Habitat - Indoor :: DIY Filter

Turtle tank setups and other indoor configurations.

Post Posted: Mon Apr 30, 2012 8:33 am   Re: DIY Filter

Have you seen the aquatic or odyssea cfs500 canisters? DIY is great, but I couldn't buy all of the parts for what these canisters sell for. The generic knock off canisters are super cheap now.

Search for "canister filter" on eBay. Youll find any number of decent aqua top or whatever "brand name" white body canisters for around $40.
For the odyssea, check out aquatraders.com. It's in the $55 price range. But again, by the time you beat a pump and the plumbing parts....these cheap canisters have a proven design, are quiet, and the same price as what you can build.
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VeipaCray
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Post Posted: Tue Jun 12, 2012 5:25 pm   Re: DIY Filter

Dunno if I'd call those ones "decent" quality. Honestly when 50+ gallons of water is involved I'd rather have a peace of mind behind a name brand filter. If you own a home by all means go DIY or ebay brand. Renting or living in an apartment with those other routes = flirting with the devil.
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Post Posted: Wed Aug 15, 2012 6:50 am   Re: DIY Filter

I keep guppies in the tank w/ my RES. Anyone got an easy solution for a canister filter that will suck up the gunk and leave the fish?
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Post Posted: Thu Aug 16, 2012 12:07 pm   Re: DIY Filter

A prefilter might help, though turtles will probably have an interest in them too.
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Post Posted: Sun Aug 19, 2012 2:08 pm   Re: DIY Filter

Thanks for the information on your DIY filter. I actually built a filter from 4" tubing. The pump was installed in the tank. Tubing was connected to a fitting at the tube filter end to direct the water flow in one direction. I used furnace filters, the washable type as a filter medium. A fitting installed on the exhaust side returned the filtered water to the tank. I think I will incorporate your filter in a 5 gallon bucket with lid with the pump in it and the exhaust connected to my 4"x 48' present filter. I will use the charcoal, etc. in the tubing as the water cycles back into the tank. Thanks for the idea. I will let you know how it works.
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Post Posted: Sun Aug 19, 2012 11:31 pm   Re: DIY Filter

Have purchased a 200 GPH submersible, bio balls, tub, and scour pads. Have hose laying about that will work wonderfully. My intentions are to install pump in tank run hose to tub (above tank) with a wall of scrubbers followed by bio balls with an output back to old repto waterfall filter I previous purchased. Anyone see any problems with this setup? How many bio balls should I use? 55 gal tank 3/4 full water
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Post Posted: Tue Sep 18, 2012 12:53 pm   Re: DIY Filter

WOW! I'm so glad I found this post. Thank you so much everyone who has added to, and participated in, this. I am looking to build a 200g tank for my 2 :mrgreen: sometime soon. They're only hatchlings now so no rush. But I was really dreading shelling out the cash for a filter or two to handle the 3x requirement.

Thanks to you guys, I will be building my own. :idea: GENIUS :idea:
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Post Posted: Fri Oct 12, 2012 7:31 pm   Re: DIY Filter

I'm so glad to see that I did mine mostly right. Once I get a chance to use it, I think it'll work ok.
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Post Posted: Mon Oct 07, 2013 10:31 am   Re: DIY Filter

This is brilliant. When the time comes for me to upgrade, I'm going to jury rig something like this out of the parts from my cannister filter.
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Post Posted: Mon Oct 07, 2013 11:37 am   Re:

jason32835 wrote:I built a quick filter from a Wal-mucil canister and it is working great. I had a small water pump from an old desk fountain, so the whole filter cost me $5.00

I've cleared up the water in my 10g tank in about three hours. I'll apply this same design to a larger tank when I get one, I might just use an inline pump instead of an in tank pump.


