dunl Posted February 10, 2004 Share Posted February 10, 2004 Has anyone used these faithfully, and can describe to me how well they work? Also are they used just in conjunction with other filters, or are these used just in small fry tanks? Thanks, Dunl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Panga Posted February 10, 2004 Share Posted February 10, 2004 i havent tried those DIY filters yet so i cant really comment. I make another type when im in desperate need for a filter. Here is a pic. I use it in conjuction with corner air filters and it seems to work very well. All you need is a good container and a little powerhead and the filter media and your away. Just pump the water up into the container and through media and it drains straight back into the tank. each to there own i guess. You just have to find what works best for yourself. HTH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gav Posted February 10, 2004 Share Posted February 10, 2004 i use them quite a bit. I find them simply awesome. I always have some running, even if I don't need them, that way I can set a tank up straight away. for me setting up a tank means adding water and chucking in a couple of ice cream containers till the main filtration is up and working. they work fine on their own or in conjunction with other filtration. just use as many as you need to keep the water clean. not like it costs much to get em ready either . so yeah, best damn filter for the worlds best price.... its free! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah Posted February 10, 2004 Share Posted February 10, 2004 Hi Panga does the water drain back to the tank through a hole/s in the bottom of the container as i can see only one pipe . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dunl Posted February 10, 2004 Author Share Posted February 10, 2004 How many gallons would one of these filter? I have one hooked to an Elite800 air pump.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mbuna Posted February 10, 2004 Share Posted February 10, 2004 does the water drain back to the tank through a hole/s in the bottom of the container as i can see only one pipe its looks as if there is a pipe coming out the bottom right hand corner of the container. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoges Posted February 10, 2004 Share Posted February 10, 2004 okay, i'm going to ask what may come across as a very dumb question, but doesn't an airpump blow air??? How do you suck the water out of the tank and into the filter? Call my dumb but I just don't understand Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah Posted February 11, 2004 Share Posted February 11, 2004 Mbuna that airpipe on the right hand side of the pic is actually leading into the tank im assuming that is running the corner filter , i was curious as to where the pipe was leading the water back to the tank , Hoges the powerhead located inside the tank is pumping the water up the black pipe into the plastic container . still cant figure though how the water is getting back into the tank from the container Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OziOscar Posted February 11, 2004 Share Posted February 11, 2004 If you look closely at the bootom right of the container, there looks like there is a jury-rigged bulkhead connector and pipe leading back to the tank. The bulkhead looks like it's metal... Cheers - OziOscar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Gutty Posted February 11, 2004 Share Posted February 11, 2004 EDIT: Do'h beaten to it again.............what OziOscar said. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah Posted February 11, 2004 Share Posted February 11, 2004 thanks Guys i can see it , Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Panga Posted February 11, 2004 Share Posted February 11, 2004 sorry guyz & galz i should have explained a little better. Yes the air line running in to tank runs the corner filter. Has no metal parts involved. and yes the outlet is in the bottem right corner of container. sorry to confuse you all Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah Posted February 11, 2004 Share Posted February 11, 2004 Panga it looks to me like one of those cereal plastic containers how did you manage to make the hole for the fitting without cracking the plastic, i find the plastic cracks easily on household plastic containers, no doubt im probably not using the right tools, its a great idea though what you have done Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Panga Posted February 11, 2004 Share Posted February 11, 2004 thx Sarah. The way i did the hole was i started with a small drill bit and drilled the small hole first. Then i got a bigger bit each time and did it that way. I took my time as you said the plastic can split very easy. Yeah its just a everyday tuperware container. I used it so i could place the lid on top (but not air tight) to stop dust etc falling into filter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OziOscar Posted February 11, 2004 Share Posted February 11, 2004 What is the outlet made of?? Also, if you put the container in hot / near boiling water for a few minutes, it softens it enough so that you can drill through with the right sized bit in one go at low RPM. Only works on polypropylene containers (softish lunch box, *upperware, etc) but not on polycarbonate (hard shiny, super clear) stuff. Cheers - OziOscar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dunl Posted February 11, 2004 Author Share Posted February 11, 2004 So again.... How many gallons would one of these filter? I have one hooked to an Elite800 air pump.... And I am also wondering...I have a plastic top on the pop bottle, to let a smaller amount of air out at a time. Is the air just rising to the top, or is it creating a vacuum that is sucking water in? I don't see anything being sucked into it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Panga Posted February 11, 2004 Share Posted February 11, 2004 What is the outlet made of?? Black plastic. I think i picked it up years ago from hardware. The right angle piece fits in snuggly the right angle peices you get to join black poly pipe ( i think thats what it is called ) the stuff used for watering systems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter_Gun_Riff Posted February 11, 2004 Share Posted February 11, 2004 Thats a nice idea i might make one just got to think how i could hid it abit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fiona Posted February 11, 2004 Share Posted February 11, 2004 Getting back to the subject of DIY ice cream container filters, here are a couple of mine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dunl Posted February 11, 2004 Author Share Posted February 11, 2004 Do you need the length of tubing on the end of the filter? And how many gallons would they filter? Thanks, Dunl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Gutty Posted February 11, 2004 Share Posted February 11, 2004 How many gallons it will filter depends on what size container you use, how much water flow you can get through it and how much media you put it. Not an easily answerable question. As for the pipe out the top, never used these so would rather not answer but i'd imagine you don't "really" need it. Matt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew Posted February 11, 2004 Share Posted February 11, 2004 G'day Dunl I cannot be specific about how much water goes through the filter , but I have single icecream filters in my 2 foot tanks. On one of the four foot tank I have two icecream filters {only}. This tank has 10 breading adult saulosi, 3 dubosi (visiting) and a breeding pair of bristlies with some fry as well. There are no problems at all with this tank. I suppose the only downside is that you have to gravel syphon when doing water changes. As there is insufficient water movement to suck out heaps of the rubbish. So in summary it is a fantastic biological filter but not the best mechanical filter. (But believe me they work, just wait until you clean them, mine turn almost black) If you find that they are not working well enough, just add more, I have seen four in a four foot tank that was way overstocked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mbuna Posted February 11, 2004 Share Posted February 11, 2004 and for even more power, you can just add a powerhead to the top of the bottle! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dunl Posted February 11, 2004 Author Share Posted February 11, 2004 G'day Matthew, Thanks for the information. I have one in a 4ft tank right now, and it's a pretty understocked tank right now, but it will do the trick until I get a HOT filter for the tank. My only concern was that the air might be just "floating" through the water up and out of the filter, and not sucking any water in.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fiona Posted February 12, 2004 Share Posted February 12, 2004 That was why I put the tubes on top of mine, to make a better uplift of water. Those ones DEFINITELY circulate the water. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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