Habitat - Indoor :: DIY Filter

Turtle tank setups and other indoor configurations.

Post Posted: Sun Apr 23, 2017 7:22 am   Re: DIY Filter

I think Rubbermaid totes or similar ones are safer. The garbage cans have a lot more chemicals for added durability and outdoor use. I need to do some more homework as well :).
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Post Posted: Mon Apr 24, 2017 5:30 pm   Re: DIY Filter

The main differences between containers are the specific polymer and molding method. None of the polymers used are likely to leach out more than trace amounts of the colorant, plasticizer, and whatnot. Be sure to thoroughly clean the container to remove all of the mold release agent (like greasing a baking pan, it aids in removing the plastic article from the shaped mold).

"Food grade" polymer has a few added requirements over standard polymers used to make household goods. Non-food grade polymer isn't inherently toxic, although they may contain compounds that can be (very slowly) extracted by some food ingredients.
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Post Posted: Mon Apr 24, 2017 7:21 pm   Re: DIY Filter

Very informative, thanks for posting that. Any recommended brands to look for?
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Post Posted: Tue Apr 25, 2017 12:40 am   Re: DIY Filter

Roughneck cans are made of low-density polyethylene (LDPE), which is also used to make food storage containers, food packaging, and other common household products. The types of chemicals identified as leachable from LDPE are mostly antioxidants, all of which are extremely water-insoluble. If you plan on having some oil in the can long-term ... then it's perhaps questionable. But flowing water shouldn't be endangered. The various antioxidants also haven't been shown as harmful to aquatic plants and invertebrates at anywhere near the trace levels that *might* be leached out over time.

I wish I could give you flat-out guarantee of safety, but it would depend on the specific manufacturer, the can itself, its size, and several other variables… Based on what I know, I'd use one without reservation.
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Post Posted: Sat Apr 29, 2017 4:04 pm   Re: DIY Filter

I can't speak for rubbermaid's other lines of garbage cans or other brands. But I just picked up a white brute 20 gallon and there's a NFS compliant branding on the bottom. Heads up about roughnecks. stick w/ the smaller ones. If you get the jumbo 189L ones do not fill it up more than 1/2 full w/o something to alleviate the 4 feet bumps on each corner because the weight of the water WILL cause one of these to collapse and crack eventually. This is what happened to me an almost flooded my basement.
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Post Posted: Sun Apr 30, 2017 6:02 am   Re: DIY Filter

Do you think additional bracing will help? I remember plastic totes were really popular as tanks and many of the enthusiasts added braces so they could be filled all the way.
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Post Posted: Sun Apr 30, 2017 6:39 pm   Re: DIY Filter

bracing only helps prevent bowing of these containers. For the rubbermaid toes I'd say anything under 80L should be okay without anything to help with the feet. I would absolutely caution those who are looking at the 189L roughnecks and want to fill it up more than half full. I've kept mine at about 80% full and it lasted about a year and a half before a corner foot cracked and started a slow leak that soaked 1/4 of my basement den. For bowing I've heard some people double up on the totes as well. Just giving a heads up based on my experience that if you're going larger than 80L I'd highly advise looking at a stock tank or a glass aquarium. These things weren't meant to be full of water.
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Post Posted: Sun Apr 30, 2017 8:51 pm   Re: DIY Filter

Great points. It's been awhile, but I do recall some cracking on the totes as well. I suppose there are other options to consider as well... liners, rain barrels, etc but I think stock tanks are best suited for this. I hope the damage to your basement wasn't too bad!
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Post Posted: Sun Apr 30, 2017 9:08 pm   Re: DIY Filter

luckily i caught it in time and it was a small slow leak. i'd say about only 10-15% of the water in the tote leaked out. Was able to use a wetvac to dry up about a 6x6ft area of carpet around the area. I quickly siphoned out all the water as soon as I caught it. Rain barrels would be an option for sure but i think it's just too deep and not enough actual swimming area for the turtles although they are super sturdy and can hold 55 gallons with ease. Especially in the states where it's so much easier and cheaper to get a stock tank you turtle owners down there have no excuse! lol I had to pay a bit over $200 for my 150 gallon rubbermaid and it had to be special ordered in
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Post Posted: Tue May 02, 2017 8:13 am   Re: DIY Filter

