# Bucket filter design-- Input please



## GreenerSideofLIfe (Dec 24, 2005)

I have a 60 gal goldfish tank... need I say more??

With large goldfish its hard to keep the tank clean. I would REALLY like to be able to make my own filter that can handle the tank. I looked into buying a canaster filter for it and well... thats way outta my price range. 

So I was thinking of just trying to make a bucket filter. Ive made small DIY filters with a similar plan before however I dont know how big the pump should be (gph) and if this design might work.

Ideas??










My fishies and I say 'tank' you!


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## Rex Grigg (Dec 10, 2002)

Check eBay for the Jebo canister filters. You can get one for about what you would spend trying (and most likely failing) to build one from a 5 gallon bucket.


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

The best reason for making your own filter is the fun of doing it, not the money saved. I agree with Rex that you wouldn't be likely to save much if any money. And, with DIY, there is always the risk that it won't work, and the "manufacturers" guarantee isn't too good on those!


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## GreenerSideofLIfe (Dec 24, 2005)

yes. But none of the ones that I have seen will work for my tank. FYI: I have made these BEFORE. I know they WILL work. I just needed help with figuring out the GPH I will need for the pump. BTW rexx... not everyone is rich and can afford to just go out and buy what ever they want. Some of us actualy have to make do with what we can make. And no. A bucket filter wont cost the $300+ one of those canasters will.


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## sarahbobarah (May 20, 2005)

Have you tried making a sump out of a ten gallon tank? Your diagram looks like one except the water flow is opposite.


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## Rex Grigg (Dec 10, 2002)

Did you even take the damn time to look on eBay?

If you think a canister filter costs $300 then you really need to get out of the house more. The average price of a canister filter is about $100. The Jebo on eBay can be had for around $50-$60.

So just p*** off.


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## JimmyYahoo (Aug 14, 2005)

Ah, now i realize what a curmudgeon is.

@Greener.. Get a good seal on that bucket. Id also think about reinforcing the lid so you can be assured of a good seal. As far as the pump goes id look for something in the 500-600 gph range. More power really than neccesary to 1) compensate for head and 2) get good circulation and keep that crap on the bottom from setteling.

Good luck and fill us in on how it goes.


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## sarahbobarah (May 20, 2005)

Here's a head calculator from Reef Central.


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## distrbd (Feb 17, 2006)

A JEBO canister filter plus shipping will probably cost the same or even less than the price of the pump alone,it just doesn't make sense to make one unless you are doing it for the fun of it .I admit ,I tried it once ,didn't work.I realized to do a project like this you should start with a good quality pump with at least 750 GPH.a powerful and silent pump like that is not cheap.


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## Dood Lee (Jan 14, 2005)

If you are dead set on building your own, why don't you just use the design of the large eheim classic canisters? They are essentially "bucket" filters anyway.

















In your design, the pump is inside the filter, which would make maintanence a little harder than if you had it on the outside like the eheim.


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## GreenerSideofLIfe (Dec 24, 2005)

Rex Grigg said:


> Did you even take the damn time to look on eBay?
> 
> If you think a canister filter costs $300 then you really need to get out of the house more. The average price of a canister filter is about $100. The Jebo on eBay can be had for around $50-$60.
> 
> So just p*** off.



Rex, Im sorry. But I have looked. In case you didnt notice... you have to add shipping into the cost and most people on ebay over charge on shipping BIG TIME. Oh and BTW. I have looked at all the stores around here as well. The cheapest one that I found was $148. Somehow... I dont think my DIY set up with cost that much. No way. Sorry. I already priced it all. Not even close. Sorry.


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## GreenerSideofLIfe (Dec 24, 2005)

sarahbobarah said:


> Here's a head calculator from Reef Central.


FANTASTIC!!! I bookmarked that page. Thanks ALOT!


