filter media for 5 gallon DIY canister

I'm going to eventually be making a 5 gallon DIY canister filter out of a food grade bucket. It will be very basic in design. There will be a mechanical filter at its entry and the rest is going to be biological. I'm trying to find the cheapest filter media to use since it will be filling an entire bucket. I'm pretty sure, to save costs, I'm going to have to put them in layers with free space between them. Or I thought about a bunch of nylon scrubbers cause you can usually get those pretty cheap.

I'll have a 600gph pump in it.

 

I know it is not the cheapest option, but I like the ceramic ring biomedia. I think you can also use bioballs.

I don't know for sure if this would work, but maybe (unglazed) terra cotta? I know it is porous enough that the beneficial bacteria will colonize on it.

For filter floss, some people use pillow stuffing from the craft store - undyed, unscented.

Have you considered getting a small Aqua Clear HOB filter? They are really good, and not too expensive. I know some people like them because they use loose media like a canister.

 

well the point is that it is a DIY project, more or less just to do it and see if I can do it, and for as cheaply as possible.

 

Try the terra cotta. I think you should be able to get some fairly inexpensively at a garden center. You could break it into chunks that will fit into your bucket. Do you think it will help filter the water?

And do you plan on using filter floss (or pillow stuffing)?

This is a cool project. I hope you post your progress on our DIY forum.

 

Yeah, the terra cotta pots are pretty inexpensive. I just bought some 3" orchid ones for $.69 apiece. You can use any porous plastic material. Once I used cut up plastic milk jugs. What about those little plastic balls that are hollow with holes/slots in them--wiffle balls? You can also find all sorts of things at the Dollar Tree! I plan on making my own filter along these lines, eventually. Good luck and let us know how it goes!

 

Try the terra cotta. I think you should be able to get some fairly inexpensively at a garden center. You could break it into chunks that will fit into your bucket. Do you think it will help filter the water?

And do you plan on using filter floss (or pillow stuffing)?

This is a cool project. I hope you post your progress on our DIY forum.

Well as I stated in the original post, there will be a mechanical filter. I found some cut-to-size filter floss at each of my LFS (Petco, Petsmart, and a locally owned one). I'll post plans and a step-by-step photos under the DIY area when I get it completed. I will also measure the actual output and also do pre & post tank chemical levels. So I will take a take, let it get a lil dirty, measure, hook up only the bucket canister, and run it for a few days and take repeat readings at set intervals. I also have a nano-canister I'm making for my son's 20 gallon (in addition to his Pengiun 200).

Maybe ping pong balls with holes drilled in em? lol don't know if those would be cheaper than those practice golf balls. I was thinking those nylon scrubbers you get for the bath are pretty cheap, like $1 each, and if you undo them they are actually long nylon mesh sleeves. They could be stuffed with filter floss and rolled around inside the bucket which would decrease bypass.

 

gotta love the internet and its ability to disconnect when sending a message thus losing the message and having to start over.

Ok well I proved through math that bio balls would be cheaper than practice golf balls, unless you already had about 300 of them because that is roughly how many of each will fit in a 5 gallon bucket. A golf ball is 1.68" in diameter, and a bio ball is 1.5". It would take roughly $56 in practice balls (@$2.99/dz). Bio balls, at Big Al's, are only $29.99 for 300. Funny how practice golf balls cost more. Course I guessed on the total number of balls. I found the volume of the ball, and then the volum of the bucket, but I stopped at the stacking of spheres.....I'm guess 232-300 give or take. even cheaper than ping pong balls.

practice golf ball, $0.249 each
ping pong ball, $0.277 each
bio ball, $0.099 (if bought at 300ct from big al's)

 

Also you could add regular pea sized gravel (11.99 per very large bag) along with cut up straws (100/1$)... It works very well... Gravel is where bacteria gets stored in the large outdoor ponds and works phenomenally. The min 1" straws are great for storing the ammonia decomposing bacteria... Keep us posted on what you do!