Habitat - Indoor :: homemade filters

[mikey]

Anyone here built a filter that works?
Just asking cause i happen to have an industrial circulating pump (bronze body) and a large supply of plumbing supplies. I've been having thoughts of building a large filter from 3 or 4'' ABS pipe and fittings for the filter body then stuffing it with filter media. (that's the part i'm stuck on) I can use the circ. pump to run this thing. I thought i could use 3/4'' cpvc pipe for the supply and return lines.
Any thoughts on this ? Dumb idea?

[marisa]

Dumb idea? Not at all. (You said a large filter--is this for a pond?) Take a look at www.skippysstuff.com/biofiltr.htm

If I was handy, I'd try it myself...maybe I will sometime anyway.

There's also http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Articles/pond.htm among others...

[therizman1]

Sounds like a good idea. If you look at a Rena XP3 it really is not all that complicated either.

Just make sure if you are sending the water through a pump, you have some sort of screen to make sure you dont get junk from the water in your pump. Burnt out pump motors can get rather expensive.

[soopermum62]

marisa that skippy pond link is about 10 mins from my house!

[BigCT]

This post is getting very interesting. I have more fun building stuff for my Turts than actualy watching them.

Has any one built there own filter for a smaller tank, 40 or 55 gallons?

I guess I could attemp to Minaturize the www.skippysstuff.com/biofiltr.htm set up. I wonder if it would smell?

My Favorite part was the "Do not ever clean this filter"

-Chris

[marisa]

A smaller version, the "Mini Me," is at the end of the article ( http://www.skippysstuff.com/minime.htm if you want to take a quick look) I would think once the beneficial bacteria take over, the smell would not be that disagreeable--my filter and tubing would look gross when I would start to clean them, but the smell is more a "woodsy" smell than anything.

Soopermum, you mean the person who made the Skippy lives only 10 minutes from you? Do you think your husband will make one?

[BigCT]

Yeah i saw the "mini" one.

It is set up for a 350 gallon pond. I'm afraid it would turn my 40 gallon breeder into the Colorado River.

"Dude no Hurling on the shell"

[STRAYKINGFISHER]

I found this site on the internet, it is for DIY pond filters:
http://www.mikebentley.com/ponds/homemadefilters.htm

[marisa]

This looks interesting--and part of it is the author's own take on the Skippy filter. One would just have to figure out how to scale it down from a pond to use in a smaller tank.

[GouzlanTheAmerican]

Wat if you used a 2 liter bottle instead of a huge buket? that would scale it down. i would use like a 150-250 gph pump for it. and add some carbon. Speakin of which i have an idea. Be right back with my plan!

[GouzlanTheAmerican]

ok it's kinda sketchy, but i think it will work.

[soopermum62]

Here is another link for a DYI filter..

www.aquaticsbykr.com/DIYCanisterFilter.htm

[STRAYKINGFISHER]

One more, this one is a large scale but it is very well done, step by step.:
http://www.runnerduck.com/pf1.htm

[marisa]

And yet another for a 120-gallon tank: http://www.iturnrocks.com/files/diyfilter.html

[BigCT]

Here is another link for a DYI filter..

www.aquaticsbykr.com/DIYCanisterFilter.htm

I like this one. Looks like the same type of set up the XP3 or fluval canisters have.

Anyone have pratical experiance with this? Looks good on paper, but my wife is probaly less forgiving than his.