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## GreenerSideofLIfe (Dec 24, 2005)

Dood Lee said:


> If you are dead set on building your own, why don't you just use the design of the large eheim classic canisters? They are essentially "bucket" filters anyway.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Yes, Ive been thinking about that too.

Ive made much smaller versians of these before, but in those the filters were always on the inside. For this one, do you think it would be better to have it on the outside? 

I already asked my uncle about makeing sure the bucket had a tight fitting seal and he told me to use a bucket designed for paint as it has both a rubber seal and the 'lock tight' things all around the lid so that it snaps down tighter than a regular lid. 

My next thought is this: 

getting the water into the bucket will be the easy part. Gravity will do that for me. However, I need to make sure that I have enough power to get the water back up and over into the tank. Will the filter (like the photo you showed me) have enough *umph* to get the water back up and over? I have little doubt that I can tinker around and make it work. I'm great at that. But what I want to try to make sure of is that I buy the propper sized pump so I dont have to buy a difrent one later. I think I will go with the earlier sugestion and keep my fingures crossed!

I will go to home depot tomarrow and get started soon!


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## toofazt (Jun 18, 2005)

GreenerSideofLIfe said:


> Rex, Im sorry. But I have looked. In case you didnt notice... you have to add shipping into the cost and most people on ebay over charge on shipping BIG TIME. Oh and BTW. I have looked at all the stores around here as well. The cheapest one that I found was $148. Somehow... I dont think my DIY set up with cost that much. No way. Sorry. I already priced it all. Not even close. Sorry.


Quick search on Ebay $60 AFTER shipping for a Jebo 350GPH canister filter with media, hoses and attachments.HERE


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## Rex Grigg (Dec 10, 2002)

toofazt: Give it up. He's too hardheaded to look. Notice that he is pricing canister filters locally.

Notice that he has already dropped the price on a canister filter from $300 to $148.

I will tell you that a pump that will work will cost at least $50 mail order. Then you still need to get the bucket and everything else. And that price is for a internal pump. An external pump will cost more than that.

[Edit: Unnecessary details]


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

Rex, being bullheaded myself, although much older, I can understand the DIY urge. For some of us there is great pleasure in DIY activity, that far overshadows any possible cost savings. The worst thing that will happen with a project like this is a lot of money spent for a filter that will end up dumping 60 gallons of water on the living room floor, water which will percolate through the carpet and its pad, spread across the room and run out the front door and down the street. Of course that will lead to a biology experiment - seeing if goldfish can evolve into air breathing land animals in less than 15 minutes. Meanwhile, if we are kept up to date on this, we can all participate in the adventure vicariously. So, I say "full speed ahead!", and good luck.


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## deeplove (Dec 27, 2005)

Rex Grigg said:


> [Edit - please see what mschaeffers mom says about that]


Dang my other half is hurting...

I'd stick with what Rex says. DIY is fun but wasting money isn't. Unless you can be able to sh*t out a $100 out of the blue at any time, save yourself the time and money. If not, then what ever tickles your pickle.

:thumbsup:


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## mshaeffer (Nov 29, 2002)

Rex, your way is not always the best. Please have alittle respect for others. If he wants to build one, great. If he wants to buy one, great. His post was not "what do you think about me building ths", it was "I just needed help with figuring out the GPH I will need for the pump". And, you started on your first post by bashing him!!

My mother always told me "IF YOU DON'T HAVE ANYTHING NICE TO SAY, KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT"


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## GreenerSideofLIfe (Dec 24, 2005)

toofazt said:


> Quick search on Ebay $60 AFTER shipping for a Jebo 350GPH canister filter with media, hoses and attachments.HERE


That wont be a big enough capasity.

This is goldfish were talking about.


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## GreenerSideofLIfe (Dec 24, 2005)

Rex Grigg said:


> toofazt: Give it up. He's too hardheaded to look. Notice that he is pricing canister filters locally.
> 
> Notice that he has already dropped the price on a canister filter from $300 to $148.
> 
> ...



