DIY "canister filter"

t-dizzle · 01/24/2006, 06:08 PM

I kick up a lot of sediment and detritus whenever I siphon or perform a water change in my 26g. I have a skimmer and I float carbon, but I don't have a canister filter or any other means of mechanical filtration. Does it make sense to pump my aquarium water through a DIY "canister" packed with filter floss whenever I kick up a storm? Specifically, I'm thinking of packing a covered Ziploc plastic bowl with filter floss and cutting out holes for water to be pumped through. Would this be effective if I ran it for a couple hours, or would I need to run it continuously?

Thanks!

Pandora · 01/24/2006, 06:55 PM

I don't think this would make much sense...

First off, why are you kicking up so much debris when you do a water change, how do you do it, and how much? You shouldn't be stirring the sediment up at all. I only siphon from the top of the tank, unless I actually see pieces of rotting material or uneaten food (pick that up rather than try to go after it with a siphon, I would only do this if you have a bare bottom tank). What kind of substrate do you have?

A lot of us don't have any mechanical fiter at all and do fine.

01/24/2006, 06:08 PM	#1
t-dizzle Premium Member Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Phoenix, AZ Posts: 158	DIY "canister filter" I kick up a lot of sediment and detritus whenever I siphon or perform a water change in my 26g. I have a skimmer and I float carbon, but I don't have a canister filter or any other means of mechanical filtration. Does it make sense to pump my aquarium water through a DIY "canister" packed with filter floss whenever I kick up a storm? Specifically, I'm thinking of packing a covered Ziploc plastic bowl with filter floss and cutting out holes for water to be pumped through. Would this be effective if I ran it for a couple hours, or would I need to run it continuously? Thanks! __________________ "Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known." - Carl Sagan Visit my gallery to see my tank evolve from bare glass into a beautiful reef! Current Tank Info: 26 bowfront w/ 40 lbs. Fiji LR, 40 lbs. sand, Remora, 2 MJ1200 PHs, 65w dual daylight/65w dual actinic/moonlight, various snails, 2 ocellaris clowns, 1 diamond goby, 1 skunk cleaner shrimp, and a bunch of softies, mushrooms and zoos slowly moving in!

01/24/2006, 06:55 PM	#2
Pandora Premium Member Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Maryland near DC Posts: 1,706	I don't think this would make much sense... First off, why are you kicking up so much debris when you do a water change, how do you do it, and how much? You shouldn't be stirring the sediment up at all. I only siphon from the top of the tank, unless I actually see pieces of rotting material or uneaten food (pick that up rather than try to go after it with a siphon, I would only do this if you have a bare bottom tank). What kind of substrate do you have? A lot of us don't have any mechanical fiter at all and do fine. __________________ Where are we going... And why am I in this handbasket? Current Tank Info: 75gal reef tank, 30 gal octopus tank, Other: 75gal planted Amazon tank