External "Flow through" Canister Filter

[Wes]

Shocked by the prices of the real makoy, I decided to make my own with a little DIY for you guys to use.

Tools needed:
Pliers
Silicone Gun
Twin Flex
Hacksaw
Stool
Sandpaper
Scissors
Spirit Level
Drill
Belt(leather) Holds your jeans pant up
A better camera than mine if you intent to do tjis DIY
Fingers
Brain
A little intuition
Patience, lots
http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk46/wezuk762/Tools2.jpg
Items:
Builders Wharehouse(3 Sections 1.Piping 2.Plumbing 3.Irrigation)
Money(Not Much)
1m of 110mm Toilet plumbing piping
3m 12mm clear piping
Submurseable pump(Spelling :sick:)
12mm to 15mm Reducers
Rubber anti-slip matting(the black stuff in the picture)Not between the tiles...
Silicone, a tube would do, you don't really need the gun type size
PVC glue
110mm Screw Stop-ends
Cermaic Noodles
Aquarium Filter Carbon
Aquarium Filter Wool/Sponge
http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk46/wezuk762/EquipmentandTools.jpg
Mark and cut pipe
http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk46/wezuk762/MarkforPipeLength.jpg
http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk46/wezuk762/InitialCutonFirstmarking.jpg
Skew like mine if you like. I used the belt to mark it, but the hacksaw kinda follows it's own path... Oh ye of little patience...
http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk46/wezuk762/InitiallyCutSkew.jpg
Sand the edges
http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk46/wezuk762/SandingInitialCut.jpg
Very Skew
http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk46/wezuk762/LevelofInitialCut.jpg

No worries if it's skew, you can simply use the screw ends to straighten it up, they sit straight themselves anyways once you drop the pipe into them.
http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk46/wezuk762/LevelofInitialCut2.jpg
Mark holes for the 12mm to 15mm reducers
http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk46/wezuk762/PipeConnectorSideView.jpg
http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk46/wezuk762/PipeConnectorfrontviewO.jpg
http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk46/wezuk762/Settingupholeforsideconnector.jpg
Make hole bigger with 1/4" Wrench handle if you don't have a round file on hand.
http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk46/wezuk762/PipeConnectorholewithratchetmakingitbigger.jpg
I cut and angled my reducer to disperse water evenly.
http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk46/wezuk762/PipeConnectorAngledafterbeingcut2.jpg
Use a little PVC glue to hold the reducers in place, once the glue dry's hammer it with silicone.
http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk46/wezuk762/PipeConnectorinCylinder.jpg
Making the insert trays was rather frustrating
Used a off-cut of the 110 mm toilet piping
http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk46/wezuk762/Insertbeforeslit.jpg
Cut it
http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk46/wezuk762/InsertAfterSlit.jpg
Mark it once the crew cap is in place, I made the mistake by not having the cap in place, so they wouldn't fit...
http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk46/wezuk762/InsertinCylinderformarking-1.jpg
http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk46/wezuk762/InsertwithMark.jpg
http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk46/wezuk762/InsertwithMarkCut.jpg
Use the cut peice to join the insert trays
http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk46/wezuk762/InsertClampedcloseupofsmallpeices.jpg
Use the twin flex to hold the pressure till the silicone or PVC glue dries, I tried Both and they both worked, once the meshing is in it holds everything together well anyways
http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk46/wezuk762/InsertClamped.jpg
http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk46/wezuk762/InsertwithRubberGauze.jpg
http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk46/wezuk762/InsertwithRubberGauze2.jpg
http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk46/wezuk762/InsertwithRubberGauze3.jpg
The cap ends are then just simply stuck in place with the PVC glue. I battled to get 100% seal on the cap end screw where the screw meets the cap end screw retainer. I then tried a few pieces of canvas to sort out the leaking, no help, then pasted silicone in the corner of the cap end screw pieces, seemed to resolve the issue.

However it should be resolved if you have the submerseable pump inside the actual device, my pump sits inside my tank and pushes water through the canister, lot's of pressure, if it were inside the canister there would be less of an issue.

Be patient, I'm doing another one this week to see if it works out better.

I left the system to run in the bath all night to make 100% sure, build took me 3 days had to wait for it all to dry. The Inserts simply lie on top of each other, first insert(closest to the bottom) has the noodles then the next one has the Carbon, then i just stuffed a whole bunch of wool into the canister. Water flows from the bottom to the top.

Been running almost a week now 100%

1/4 of the price of the Canister filters :)
http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk46/wezuk762/Cyliderinplace2.jpg
http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk46/wezuk762/Cyliderinplace.jpg

Hope you enjoyed it. :)

[mxz]

Nicely done!!!

[shihr]

The cap ends are then just simply stuck in place with the PVC glue

umm how would u change or clean the filter media then?



Use the cut peice to join the insert trays


very clever! never thought of this :P

[Firefly]

Very nicely done. I want to try this now but I would probably flood the house somehow.

[Wes]

umm how would u change or clean the filter media then?





very clever! never thought of this :P

The Access madoofie screws off.
http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk46/wezuk762/StopEndFemalewithaccessScrewlid.jpg
http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk46/wezuk762/StopEndFemalewithaccessScrewlidClose.jpg
http://i277.photobucket.com/albums/kk46/wezuk762/StopEndLabel.jpg

[shihr]

oh sorry.. i thought that it glued on :P why dont u try this kind of a design.. with pvc obviously..super jet filter

http://www.aquajournal.net/na/stories_behind/005/images/index_02.jpg

Link:
http://www.aquajournal.net/na/stories_behind/index.html

[shihr]

ur design reminded me of this one..MR AMANO's filter

[Wes]

Not seen to many pumps look like that?

[tracyp]

Well done, Wes & thanks for sharing! I really like that this has obviously been put together with ordinary tools. I have so far only built a bucket filter for a goldfish tub, pretty much copied off the web. But since then, have de-mystified a number of people who I have come across who are keen on the idea, but falter at the initial setup costs of an aquarium. When I show them my outside filter (also put together with bits and pieces that came pretty cheap & ordinary household tools, they leave all inspired. I'm not yet in need of a canister filter for the inside tanks, but had put together a very similar head-plan to yours for the future. I shall look forward to the new improved version...

[Wes]

Well done, Wes & thanks for sharing! I really like that this has obviously been put together with ordinary tools. I have so far only built a bucket filter for a goldfish tub, pretty much copied off the web. But since then, have de-mystified a number of people who I have come across who are keen on the idea, but falter at the initial setup costs of an aquarium. When I show them my outside filter (also put together with bits and pieces that came pretty cheap & ordinary household tools, they leave all inspired. I'm not yet in need of a canister filter for the inside tanks, but had put together a very similar head-plan to yours for the future. I shall look forward to the new improved version...

;)

[Toby]

well done :) thanks for the great step by step DIY