Ice cream container filter?

[sicj]

Hi all

i remember a little whole back at the cichlid society meeting Chris showing some different types of filters  

There was an ice cream container filled with rocks or media and a tube coming out. 

Does anyone have any instruction on making these?

wouldnt mind making a couple for some of my tanks. 

[Ageofaquariums]

The easier ones are usually On The Top style filters. The container sits basically on lids, and has holes drilled in bottom. A pump in aquarium pumps water up where it it flows through your filter media and then drains back into aquarium.

 

Another way to do is to have a water pump inside the container, with bio media back filled over it. Usually the pump is covered with a screen similar to the cages that go around pond pumps, to prevent impeller damage from broken bits of bio media. You attach hosing to the output of pump, that way you can backfill even a 20L bucket with bio media. Of course you would then have a bucket in the aquarium lol. An icecream container is much easier to hide!

[Skippy]

Try these links

http://www.aceforums.com.au/index.php?/topic/19292-ice-cream-container-air-filters/

http://www.cichlids-aust.com/diy.html

[sicj]

The one I was thinking of sits inside the tank. 

Running the same as a sponge filter but with the rocks and media inside the ice cream container. 

i forget the process of how it all went together. 

[Ageofaquariums]

Oh, so just an enlarged version of the old school platform corner filter?

 

 

[Link2Hell]

this link listed by Skippy shows it pretty well

http://www.cichlids-aust.com/diy.html

was from back in the old SCP days before we went to ACE

basic principal is container , top off a soft drink bottle of the appropriate size

I find putting holes in this by  drill, punch, hot wire, best for flow and a hole

for the airline to go through to the airstone, as noted the plastic screw

together ones are less inclined to clog, you can add a section of hose to the

bottle top to extend the outlet and get a bit more lift.

then just fill the container around the bottle section and leave 20mm or so

from the top so everything doesn't spill out when its time to strip it down

just put holes in the container lid if it's for larger fish that will dig

for fry you could leave to top off

also consider fly mesh over the outlet if it's in a fry or catfish tank

[sicj]

Thank you all for fantastic help  

love this forum. 

Age of aquarium

Skippy

Link To Hell

appreciate it a lot. 

[Buccal]

As a young person with no money, I use to use the ice cream container method which worked exceptional,,, you need to get that filter media the correct size or grade to, not to coarse not to fine,,,,, as Chris mentioned extending the riser to increase better travel lift helps heaps with upward draw,,,, pvc sizes in bunnings, one of the smaller sizes fits well inside of a coke bottle neck, and then just a single stainless steal screw through neck to hold in place.

Having the top top of the extended riser finish 25mm just below the finished water surface will give the best lift for the scenario.

My thoughts these days,,, I'd settle for a coarse largest size black sponge I could fit into tank with a stem and powerhead,,, which are very efficient biologically and mechanically, so long as you clean them at 50% full at worst,,, any sponge filter or air lift filters or any other for that matter, once blocked and heading for three quarter blocked, they fast become nitrate factories, so keep on top of it, especially home made stuff, as bypass is more common in simple less complicated designs.

Certainly good fun playing around with it all,,,,.