Rex. 

Im sorry, mabey you need a stronger bifocal or something.... but Im not a "HE" 

I'm a "SHE"

And yes. I have been priceing around localy and I havent found ANYTHING in the capasity that I will need. These are LARGE goldfish. I'm not talking little 2 inchers here. I'm also looking into buying something to use for an above ground pond untill I can find these guys a suitable pond home where they wont become some critters lunch.


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## GreenerSideofLIfe (Dec 24, 2005)

mshaeffer said:


> Rex, your way is not always the best. Please have alittle respect for others. If he wants to build one, great. If he wants to buy one, great. His post was not "what do you think about me building ths", it was "I just needed help with figuring out the GPH I will need for the pump". And, you started on your first post by bashing him!!
> 
> My mother always told me "IF YOU DON'T HAVE ANYTHING NICE TO SAY, KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT"


Thank you!

And I'm already aware of Rex's omnipotent attatude. Sometimes its true... the older one gets the less able they are to cope with change or challenges to thier 'world'.

but one thing of note: Im not a he. Im a she. LOL


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## Wasserpest (Jun 12, 2003)

If you are working on a "closed loop" system, you don't need a very strong pump, since the water pushing down will equal the weight of the water that needs to be pushed up. So base it on the size of the tank that it should go with, maybe 5 times the tank volume = gal/hour.

The problem you will run into is to make the bucket waterproof and airtight. I think that is why nobody has done that...

If, on the other hand, you are looking for a large capacity, cheap filter, you could use your design and create a sump (which doesn't need to be airtight). However, then you need an overflow (or drilled tank) and a much stronger pump that can handle a few feet of head.


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## niko (Mar 8, 2006)

Rex is right about the Jebos - at least pricewise - two of them will be about $100 with shipping. 700 gph total.

But my experience with the only Jebo that I got has been pretty bad - the hose connections literally fell apart like dry dough. It took some serious DIY effort to fix that.

GreenerSideofLIfe, how exactly do you seal the lid over the bucket? There are huge threads and quite a bit of articles on the Russian forums about making your own canister filter and sealing is always a problem.

If this is a fish only tank and you are concerned about Ammonia why not make a sump? Cheap plastic bin, pieces of sponge for the biofilter, etc..

--Nikolay


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## BlueRam (Sep 21, 2004)

GSL:

As you are in WA state I would also consider Big Al's to the north "Local." The run free shipping at times and tend to be well priced.

If you do go sump (with a bucket or otherwise) let me know if you need help. 

If you must do bucket then consider decreasing the pressure on the seal by raising the bucket. If the bucket is level with the tank the risk of flood goes to minimum.

Carry on.


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## distrbd (Feb 17, 2006)

You could find a lot of info. on DIY sump on this site
www.oscarfish.com .as you know Oscars are really messy fish and people who keep them use 2-3 canister filters as well as a sump to deal with the bio load .


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## Mori (Jul 23, 2003)

The plan looks good, assuming you can get the seal tight (and be able to open the thing for cleaning). In fact, it looks pretty much like a schematic for an Eheim Classic model. If it doesn't work out, try the Eheim. Good for goldfish and the Classics aren't that expensive. You'd still want one rated at about 2x your actual capacity of course. 

Love the stripes on that goldie!


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## Dood Lee (Jan 14, 2005)

GreenerSideofLIfe said:


> Yes, Ive been thinking about that too.
> 
> Ive made much smaller versians of these before, but in those the filters were always on the inside. For this one, do you think it would be better to have it on the outside?
> 
> ...


If you get the right sized pump with the proper gph, the eheim classic design should work fine. It's exactly the same as your original design, but the pump is on the outside - for ease of maintanence and in case you ever need to switch it out.


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## MoonFish (Feb 12, 2006)

Yeah I was looking at the project but you can't touch a 500gph inline pump locally for $60. You can ebay one for less but then you are waiting. 

