DIY - Projects & Ideas • The KISS Filter DIY Project (with pictures)

[under_control]

what filter did you use. i looked at HD and the cheapest one was $11 for a 5-12micron the normal 20s were like $25.
any body find a exceptable filter at a reasonable price?

Wow... are you getting robbed? I can get a pack of 2 micron filters(3) for 6 bucks at menards.

OP--glad you found a way to make this work for you. I still love my canister filter setup with these filters that we talked about in your other thread.(this is over_stocked..._)

[Hoosier Tank]

what filter did you use. i looked at HD and the cheapest one was $11 for a 5-12micron the normal 20s were like $25.
any body find a exceptable filter at a reasonable price?

Wow... are you getting robbed? I can get a pack of 2 micron filters(3) for 6 bucks at menards.

No doubt! Go to Wal-mart I think the twin pac is like $7. Now if you get the charcoal impregnated ones they are more, but not that much... Shop around.

[Tezr]

Well, that would be a great reason to read what you are buying. The home filters have a direct list of exactly what they do. However I find it odd that any drinking water filter would wipe out your tank considering we ingest the water so it should be fine for your tank. If your tank was wiped out by the filter I would look for another root cause before blaming a drinking water filter. I know of atleast a half dozen other people that use these filters now and never heard of such an issue. Over-Stocked uses the house filters, I've used one for the past 2 weeks.. 0 issues. I'm even using a carbon impregnated filter, though I doubt I will continue to use one and will probably switch to a 30 micron or larger filter. Gotta love the 2 micron filter am using now though.. talk about crystal clear water.. wow

It may be hard to tell, but the water is much much clearer. I originally had this filter hooked up in a canister. Sadly the 50 gallon tank it was attached to developed a leak so I took the filter down. I was just sitting here the other day talking about sponge filters when the idea hit me.. and poof here it is.. simple, cheap, easy to replace... heh I suppose if you really wanted to you could run the filter with air lol

I am not saying it would not work so do not take it that way. All I am adding is that I had a really bad experience. I did not think it was the filter element either and thought it was something else when it initially happened. I later used the 2nd of the 2 pack of elements on a different tank and lost 3 or 4 fish in a span of a few hours. I removed the element and the rest of the tank survived with no issues. It appeared as if the fish could not get enough O2 as they had expanded gills when they died. I just remember it being a 2 pack of 5 or 10 micron sized elements. My guess is that maybe that Brand might have some sort of additive to prevent mold growth or something that was stripping away the O2 content of the water. When I was looking for a filter I was so paranoid that I would not use the carbon ones because I was afraid of what else might have been in them for water sterilization.

We also consume water from the tap with no ill effects try putting that in your tank. Just because it does not harm a human does not make it automatically fish safe is all I am saying. Plus we only ingest it they depend on it for O2 as well.

[MaineGuy]

i found some at Lowes for $6.50 (twin pak) trying it tonight on some not so clear water.. lets see what happens

[cichlid_junkie]

I made a similar filter with a super cheap approach. I just cut a bunch of slits in a 3/4 inch foot long piece of PVC with my circular saw. Then I wrapped it with some batting from wal-mart (not the flame retardant stuff). My water stays crystal clear. Even if I stir it up my 900gph system cleans it up within an hour or so.

The only problem I have with it it there isn't much suface area on a 3/4 in pipe. I have to replace the batting every 4-6 days. I'd like to figure out a way to slip a larger diameter filter over my slitted PVC pipe to make it last longer between changes.

For extra filtering I just wrap the pipe twice with batting

Also the batting is cheap. One bag of batting lasts me for over a year.

[MaineGuy]

got the 20 micron filters and used it on my 1/2" powerhead. just used the cone shaped bottom and insterted it into one end and took a end cap for a 1/2 pvc and pushed it into the other end. cleared up the water better than i have seen it yet. got to give this DIY a 2 thumps up for the brillant idea, ease of build and functionality

[Tezr]

http://www.bigalsonline.com/BigAlsUS/ct ... tachmentlg

[under_control]

http://www.bigalsonline.com/BigAlsUS/ctl3684/cp19167/si1378642/cl0/aquaclearquickfilterattachmentlg
http://akamai.edeal.com//images/catalog ... 037598.jpg[/img]

Thank you for linking to something that costs more and doesn't work as well. I have tried those. Nothing compares to how great these little cheapy filters can be.

Cichlid Junkie--your problem is EASILY solved. Figure out what size your power head intake is. Find a fitting that will fit it. Then get a step up to a 1 inch or 1.5 inch pipe. It may take a few different bussings to get it where youw ant it, but they are like 45 cents and you can glue them so there is no fear. I found that by adapting up to do two 90 degree turns did lots. It makes the unit more compact and is less unsightly. This way it can be hidden with the filter running horizontal with the powerhead above it. You can do this with one or two 90 degree fittings.

