Completed with plans behind the tank sump

Here is my new DIY biofilter.
This design is closer to a true sump and can hold a lot more bio media than the 1st one I built and is also a lot more convenient as the lid can be opened and closed as needed which was quite a task with the 1st one.
The containers are cut off 2l bottles, therefore the sump is cheap and affordable a plus when your a student.
This is basically how it works
The power head provides mechanical filtration as the water is pushed towards:
-[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]1st compartment – filter wool mechanical and bio filtration
-[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]2nd compartment – plastic pot scrubbers bio filtration
-[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]3rd compartment – bio balls bio filtration
-[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]4th compartment – ceramic rings bio filtration
The filter fits neatly on a shelf behind the tank. And is nicely hidden from the front view. There is only one trick to this filter keep the return water pipes water level above the tanks water line and you will have no problems just make sure the outlets are at least double the width of the inlets. This filter/sump provides an additional 6.25l Bio filter to my 72l tank the possibilities are truly endless for the behind the tank sump. If you have space behind the tank you can use 4 x 10l cylinders and modify accordingly. The overflows are safeguards in case something blocks the flow pipes and there are airlines run into the filter to run whilst there is a power cut on battery power to ensure all the bio bacteria have enough oxygen and don’t all die off. You can add another 4 compartments and add chemical filtration a heater and more bio filtration. The corner filter you see is only there to provide bio filtration to the tank in power cuts as we have many in my area and aeration is not enough when its 12+ hours. The water is still crystal clear there is minimal movement within the tank as the tank is planted and needs minimal movement the tanks water is very stable as the 2 otos I have, have had no problems and all the fish are happy and healthy. I just have lace curtain to cover the sump to make sure nothing falls in. It works on the same principle as the 1st one and wen there is a power cut the water drains only 1-2cm allowing all the media to stay wet and then the battery pump supplies the oxygen through water movement to them and the main tank. Here are the plans and the pictures hope they help.

Here are some pics to show how my tanks changed from feb to april to may

 

That last one is a great little betta setup, why not make your GF the same?

 

Nice DIY there. Looking foreward to future DIY's from you.

 

@vis that's way to much filtration for the betta tank
@zoom ill have a diy moonlight and diy fry box up in about 2 weeks with plans etc you can see the fry box in the top left corner of the tank. My rosy finned tetras spawned this morning and scattered eggs all over the tank want to keep some fry and see if I can raise them

 

You mentioned that you were going to try this on a larger scale I think this design is perfect to bump up the volume and also a lot more convenient than the last one I had. Let me know what happened