DIY Aquarium Bottle Filter Using Air Pump

How to build aquarium internal bottle filter:

Internal filters are designed to provide filtration by sucking water & allowing water to escape which creates suction, & it sucks debris & waste particles. A foam inside the internal filter allows water to escape but traps the waste particles. Also internal filters can provide other types of filtration such as chemical & biological which keeps water clean.

Internal filters are completely submerged in water. Most of the internal filters’ outlet is located beneath the surface of water.

How to make simple aquarium filter

Tools:

Tools required to build DIY aquarium internal bottle filter:

1. Electric Drill
2. Drill bits
3. Access to an air pump

Materials:

Materials needed to make aquarium internal bottle filter:

1. Plastic Bottle
2. Tube / Hose
3. Foam

DIY cheap tank filter for aquarium:

Please watch the video on making cheap filter for aquarium & don't forget to provide your feedback in the comment section.

How to make simple aquarium filter

In this video I will show you how to build a DIY aquarium internal bottle filter. It is a very simple filter & you can build it quickly & it is cheap as well. This filter boosts colonies of good bacteria & I have filled this filter with bio media so that it can provide biological filtration & a coarse foam removes all the debris before it enters biological filtration zone.

I have added a stepwise tutorial of making simple aquarium filter:

Step 1: Drill holes in the bottle:

Drill holes in bottle

The first step of making DIY tank internal filter requires drilling some holes in the bottle. Drill some holes in the cap of the bottle [1], & heaps of holes at the bottom [2], & one hole just below the cap on either side of the bottle [3]. Push a hose through the hole on the side & attach the other end of the hose to an air pump. Also you can drill one or two holes on side of the bottle [4] & insert suction cups to attach it to the aquarium glass.

Step 2: Setup of aquarium bottle filter:

Setup of aquarium bottle filter

Position your bottle upside down in the aquarium & connect the hose to an air pump. Air from pump will travel through the hose, & it will pass through the bio media & it will escape from the top of the bottle. This will produce suction of water from the bottom of bottle. Also add a coarse foam at the bottom of bottle for mechanical filtration so that waste particles do not enter biological filtration zone & clog up the biological media.

Step 3: Add mechanical & biological filtration media:

Add mechanical & biological filtration media

Internal bottle filter can offer 2 types of filtration: mechanical & biological. I have used coarse foam as mechanical filtration media [1] which does not allow debris to enter bio media. For bio media I have used ceramic noodles [2] that has pores for growing heaps of good bacteria inside these pores. Also it is advisable to add some cycled media to speed the process of growing beneficial bacteria.

Pros & cons of internal bottle filter:

Internal bottle filter is inexpensive & it is easy to build it at home. It can provide quiet operation & can be operated with an air pump which provides aeration & helps produce more oxygen. It is simple to maintain an internal bottle filter because it is easy to clean it & replace the mechanical media after long period of operation. Also it can provide biological filtration to keep water clear. However, internal bottle filter does not work well in bigger tanks that contain over 20 gallons of water. It uses aquarium space & reduces the space required for fish to swim. The debris sucked by internal bottle filter will be visible if the filter is made up of transparent material which will lower the beauty of your fancy aquarium.