I'm passing the poor time with a sponge, well two sponges on a 350gph pump and a spraybar and it shoots in the co2 because I had the stuff layin around. 

I don't know if I want to jebo that bad. It sure seems tempting when you can own two of them for $110.


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## Guillermo (Dec 19, 2005)

Hi GreenerSideofLife, I have a friend who has built two bucket canister filters already, both works like a charm and they were not expensive, around 44 dollars each.

He posted the construction with pics, BUT in a Spanish forum, anyway FWIW, see the link, it's response #7, the photos can be very illustrative.

http://www.drpez.net/panel/showthread.php?t=127510

If you need some info about it, I can translate it for you.

IMHO the most important element is the bucket itself, it has to seal tight to be safe. The pump works well, I have one for my 82 gal water changes and has great flow and cheap (18 - 20)

He solved the air gap on top by putting an air hose with a check valve, I took his advice for my nano canister and works really good.

Hope this helps.

Cheers !!


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## Defchilde (Jul 12, 2005)

I have also been thinking about this and have been considering making my own canister filter. I am now considering using Tetra Pond 1500 Pressure Filter with an in-line pump on the output side. At 129.99 USD or 239.99 CAD, it seems less risky than a DIY.










Same concept, larger capacity (normally used for ponds). I am thinking of plumbing it in-line like how reefers do it.


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## GreenerSideofLIfe (Dec 24, 2005)

Guillermo said:


> Hi GreenerSideofLife, I have a friend who has built two bucket canister filters already, both works like a charm and they were not expensive, around 44 dollars each.
> 
> He posted the construction with pics, BUT in a Spanish forum, anyway FWIW, see the link, it's response #7, the photos can be very illustrative.
> 
> ...


\



Thats SO close to my design! I even walked around home depot carying those same parts going 'how am I going to get this thing to work'. LOL 

Now... if only someone can translate the page for me so that I will know what sizes the pieces need to be. Thats the only thing thats stoping me so far. 

Any one any good at spanish??

lol


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## Guillermo (Dec 19, 2005)

Hi GreenerSideofLife.

Glad you like my friend's bucket filter !



> Now... if only someone can translate the page for me so that I will know what sizes the pieces need to be. Thats the only thing thats stoping me so far.
> 
> Any one any good at spanish??


I will do that, Spanish is my native language after all, LOL. Just give me a coulpe of days and I will translate something for you. I would use the intake bulkhead of 3/4" and the outake of 1/2". In the meantime you can still looking around to find the hermetic bucket.

I'm building a 2 liter canister myself and bought the bulkheads already, the container is a Coleman thermos, I will use clear hoses and DIY acrylic pipes as I did on my previous nano canister, I don't see the need of using PVC tubes as it is a small filter, besides PVC is expensive and it's a drawback for a DIY project :smile:


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## GreenerSideofLIfe (Dec 24, 2005)

Let me know when you translate it! I will so appreacate that. 

I have talked to several difrent pond shops and they didnt think I was crazy for it. Seems ALOT of pond people build bucket filters like this. Especialy for when they winter thier fish inside and other filters just wont cut it. 

Guess I'm not the only one whos had large messy goldfish!


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## notoriouslyKEN (May 3, 2006)

You can use a web-based translator to make that page english. http://babelfish.altavista.com/ is a good one. Just copy and paste http://www.drpez.net/panel/showthread.php?t=127510 into the translate a web-page box. Choose Spanish to English from the drop down and click Translate. It takes a minute or so, but works very well


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## A Hill (Jul 25, 2005)

notoriouslyKEN said:


> You can use a web-based translator to make that page english. http://babelfish.altavista.com/ is a good one. Just copy and paste http://www.drpez.net/panel/showthread.php?t=127510 into the translate a web-page box. Choose Spanish to English from the drop down and click Translate. It takes a minute or so, but works very well


BUT MOST TRANSLATERS ARE NOT RELIABLE. a story i heard from a teacher... at the old school she worked at there was a VERY high spanish speeking parent population. so they where going to translate the stuff for parrents. the spanish teacher there said she would do it but it might take a little while.... the secratary didnt want to wait and instead of it saying drinks will be surved like soda and stuff it said complimentry alchohal will be served. so if you get an offer of someone to translate it for you ESPECIALLY if they are native tounge. take the offer.....

