DIY Filter For Aquarium:
Filters are costly & you may
not find a filter suitable for your aquarium, especially if your aquarium is
big. Many people love building their own filters to meet their aquarium
requirements. This post will definitely help you to make aquarium filter at home.
After reading DIY Canister Filter
tutorial you will learn how to build a tank filter using a plastic food
container, vinyl tubing & submersible pump. This filter is like a canister
filter with DIY inlet & outlet tube & fully sealed which avoids the
risk of leaking. DIY aquarium filter can be built within few hours, however, it
needs lots of time for silicon to completely cure before testing it in my betta
aquarium.
Select a tube which is big enough
to match the intake valve of your powerhead. When you select a powerhead, then
make sure it pumps twice as much water per hour as the amount of water in your aquarium.
How to Build DIY Filter For Fish Tank:
Watch video tutorial for making DIY canister filter for fish tank:
DIY Filter For Fish Tank
Step 1:
Mark 2 holes for inlet &
outlet flow of water. Be gentle while drilling because putting too much
pressure can crack the plastic. Sanding can help smoothen rough edges.
Step 2:
I am splitting joiner so I could
use it in both connections.
Step 3:
Use aquarium pump with following
specifications: 4 watts, 280 L / H at maximum height of 65 cm. Cut the power plug of powerhead
pump & drill a hole in the lid of food container.
Step 4:
Sanding is required to
avoid rough edges. Install pump inside container & pass the wire through
the small hole. Then connect the power plug.
Step 5:
Seal the connections using
aquarium safe silicone. Apply silicone gently on both inner & outer connections
of container lid. Use thin seal of silicone which can work well.
Step 6:
Filter tray is built from a
broken container. I have drilled many holes in the tray. There is a large hole
for pipe connection.
Step 7:
Cut a piece of hose. To one end
of the joiner connect the hose & to the other end connect the submersible
pump. Make holes in the coarse & fine foams, & allow the hose to pass
through it & reach the bottom of the filter after passing the filter tray.
Step 8:
I have built this DIY aquarium
filter for my betta aquarium that initially had no filter. Use coarse &
fine foams for mechanical filtration. Trap filter media in between foams.
Step 9:
It is recommended to rinse bio
media, foams, & every component before using them for aquarium. It will
remove dirt particles. I am using bacteria bio balls for quick building of
beneficial bacteria. Use filter tray which acts as a
barrier between pump & filter media.
Step 10:
Cut hose for inlet & outlet
valve. These connections are installed inside aquarium. Cut 2 more pieces of
hose. These connections are the outside connections that are connected to
aquarium inlet & outlet, filter inlet & outlet connections.
Step 11:
Use elbow connections suitable
for 10mm vinyl tubing. Make 2 holes in the inlet tube for suction cups. Attach
inlet tube to tank glass using suction cups. Also attach elbow connections to
both sides of tube. The elbow connections are attached in a way that it makes Z.
Use same procedure for outlet tubes.
Step 12:
Aquarium filter inlet is used to
allow dirty water to enter filter. Filter outlet is used for clean water to
leave the filter.
Fill the filter with water before
turning on power. Air bubbles will clear up within few minutes.
Zeolite Bio Media:
Zeolite has a large surface area and has some very important properties such as good adsorption, ion exchange capacity and chemical stability which makes it a very popular biological filter media. It is widely used as waste water filtration and aquarium filtration. Zeolite is one kind of volcanic eruption crystal which not only can remove turbidity but also has absorptive exchange function for harmful heavy metals in water such as chrome, cadmium, nickel, zinc etc.,
Material for DIY Canister Filter:
Material Used In DIY Filter Aquarium:
- Plastic Food Container
- Clear Vinyl tubing
- Vinyl Joiner
- Elbow Connectors
- Zeolite Bio Media
- Coarse and Fine Foam
- Submersible Pump
Tips:
Sponge filters do a great job for
small aquariums. However, you can also use coarse & fine foams for removing
fish waste & other debris. In this tutorial we are using coarse & fine
foam.
When you complete building your
filter & install it in aquarium then initially it will only collect
physical waste particles floating in your aquarium. But with time, good
bacteria will be developed & your filter will house it & will perform
biological filtration. Biological filtration is crucial & the reason behind
death of most of the fish in aquarium is lack of beneficial bacteria. Ammonia
is released from waste particles & it is toxic for fish. Good bacteria
breaks ammonia into nitrites which is less dangerous as compared to ammonia but
still dangerous enough to kill fish. Good bacteria further breaks nitrites into
nitrates which can be removed with regular water changes. Hence biological
filtration is very important for your aquarium.
If you install an adjustable
power pump or powerhead, it is important to note that the output power is
configured at a desirable level for the type of aquarium.
The powerhead or pump needs to
fit the appropriate size of your aquarium. Make sure you select a pump that
pumps twice as much water as what is available in your aquarium.
Warnings:
Regularly monitor your aquarium
filter to ensure it is working fine. A malfunctioning pump is dangerous for
aquarium inhabitants as well as the hobbyist.
Do not use soap or detergents for
cleaning stuff that you would use for aquarium. Even in small amounts, such
chemicals are very dangerous & can kill your aquarium inhabitants. Use only
hot water, & tank water conditioner if required.
Priming of water, or so called suction of water is not taking, it is totally air tight no leakage of water but not sucking eater from the tank, what may be the problem
ReplyDeleteyou need to fill the filter with water for the pump to start working
Deleteyou need to fill the filter with water for the pump to start working
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