speed0factory

this is the first time i'm writing on a forum, so please bear with me if i did something wrong.
i'm now going to show you i i DIY my canister filter, because i think that buying one is not worth it.

1st step:
Things that you need: 1 container,
2 water tubes,
2 connectors,
1 Clear RTV Silicone tube
1 Magic Nails Tube
1 Ball Valve
1 Submersible water pump


2nd Step
Cut the wire of pump, and strip it as show.


3rd Step
Drill another hole for the wire of the pump, and put the wire through the hole.
The hole should be small then the diameter of the wire.


4th Step:
Open the cover of the container and drill a hole on it, make sure the hole is smaller then the submersible water pump pipe.
(Note: If the hole is too small, just use a round file to file it, so that you will get a tight fit hole for the submersible water pump)


5th Step
Seal the pipe of the water pump using a sealing tape, and try to squeeze it through the hole. Attach the pipe to it.


6th step
Use the magic nail to hole the tube and wire in place, and then seal it with silicone.


In the end, you will have something like this.
Now for the bottom of the container.


7th Step
Dill a small hole on the bottom of the container, and the hole should be tight fit for the connector to pass through.


8th Step
Seal the tip of the connector with a sealing tape, and connect the tube to the connector.
(Note: if water is passing out of the connector then use the magic nail to hole the tube and silicone to seal it.)


9th Step
This step is optional for those who do not want to have a control valve for the outlet.
For this step you just need to put the sealing tape on the connector, connect it to the ball control valve.


Final look when everything is done.

For the positioning of the filter, it should be as low away from the tank, because the filter is using the gravitational pull for the water to go to the filter. It’s impossible for it to use the suction pull of the water pump to suck the water from the tank.

Have a nice day DIY it, for the DIY dude, WE ROCK.

Done by Speed0factory

speed0factory

The water in both the tank and filter after one week

aquarist48

Hello Speed and Welcome to Fish Lore. A great DIY project! I'm sure many members will find this very helpful! Thanks for sharing it with us step by step and the photos are great!
Your tank looks beautiful! What do you have in it?
Have fun and enjoy the site!
Ken

speed0factory

thank you for your reply Aquarist48, but i really donno what kind of fish i had.
But i had a few plant and 6 fishes.

Tony G.

Welcome to Fishlore!

great idea! Im sure many will find this useful!

Tavel

Very nice. I might recommend plumber's putty to seal the joints instead. It's made for the purpose and works very well. It'll reduce the process slightly by eliminating the need for additional silicon sealant.

NOTE: plumber's putty is also sold under the "As Seen on TV" brand as "Mighty Putty"...so if you have that for some reason, use it!

speed0factory

thank you all for being so kind, and for the Mighty Putty i never heard before as i'm in malaysia. i do not know wether malaysia have this stuff

namehater

looks good, but could you post up bigger photos? instead of using any sort of putty, why not just use aquarium quality silicone?

Tavel

speed0factory: I'm sure you have plumber's putty, it's a pretty standard supply. Look in the plumbing section of the hardware store, it comes in tubes.

no structural integrity. The interfaces would flex every time the filter's moved or serviced and the seals would fail very quickly.

Silicon sealant is only used in places that already have structure, like between two pieces of glass (where it's used merely as an adhesive).

namehater

thanks for the insite, i had not even thought of that!

speed0factory

Actually, the posted picture is the second product. The first Canister filter i made failed terribly, because i used the silicone without the magic nail (i do not know what's magic nail really is, the hardware shop's people intro me to use this). Then when the silicone dry up, it just peel off.

Therefore i abort my first Canister filter, and ask help from the hardware shop. They told me to apply the magic nail first and wait for it to dry up (when it's dried up, it became so hard that it felt like stone), after it dry up then apply the silicone (for preventing leakage of water). So i used this for my second and last DIY Canister filter.

So after testing it for a week, it actually still have abit of leakage. But nevermind, you just have to apply somemore silicone to it will do.

It had been one week from the day i last applied the silicone, result no more water leakage problem.

mommybaby295

Wow, very creative. I'm impressed!

speed0factory

thank you so much i'm gald that you like it.

speed0factory

whoever try to do this do it wisely, as the pump temperature will rise due to the inlet or outlet is being stuck. which will cos the pump to work harder, so chose you container properly and think about the size and flow rate of your pump. never chose something which is the same size to your tank or a very strong pump.