-=- fish newb -=-roud: 

o AND GOOD LUCK!!!


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## sarahbobarah (May 20, 2005)

I've seen those bucket pond filters at a fish store I went to recently. The guy was using it to filter a 100 gallon baby koi pond. Water was clear and the fish seemed happy. Thing was though that he had it above the pond. I don't know how he rigged it that way, but it looked like it worked fine.


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## GreenerSideofLIfe (Dec 24, 2005)

Fish Newb said:


> BUT MOST TRANSLATERS ARE NOT RELIABLE. a story i heard from a teacher... at the old school she worked at there was a VERY high spanish speeking parent population. so they where going to translate the stuff for parrents. the spanish teacher there said she would do it but it might take a little while.... the secratary didnt want to wait and instead of it saying drinks will be surved like soda and stuff it said complimentry alchohal will be served. so if you get an offer of someone to translate it for you ESPECIALLY if they are native tounge. take the offer.....
> 
> -=- fish newb -=-roud:
> 
> o AND GOOD LUCK!!!



LOL! Thats terrible! I work in a school... I can only imaine the reprecussions of that little whoopsie. 

I recently spoken with someone who has made a bucket filter which was the size of a 55 gal garbage can. He said that I can make them as large as I need to and that one large one can infact work for more than one tank. So basicly I could filter both of my 55 gal gf tanks with one filter (granted thats bad for spreading disease). He also recomended having the pump on the outside of the bucket. He said one thing over and over: SILICONE IS YOUR FRIEND. lol 

Also he told me about builge pumps (sp?) which are made for septic sustems. He said that you can acutaly buy what amounts to a bucket filter and pump which are made for septic systems that can be converted to work for aquariums & ponds. I'm now looking into this  He said he has had one on his 130 gal arawana tank for the past year w/no problems.


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## oceanaqua (Nov 24, 2005)

Good luck, its helps if you are handy with tools, I did'nt have the neccessary tools and the project fail miserably. Well, end up spending more money then I plan, but it was a fun weekend. If I try agian the second time with more funds, It would be a success.


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## mrbelvedere (Nov 15, 2005)

I side with Rex on this.


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## Guillermo (Dec 19, 2005)

HI GreenerSideofLIfe, I'm so sorry for the late response but my internet connection has been out of service and I hadn't had the opportunity to translate the post, I will do it ASAP. Fish Newb is dead on, those translators can give you an idea sometimes, but most of the time they are not accurate.


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## GreenerSideofLIfe (Dec 24, 2005)

Guillermo said:


> HI GreenerSideofLIfe, I'm so sorry for the late response but my internet connection has been out of service and I hadn't had the opportunity to translate the post, I will do it ASAP. Fish Newb is dead on, those translators can give you an idea sometimes, but most of the time they are not accurate.



One of the challenges for this design is the type of fish in the tank. What would work well for a planted tank or a community tank with say... tetras will fail misserably with such large goldfish. I'm useing the best food I can feed them so the water isnt nearly as poluted as it would be if I used regular pellets or worse yet, flakes. But its still looking like my bucket filter will need to be quite a bit larger than I initialy thought. That is part of the reason that the regular canaster filters wont work. Id need like 3 or 4 of them to make it even worth it. I clean my tank once a week. But even then.. these are 17 inch goldfish were talking about! Talk about poo machines! LOL and I thought my oscars were messy. LOL And yes, its pond time for them. But Around here most fish that go into ponds come out of them attached to a blue heron. I dont want that to happen to anymore of my fish.


