trofius Posted April 29, 2006 Share Posted April 29, 2006 HEy all I have made these very simple and yet effective filters for two of my 6x2x2 Tropheus tanks. here is a pic of pretty much everything i used, The tub was $16 from bunnings and any container could do, i chose this one as it was low and almost wide enough to sit on the edge of the tanks, well it sits on the rails anyway, the spray bar is a 20mm riser and a few extra fittings as you can see. Total cost <$50 I chose a 45cm spraybar as it fits neatly in the tub length ways. i drilled 4mm holes strait through about 1cm apart all the way done, this proved too steep for this pump (2000lph) and had to swap it for the one i previously made with the holes 90 degress apart. With the 2000lph pump and holes 180deg apart it sprayed strait into the walls of the tub 40cm wide! I cut a 4mm section off a joiner to add a shoulder to the spraybar, along with a rubber washer, and an elbow on the outside i have a bulkhead, i drilled a 20mm hole in one end, to accomadate this. Be gentle but i shattered one end of a tub by pushing a bit hard with the drill bit. You can see that i drilled a 38mm hole in the middle bottom to allow for the water to leave, it is a good idea to also drill a hole in the side to allow any excess water to drain out if it should get to full/heavy. You can also see how the spraybar, bulkhead goes together in the end of the tub. I put the filter at one end of th etank and the pump at the bottom at the other end, linked them with 20mm pvc tube utilizing a few elbows and screw clamps, or if you heat up the hose with hot water, cable ties are equally effective. Here is a pic of it pumping water, no filter media in it at present. For filter media i am using just the wadding that you can get from spotlight, it is best if you place it on a piece of egg crate or similar to get the wadding off the bottom, and allow the water to freely leave the container, at present i have it on th ebottom and it is maybe 4cm deep as the wadding prevents easy flow from the containers. I cut the lids of the tank to accomadate the tubs, they are themselves the lids, and if you get a tub with lids it is much quieter. Hope you get how to make it, and have a go its easy, and it works a treat, easy to clean, and to see how dirty it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
10050460 Posted April 29, 2006 Share Posted April 29, 2006 great picture an effort! can you please post a picture of the whole setup running on the tank if you can! thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wui39 Posted April 29, 2006 Share Posted April 29, 2006 Looks good! My on;y concern has always been where I can mount it. Since I hae to have hoods on my display tanks it get hard to do such a unit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spedwards Posted April 29, 2006 Share Posted April 29, 2006 Nice work, I've thought about this sort of thing before but the old cannister is too convenient! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Posted April 29, 2006 Share Posted April 29, 2006 Nice, good job. Did you find the plastic tub cracked at all when drilling it? I think the trick is to drill very slowly. Bruce Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trofius Posted April 29, 2006 Author Share Posted April 29, 2006 Is this what you want, i dont think i can get an entire tank shot as i cant go back far enough. As for room i think they could be accomadated withing a hood here are the two 6x2x2 tanks with the filters sitting on top. You can see how far it creates bubbles, and on the bottom you can see that the water leaving the filters has moved all the sand, with a maximum of 6 inched of head hieght there is very little flow loss, the top tub is turing over about 1500lph, the bottom one about 1800lph. Running for 3 days, and the tank looks heaps better already, you can see the crud it has collected. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh Posted April 29, 2006 Share Posted April 29, 2006 Super effort Mick I love filters that are basic and work well Josh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LucifersJester Posted April 30, 2006 Share Posted April 30, 2006 That is a fantastic DIY effort and I especially like the photographs! Well Done and Thanks heaps! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D6C1 Posted May 1, 2006 Share Posted May 1, 2006 I'm curious. How heavy does the tub get? And are you resting it on the back and front glass sheets or on the supporting brace? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jebe Posted May 2, 2006 Share Posted May 2, 2006 on 10mm glass it Wont know the tub is there, I stand on the corners of 6mm tanks to grab stuff of the top rack and im 105kg. I do not recommend this! as I am agile like a CAT! I can get away with doing it lol nice work Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huzzy Posted May 3, 2006 Share Posted May 3, 2006 I do not recommend this! as I am agile like a CAT! I can get away with doing it. ← lol....i can see you in an episode of "wriglies believe it or not". