# Simple DIY Powerhead Filter Build



## PlantedRich (Jul 21, 2010)

Depends on your standards, I guess. For me it was a temporary trial that was not worth the effort. I had thought to use is as an added filter but it turned out to be so much trouble I ditched it. Powerheads use very little head pressure so they lose flow rapidly as the filter stops up. I had to clean/ change my floss daily. Just too much hassle for me.


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## paronaram (Jun 29, 2009)

May work not long dough, and from esthetic side this is extremely ugly gadget :icon_eek: that you will need to place in your tank. Unless you have large aquarium and you can hide this filter some where in the tank. Just look on craigslist or Fleabay and you can get external canister very cheap.
Also as PlantedRich mentioned, you will clean that "filter" more then it will filter for you.

Aram


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## thelub (Jan 4, 2013)

Most power heads push better than they suck. Its a viable option if you change it to flow reverse


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## yashmack (May 20, 2013)

I really dont see any reason this would clog any faster than a normal sponge filter...
I use sponge filters in mine and I see no reason why this wouldnt work
you can use a bigger bottle for more filter media, i would definitely do that but I really see no reason why this wouldnt work, its a very simple filter idea and really isnt much different that sticking sponge on the end of a power head, a filter type that has been used for longer than Ive been alive...
its also not much different than the many internal filters available like:









What size tank are you putting it in?


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## Evilgrin (Oct 2, 2012)

I've done that in several tanks over the years. I've used it to get some good bacteria on some filter media to help start up a new tank faster, Also to help remove fine suspended particles from the water column. 

Never had one set up more then a month or so but never had the issue of them getting so clogged that they didn't work, but the aesthetics leave a lot to be desired.

I also use them with carbon if I need to get any medications out of the tank saves the hassle of tearing down my canister filter just to add in carbon for a few days to a week to help get the traces of medications out.


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## PlantedRich (Jul 21, 2010)

I would guess the main difference in the design and a normal internal filter is the amount of water pulled through and the ratio of exposed media to that water flow. When you use a powerhead, it is a lot more water flow than an internal filter like pictured above. 
But then there is also another way to look at the question. 
Since it is an obvious way to get by cheap, there have been people trying it ever since powerheads came out. So why aren't there more people using the idea?
When I tried it, I came to the conclusion that it didn't work very well. I wanted it to work but it didn't!


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## DogFish (Jul 16, 2011)

The thing about filters is that pretty much anything can work if it removes macro debris and allows surface area for bacteria to live on.

Not all are as technologically sophisticated as others, some have NASA quality engineering behind their design and some a just neolithic, but all work.

I visited a restaurant in Southern Ill. on the Mississippi river that had a huge old catfish in a 125gl tank behind the counter. They ran tank water though a pond pump up into a colander, filled with pink fiberglass house insulation. They water dripped though the "filter" and back into the tank. They said the huge cat fish had been in there a few years. When he gets to big, he would go on the menu and he's be replaced by a younger one. They had been doing that for over 30 years at that time. Not pretty, nothing I'd use myself, but it worked.

I think about that old catfish when I read some of these filter threads and just smile


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## georgenelson (Jan 23, 2014)

No I never try this before. Whether it works properly or has any problem on while using it?


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