Drilled Tank Canister Filter

Hello,

I am going to have a paludarium that has a few small fish and shrimp in the water area in the bottom (less than 10 inches deep). It will be about 10-15 gallons. I'm going to need a filter for this, so I was thinking about drilling the tank and attaching a canister filter through some bulkheads. Given that I will be using a tall tank (Exo terra 36x18x36), running the canister hoses over the top, behind the background doesn't seem like a possible thing to do.

So, is there a better way? And what is the best way to plumb a Fluval 106 or equivalent canister filter to my tank in this case?

Thanks

 

AquaticJ is great with canisters. Hopefully he sees this. Why do you want to drill it though? You can use an overflow box.

 

AquaticJ is great with canisters. Hopefully he sees this. Why do you want to drill it though? You can use an overflow box.

I figured just having an external canister filter would make it simpler. I'm new to this stuff, with aquariums, I've always just used HOB filter stuff.
This is the type of enclosure:

 

umm how high are you going to have the water? that could be a trick to make water tight

 

umm how high are you going to have the water? that could be a trick to make water tight

The base is supposed to be able to hold water (and has been water tested for a couple days). It'll be about 6 inches of water.

The base is supposed to be able to hold water (and has been water tested for a couple days). It'll be about 6 inches of water.

All I plan to have in the water is shrimp and a few tetras.

 

Ill let AquaticJ weigh in on it but a canister is some wicked overkill in my opinion.

 

Ill let AquaticJ weigh in on it but a canister is some wicked overkill in my opinion.

I can't help but feel maybe overall since this is a small volume of water (10-15 gallons) that I would be better off just making like a 10 gallon sump. Then I could just drill in a bulkhead for overflow to go into the sump?

 

Even a 106 would be kind of overkill, and in my opinion, if you're gunna drill it then you should do a sump. Ironically, NavyChief20 is who to talk to about that he's a sump master.

 

A sump is massive filtration. It is do able and you can certainly make one for this very inexpensively. All you would need is some pvc parts, a pump or powerhead and a vessel for the sump. Trickle towers are quite easy and cost effective but there are other styles as well. Joey at King of DIY on youtube has some great info on how to build a sump and various styles. I can help with that too as all my tanks are on sumps. You need to ask yourself if you need that much filtration though.

 

A sump is massive filtration. It is do able and you can certainly make one for this very inexpensively. All you would need is some pvc parts, a pump or powerhead and a vessel for the sump. Trickle towers are quite easy and cost effective but there are other styles as well. Joey at King of DIY on youtube has some great info on how to build a sump and various styles. I can help with that too as all my tanks are on sumps. You need to ask yourself if you need that much filtration though.

I saw some of Joey's videos on Youtube and I found out, interestingly enough I only live an hour away from him!
I honestly just want to do what will be better for the health of the fish so I can have clean water and stable conditions. If I can avoid drilling, I'd be totally cool with that, but I'm fine with drilling.
What do you guys think?

 

what is the foot print of the tank? 36"x18"x10"? That's 28 gallons. You could do either a canister or a sump really. I'm not sure how much room you have under it or behind it.

 

what is the foot print of the tank? 36"x18"x10"? That's 28 gallons. You could do either a canister or a sump really. I'm not sure how much room you have under it or behind it.

So, with stuff I have in the water and measurements I had of the tank, the exact volume will be 11.2 gallons. I'm going to have the paludarium on a table or stand that is about 25" high.

 

I don't like to drill tanks if I can avoid it. One idea you might like is the DIY canister filter made from 4" PVC with caps. If you do two of these and set the valves up right you could have one on service and then switch for cleaning time. Alternatively you can use both at once and secure one at cleaning time. This would also allow you to do an inline heater which keeps your equipment out of the tank and you could probably use a powerhead.

This would be the best of both worlds I think. It combines both advantages of sumps and canisters.

 

I don't like to drill tanks if I can avoid it. One idea you might like is the DIY canister filter made from 4" PVC with caps. If you do two of these and set the valves up right you could have one on service and then switch for cleaning time. Alternatively you can use both at once and secure one at cleaning time. This would also allow you to do an inline heater which keeps your equipment out of the tank and you could probably use a powerhead.

This would be the best of both worlds I think. It combines both advantages of sumps and canisters.

I'm not exactly sure how I would set this up. I googled but the instructions seem to be a bit confusing. What I find the issue would be is if I don't drill my tank, I would have to have a PVC pipe or hose running up the back of the tank which would be at least 3 feet, this would require a strong pump, no?

 

I'm not exactly sure how I would set this up. I googled but the instructions seem to be a bit confusing. What I find the issue would be is if I don't drill my tank, I would have to have a PVC pipe or hose running up the back of the tank which would be at least 3 feet, this would require a strong pump, no?

Yeah you would need one that has sufficient pumphead. Drilling might be best