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## Naja002 (Oct 12, 2005)

> Now... if only someone can translate the page for me so that I will know what sizes the pieces need to be. Thats the only thing thats stoping me so far.



Translated version





.


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## jgc (Jul 6, 2005)

harbor freight has cheep pond pumps. I have considered the bucket filter myself, and will more than likely do one someday. I will do mine as a sump, so will worry less about the bucket leaking, and spend a tad more on the pump (than a closed system). That all said, personally, my wag would be to add more fine filtering media and less bio media (but then again, I am dealing with heavily planted tanks that take care of the bio filter element themselves.

Anyway, a diy external overflow is easiy enough - All it is box, with a syphon to the main tank, and an overflow (either through the side, or more traditionally, to get the overflow water to the sump.

If you have space and are willing, it would also be possible to use use multiple buckets at slightly different levels (bricks are cheep), connected with syphons. I am immagining a bucket of sand, and a bucket of bio media.

Anyway, my main reason for wanting to do it myself is for sump benifits rather than filtration. I would love a 5 gallon bucket sump on a nano tank.


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## Mori (Jul 23, 2003)

I use canister filters for my large goldfish. They work fine if you don't go cheap. I've gone over a year without having to clean a filter. If the DIY doesn't work out, take the easy route and buy one!

And get those poor fish a bigger tank!


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## csf (Jul 10, 2003)

I'd probably invert the set-up and make it more of a sump if it were me. I'd also not worry too much about making them pressurized, since that seems to be the main problem. Even if it was, I'd still probably do it that way, as if air gets into the set-up then the pump could run dry quickly instead of it being on the bottom.

However, I'd still side with Rex. Even some of the magnum bio-wheels could work to help w/ the extra bio load.

I built a 20g sump out of mostly spare parts, but it was still a pretty penny. $15 for pipes, tubes, clamps, $50 for the mag 7 pump, $10 for glass partitions, $10 for filter pads and media, $5 for lava rock, etc.

It's often easier to find a deal on ebay or something - but I like hunting around and finding deals and I worry less w/ a commercial product than if my bucket seal breaks and I have a flooded floor.

Just my $0.02. I don't do goldfish, so I need circulation more than bio, chem or mech filtration. I got a Mag 350 for $80ish and an XP3 for around $100 - both on a 75.


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## pulltoy (Jun 11, 2006)

My design Im tryign is compartmentalized so you can pull the sponges out veritcally and still leave the rocks/ bio - bio balls in there. Im having trouble getting silicon and epoxy to stick to the 5 gall buckets. What kind on adhesive will bond to the buckets? Im using a 5 gallon orange home depot bucket, cause it'd make a DIY statement. Maybe I should use a standard white plastic one. 

I tried to make a o-ring on the top using silicon bead and it seems to want to peal off easily. 

Also is there any issues using lava rock as the bio medium or should I use bio-balls. I guess I 'd rather not use rock to cut down on the weight if I had a preference.


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## TINNGG (Mar 9, 2005)

You would have been better off hitting up on a Krispy Kreme or asking a fish store if they had any empty Instant Ocean buckets, methinks.

Another forum I'm on had a member create himself a filter using an Instant Ocean bucket he had sitting around. The Instant Ocean and the buckets used for donut filling have o-rings so they seal well. I'll have to check to see if he glued anything to the bucket or not.


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## darckeen (Jun 14, 2006)

I have been doing alot of research into materials for a pressurized container for my own DIY filter. 

The problem with making them out of a 5 gallon bucket is that they and almost all othe plastic conainers are made out of polyethyne which is classified as a low surface energy plastic, which means that is is almost impossible to glue any thing to it. There is a product that will made by 3M called DP-8005, i think. The only problem with it is that while the glue itself is not expensive, the mixing gun to apply it is. The glue and dispensor will cost you around $60.