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YeW Posted May 3, 2006 Share Posted May 3, 2006 These work very well, I made my first many, many years back and highly recommend this type of filter. Here's my version: http://www.sydneycichlid.com/content/?page_id=15 Just make sure the outlet back into the tank is big. How big? As big as you can make it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trofius Posted May 3, 2006 Author Share Posted May 3, 2006 they get to maybe 3cm deep but thus will change when i lift the filter wool from the bottom. and will be very similar to how Yew had his. and that was before i even saw his pics lol, great minds blah blah... currently they sit on the side braces, and have been turned off because of this, it should be ok but no risk is better than some! I am going to make frame from perspex and support the weight on the tank sides, they are 25mm too short to reach the sides at their base....bugger. i even cut the lids to accomadate them, so they are here to stay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CThompson Posted May 9, 2006 Share Posted May 9, 2006 One of the advantages you will have here is ease of access for cleaning. But if I were to offer a suggestion, it would to some extent take away, or at least reduce this advantage. I would suggest putting in more than one grade of mechanical filtration, for example, camaharda-bio mat. I know it's expensive stuff.... You could also add under the white wool, Aquasonic's blue Polishing Mat, which is a grade finer than white wool. It is also a bit expensive (not as much as bio-mat though), but it is washable and I have seen no deterioration in mine after nearly a year of operation/washings. I remember when Yew posted this idea up as well. In regards to the question of its weight, I remember Yew mentioned that they do not get very heavy as the water is passing through, and not stopping for a holiday. I would also emphasis Yew's point in making sure there are plenty of ways for the water can get out. I'd even consider making 4-5mm holes all over the bottom (with egg-crate immediately before these holes as you have done to prevent blockage), so the water comes out of the filter in a shower head mode. Probably a bit noisy, but in your garage not too much of an issue. I saw your garage door. Does you garage get hot in summer? Mine does, but since I put a sheet hanging from the front of the door, I've not had to do any cold water changes trying to bring the temperature down. Doesn't look the best, but a man's got to sort out the priorities. The only other suggestion I could make would be to have some sort of quick off/on connection where the hose goes into the bulk-head fitting. Something along the lines of an Eheim double tap connector. That way when you are doing maintenance on the tank, it would be a simple matter of taking the filter away by disconnecting at the taps. Craig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trofius Posted May 9, 2006 Author Share Posted May 9, 2006 HEy Craig thanks for the comments, i purposly chose the lower size tubs as i didnt want to get them too complicated but yes i could add something later, i now actually have egg crate the full size of the tub, it sits about 3-4cm up off the bottom on the wheel allowances in the tub, and now have 3x 38mm holes in the bottom , water is now only about 5-10mm deep. have thought of adding a heap of gutter guard as biofiltration under this, the foam is 3 layers and stops 99% of any gunk, water is pretty clear so i am happy with the performance so far. As for quick on off thingys, taps wont be needed as, as soon as you turn off the pump the lines are emptied out. i have and could use fittings like on the washing machine hoses understand??? kinda screw on barbs but are two pieces, so the hose doesnt turn when you turn the fitting. Garage door yes it gets hot...and damm cold, I last week covered it with 8 X 4x2, 20mm polystyrene panels and it made a HUGE difference. aircon is just blowing fan most of the time I am going to refit them attached/sandwiched between two sheets of 3mm ply/mdf, paint em and have a poster wall, it will be in 2 sections, and maybe a door if i get creative.. If this works i might even do the other end and isolate the laundry...Ohh and all tanks next to the door actually have 20mm foam attached to the ends I find the other bad part about the rollar door is when they are down there is a bigish gap at the top which lets out your hot air, i have a 25cm strip of rubber that i have got to affix up there somehow to stop the opening, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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