It will look much better once I get rid of the Wal-mucile label and add a background to the tank!
Image

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Notice the turtle that looks smashed behind the intake filter? Actually he isn't stuck, just enjoying some nice clean water. :)


This is pretty awesome DIY. With pump in the tank you don't have to worry about losing prime because of a power outage. I'd be a little scared of DIY a filter just because of the potential for failure on my part. It also looks like your turtle is getting plenty of fiber in its diet. :)
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Post Posted: Sun Jan 24, 2016 4:49 pm   Re: DIY Filter

I have a couple questions about a sump I wanted to make for a 75 gallon turtle tank , I wanna make a trickle tower with a storage drawer , I've seen them done , very simple and I have a 35 gallon tank to use as the box for the bottom of it , but I was gunna ask if I used 2 - 200 gph power heads of that would keep the water level even in the tank and the sump , plus I have a magnum 350 that's rates for 100 gallons I think 350gph that would be on it too . And possibly an Odyssea that's rated for a 150 gallon tank I think that pumps a little over 400 gph I think , do you think the water would stay relatively clear longer ? Cause I live in an apartment and water changes aren't the easiest lol
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Post Posted: Sun Jan 24, 2016 5:04 pm   Re: DIY Filter

DrexelTanker0712 wrote:Nice Job, i'm a big fan of DIY.
For turtle tanks, if you need a canister filter, you might as well (if you have the space) build a wet/dry sump tank out of a 10 gallon tank. Get an overflow siphon or overflow box, a basket with the sponge or other filtrate, lava rock, ~300+ gph pump and some tubing.

the lava rock is for the biological filtration, the high surface area of the rock is ideal for lots of bacteria to live on and convert the nitrates to nitrites, and having a 10+ gallon sump tank adds to the overall volume of the tank water.


I could use your help ! I wanna make a either a trickle tower or a sumo maybe you could give me some pointers !
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Post Posted: Tue Jan 26, 2016 8:20 am   Re: DIY Filter

Can't help you with a trickle tower, but I used a 55 gallon as a sump, and it will keep your tank water at the same level. As long as your return water doesn't come in faster than the outflow, you are good. If it's very slow, the main tank drains until the level is below your outflow. If it's too fast, your main tank overflows.

Silicone some glass in the 35 to segment the sump (look it up online), and the water level in all but your return will be even in the sump.

I have three chambers in my sump. The first, where the tank overflow hits, is biomedia. The second and largest has a sand substrate with plants, shrimp and snails. The final is the return. Evaporation just means the return level gets lower.

It certainly makes adding water easier and less stressful.
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Post Posted: Tue Jan 26, 2016 7:53 pm   Re: DIY Filter

ljapa wrote:Can't help you with a trickle tower, but I used a 55 gallon as a sump, and it will keep your tank water at the same level. As long as your return water doesn't come in faster than the outflow, you are good. If it's very slow, the main tank drains until the level is below your outflow. If it's too fast, your main tank overflows.

Silicone some glass in the 35 to segment the sump (look it up online), and the water level in all but your return will be even in the sump.

I have three chambers in my sump. The first, where the tank overflow hits, is biomedia. The second and largest has a sand substrate with plants, shrimp and snails. The final is the return. Evaporation just means the return level gets lower.

It certainly makes adding water easier and less stressful.

Yea that makes sence ! I was gunna use a five gallon bucket and drill holes in the bottom and load it with media and use the 35 gallon tank as the return , but I might do the plant thing also just to keep ammonia levels and others low , either that . Or I'll do the trickle tower with the storage drawer system and in the bottom drawer put some sand and plants and some snails so that the water has to pass through there before it goes to the return , one way or another I wanna make some sort of filter that's easier than my canister filter , it's a pain in my rear end >.<
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Post Posted: Wed Jan 27, 2016 9:14 pm   Re: DIY Filter

For plants, I found the only thing that helps with nitrates are floating ones. I use duckweed. It's really messy if you ever have to do anything in the tank. And, it doesn't completely deal with nitrates on its own, but it does let me extend the time between water changes.
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