There is a product called gamma seal lids which adapt to 5 gallon buckets and are supposed to create an airproof seal. They are basically a treaded adaptor for a gasketed screw in plug that you hammer onto the bucket rim. You can also find round and square buckets with this already implemented sold as dog food containers called vittles vaults. Whether these will truely be watertight under pressure i am unsure, you may need to glue the adaptor to the bucket with DP-8005 if not.

Another container i'm considering using is a pressure sprayer, they come up to 3 gallon capacity and are designed to hold pressures up to 45psi. They are kinda pricey and opening size is an issue with them but one model gilmour xp30 has a 6" opening.

GL


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## TINNGG (Mar 9, 2005)

Ah yes; the vittles vaults. I have 3. What I can tell you is, be careful with the lids - the exterior rim breaks easily. I had a label around here somewhere and meant to contact them about replacing one but not sure where it went to. I don't know if they're designed to resist pressure or not.


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## darckeen (Jun 14, 2006)

You might want to check out these pails. They are the only resealabe plastic pails i've found that are actually UN rated to hold liquids. I think i'm gonna give em a shot for my DIY filter.

http://www.m-m-industries.com/MnM/liquid_pail.htm

They have been rated to be water tight at 5 psi, but i'm hoping they can handle a bit more heh. I doubt you could find em at your local hardware store but you can order them online from here.

http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/product.asp?catalog%5Fname=USPlastic&category%5Fname=20329&product%5Fid=20307

GL


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## crazie.eddie (May 31, 2004)

I would think that placing the pump on the bottom would be easier. This way, priming the pump would not be difficult, since all you have to do is just fill the bucket.


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## GreenerSideofLIfe (Dec 24, 2005)

Mori said:


> I use canister filters for my large goldfish. They work fine if you don't go cheap. I've gone over a year without having to clean a filter. If the DIY doesn't work out, take the easy route and buy one!
> 
> And get those poor fish a bigger tank!




Trust me when I say this... I have now FOUR 55 gals with my rapidly growing goldies. These fish are going to be mamoths. No they arnt koi. They are 'feeder' comets. **leftovers no less** They started out as 'lunch' for my native fish but they outlived him and now they are emence (17+ inches in 3 years). I have one tank of fancies, but my chocolate is nearly the size of a teatherbal. I will take some current picks. No one belives me. LOL I look at the photos of that giant fantail in what... China? And I go.. Umm.. Mines nearly that big. he will be in afew years LOL

What I would like is to have them in either a 300+ gal aquarium or a pond. but right now I have neither space nor $ money to give them either. And I dont want them going outside because around here... they would end up as lunch. They survived that fate once. They dont need to be in danger again.


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## jasonh (Oct 26, 2003)

If you're really concerned about the water-tightness, you could try to find a bucket/lid combo that is DOT approved for shipping liquids. But really, I've heard the gamma-seals are pretty dang good. I was kicking an idea like this around not too long ago, but then realized it would cost around $100 to get put together (or more!), so I just decided to use a sump 

I think I have some plans drawn out somewhere for this idea, if you'd like to see them, let me know. Other people have failed, yes, but that doesn't necessarily mean you will. How many times did Edison fail before he got the light bulb to work?


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## fshfanatic (Apr 20, 2006)

Have you considered building a wet/dry sump filter? They are easy to build and always work.


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## GreenerSideofLIfe (Dec 24, 2005)

fshfanatic said:


> Have you considered building a wet/dry sump filter? They are easy to build and always work.


That would be impossible in this case. I have two 55 gals which are stacked one on top of each other on a metal frame stand. No room for a sump.


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## fshfanatic (Apr 20, 2006)

You could make one that hangs on the back. I have dont it and they work great.


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## vidiots (Jun 17, 2006)

This link might help with the design questions such as area and flow rate:
Hamburger Mattenfilter

Granted this is for a different type of filter, however I'm sure the theory is basically the same.


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