[Mcdaphnia]

http://www.bigalsonline.com/BigAlsUS/ctl3684/cp19167/si1378642/cl0/aquaclearquickfilterattachmentlg
http://akamai.edeal.com//images/catalog ... 037598.jpg[/img]

Thank you for linking to something that costs more and doesn't work as well. I have tried those. Nothing compares to how great these little cheapy filters can be.

Cichlid Junkie--your problem is EASILY solved. Figure out what size your power head intake is. Find a fitting that will fit it. Then get a step up to a 1 inch or 1.5 inch pipe. It may take a few different bussings to get it where youw ant it, but they are like 45 cents and you can glue them so there is no fear. I found that by adapting up to do two 90 degree turns did lots. It makes the unit more compact and is less unsightly. This way it can be hidden with the filter running horizontal with the powerhead above it. You can do this with one or two 90 degree fittings.

Or simplify.... cut a rectangle of your floss mat that will reach from bottom to top of the tank. Poke a hole in it near the bottom.

Put a few inches of tubing on your powerhead outflow if it needs it for this. Push the extended end through the hole in the floss.

Set the powerhead in a back bottom corner of the tank and push the floss against the walls to form a triangle in the corner. The less fittings and tubing you add to the powerhead, the more power it has.

Since all of the floss is now vertical, you don't get those dead spots where the floss rests against the bottom or has debris landing on top of it. If you want to doll it up a little you can add rails to put a pretty curve into the floss as suggested below.

http://www.janrigter.nl/mattenfilter/

....or you can let the suction of the pump hold the floss in place.

[Tezr]

Granted the filter I linked is not to be used full time it is just meant to be a polisher but the cost is nil especially since you do not need an adapter or time spent fabricating (do not get me wrong fabricating is half the fun) and it is a 1 micron size. I spend more than that on ghost shrimp every week. I do like the filter type that Mcdaphnia described above. Plus I got lazy I just cut a slit in the top of some AQ 70 sponges and stuck it over the intakes of my power heads.

[MaineGuy]

ok i'm with Tezr on this one. i used a 20micron filter and it just about killed my fish after 3 days. it did clear the water up nicely to good i guess. the fish were all crowded in one corner gasping for air it looked like. i took out the filter and did a 10g wc (30g tank) added a bunch of aquarium salt and some stress. an hour later they appeared to be getting better. 1 died and 1 doesnt look like he is going to make it. IF i used it again i would not leave it in more than a day and a half.

[bulldogg7]

Is this mystery fish loss due to the filters getting clogged and creating an area of low pressure, and basically boiling the oxygen out of the water? Like popping a a champagne bottle? Once it hits low pressure all the absorbed gases expand and release?

[under_control]

ok i'm with Tezr on this one. i used a 20micron filter and it just about killed my fish after 3 days. it did clear the water up nicely to good i guess. the fish were all crowded in one corner gasping for air it looked like. i took out the filter and did a 10g wc (30g tank) added a bunch of aquarium salt and some stress. an hour later they appeared to be getting better. 1 died and 1 doesnt look like he is going to make it. IF i used it again i would not leave it in more than a day and a half.

I assure you that it wasn't this filters fault. I have used them in 6 different tanks from livebearers to discus, to malawi. Many of my tanks these cartridges(and their designated housings) are my only filtration.

Either it was somehow contaminated or something else went wrong.

It shouldn't create any deads spots either, as youa ren't removing any of your filtration to use this.

[under_control]

Is this mystery fish loss due to the filters getting clogged and creating an area of low pressure, and basically boiling the oxygen out of the water? Like popping a a champagne bottle? Once it hits low pressure all the absorbed gases expand and release?

I don't even understand how you came to this conclusion. You aren't removing your other filtration so there is no dead spot. It does not get anywhere near enough to boil the oxygen out, or remove much at all, especially since you have other filtration running and should have surface agitation still.

The champagne bottle refrence makes little to no sense at all with an biological issue this filter or your tank could create.

[Tezr]

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/phpBB/view ... p?t=160948

Something to do with pressure and nitrogen and oxygen gases separating in pressure or such - pump draws too much water out through the filter in relation to the amount of water actually pushing through the filter media.. In large scale centrifugal pumps this can result in some real problems such as "exploding" pump chambers.. In aquaria, the only problem I've heard is this bubble-issue. But as Mcdaphnia pointed out restricting the outflow should solve the situation.