
I might suggest a "stand" of sorts that would set over the dog bowls with a canister on a shelf just above that and a top for some other purpose. That might set the top of the canister just a bit below the tank top where it would work and the tubing/pipes would not be a big problem. Maybe move the tank to the counter top edge so that the intake/output could go directly into the tank??

I will probably put a canister on a stand over the dog bowl and see how that goes. As far as the wood work I paid a professional to do it. I had a remodel crew upgrade my kitchen and asked them to reinforce the counter top to hold extra weight. They just added some extra metal brackets and some 2x4's, it seems to be holding just fine. I have the 20 gallon long and two 10 gallons they are spread out pretty far apart I'm guessing around 400 pounds total.