Oh, I was thinking of barrels filters. I absolutely agree about stock tanks, well worth it. $200 isn't so bad, I think I paid $100 for a 100 gallon Rubbermaid way back.
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Post Posted: Tue May 02, 2017 9:11 am   Re: DIY Filter

Rubbermaid for me is the way to go ! Can do so much more in them! I was lucky I got several at a local tractor supply company (150 gallon for $ 100 ea) down here in the south years ago. See them cheap at feed stores too!
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Post Posted: Thu Aug 03, 2017 7:55 pm   Re: DIY Filter

JoseDRivera wrote:This is what I somewhat based it on: https://web.archive.org/web/20151119104 ... n-build-it

I think this is a good start for a good DIY filter. Things I would change though:

Get a pump that will suck the water from the 5g bucket itself. Instead of the pump pumping water into the 5g bucket (which causes a lot of pressure, and thus more potential for a leak) have the pump pull water through the bucket. Less potential for a leak, if your seals and all are nice and tight. Then the pump pushes that filtered water back up into the tank. I'd also add mechanical filtration (such as pillow stuffing) and biological filtration (such as lava rock). I've seen a filter with this exact setup perform great, and kept the water quality good. That provides a good budget setup. If you want to make it even better, add better media, like Seachem Matrix. Or even a second filter..
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Post Posted: Sat Aug 05, 2017 4:31 pm   Re: DIY Filter

for the price of all that wait till black Friday and shop around for a fluval fx5 or fx6 , but I'm big on sit ,
there's other filter ideas tho , look on YouTube and use Google as a key . as long as your pumping out 2-3x the size of your tank per hour you should be good ..




rambologic wrote:
JoseDRivera wrote:This is what I somewhat based it on: https://web.archive.org/web/20151119104 ... n-build-it

I think this is a good start for a good DIY filter. Things I would change though:

Get a pump that will suck the water from the 5g bucket itself. Instead of the pump pumping water into the 5g bucket (which causes a lot of pressure, and thus more potential for a leak) have the pump pull water through the bucket. Less potential for a leak, if your seals and all are nice and tight. Then the pump pushes that filtered water back up into the tank. I'd also add mechanical filtration (such as pillow stuffing) and biological filtration (such as lava rock). I've seen a filter with this exact setup perform great, and kept the water quality good. That provides a good budget setup. If you want to make it even better, add better media, like Seachem Matrix. Or even a second filter..
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Post Posted: Tue Aug 08, 2017 1:04 pm   Re: DIY Filter

the-turtle-Girl wrote:for the price of all that wait till black Friday and shop around for a fluval fx5 or fx6 , but I'm big on sit ,
there's other filter ideas tho , look on YouTube and use Google as a key . as long as your pumping out 2-3x the size of your tank per hour you should be good ..


An Fx6 would be great. Certainly a good option. If you don't want to DIY, or you have the money, an FX6 or any other store bought filter is a great option. Although, an FX6, even at their sale price, will still cost more than a DIY filter. You could probably build a few DIY filters with plenty of flow rates and media, for the price of one FX6.. and you can make a filter with everything you want. That's the beauty of DIY.. limited only by imagination.

I am working on building an "overhead" filter, which is sort of like a sump style. It will consist of a large plastic window planter. I'm not sure if you guys have seen or know of the "DIY Fishkeepers" Youtube channel. He showed how to build a DIY overhead sump with a plastic window planter. Use a small powerhead to pump water up to it, have some mechanical media filter out the incoming water, followed by lots of bio media (I'm going to use lava rock, experimenting) and some more mechanical media at the end to have clean water flow out the opposite end of the planter. I'm also going to place a pothos plant in the planter. Serves as a beautification (I've always wanted real plants, but he turtles shred them!) and additional filtration.

Of course, I have a canister filter doing all of the heavy lifting. This would serve to look nice (a nice, healthy pothos plant would span the planter) and it would provide additional filtering. Mainly biological and for nitrates. Just something I want to experiment with, see if it functions well.
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Post Posted: Sun Nov 26, 2017 10:49 pm   Re: DIY Filter

I just found this, but I cannot see the images
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