Hi, everybody Joey here again, and welcome back so in today's video
I want to give you guys some ideas on building your own canister filter for your [aquarium] this week
I actually built a few I first built a
Horizontal type that'll hang on the back of your tank, and then I also went ahead and built a heater into it
I also built a
vertical style that you can sit beside your tank or hang it on the side or back of your tank as well and then of
Course I did another version where I incorporated a heater into that as well however in today's video
I'm just going to get you started with the vertical style now
If you want to see all [of] the other types let me know in the comment section below
And we can revisit the video in the future
And I'll show you everything that I had done however once you see one done
You can easily do all of them the vertical style, not only allows you to hang it on [the] back
But [also], sit it beside [your] tank if that's what you'd like to do
But it also allows you to connect two or three in conjunction, and Daisy chain them which will give you even further
Customization for your filtration needs I will admit though that I do like the relatively small
Pump that it requires to power because you could use something as small as a power hit not only is this going to use lower
Wattage but because it's hanging on the back or sitting beside the tank
whatever size pump you use you're probably going to get roughly that out of the filter as
opposed to a typical
Canister filter which would be underneath the tank and the water has to pump all the way to the top and you lose some flow
There the supplies I used to build the main components to the canister were a [4-inch] thin wall PVC
Pipe a four-inch end cap a four inch female adapter a male cap and a pair of do-it-yourself
Bulkheads that I showed you how to do in last week's video one thing that I would like to note
Is that the end cap as a gasket already on it if you can't find one like this
You can simply buy the cap and the [gasket] separate like I did here. Don't worry about color we can change those later
Putting this together is simple
I put the bottom cap on first and drill the hole for the [three-quarter] inch
Bulkheads into the side the size of the hole needed will depend on the size of the fitting I
Attach the bulkhead with the gasket on the inside since the bulkhead will be permanent
You can also silicone this in place instead of using a gasket if that's what you prefer
[I] did the same thing with the top cap and set it aside [now] since I'll be adding loose media to this canister
I didn't want it to block the output so I cut a small piece of PVC pipe taller than the actual
Bulkhead and cut a section out of it, so would slide [right] around it
I then cut a small piece of lighting diffuser to place on top [of] it
But you can use some mesh screening like I did in the [original] canister filter video that
I showed you in the past this will hold the media above the bulkhead and allow for
unrestricted flow I then place the cap on for the output I used a couple small pieces of 3/4 inch PVC a
3/4 Inch PVC elbow a 3/4 inch to half inch reducer and a half inch 90-degree barb fitting
For the return four pieces of 3/4 [inch] PVC and four 3/4 inch PVC
Elbows the Top elbow was the same height as the input elbow now
This is important if you intend to hang it on the back of your tank at this point. I've invested around
$20 in supplies most of the cost will be in that 4 inch PVC pipe however. I bought 10 feet of it
So I basically have enough to build six of these canisters which brings up the point that if you want to save money by building
Your own canister filters you're probably not going to do so if you only intend to build one however
[I] must add that I
Personally rarely build something just to save money for the most part I build something just so I can get exactly what I want
[now] the last thing you might want to do is spray-Paint it which gives it a more finished
Look [for] this. I used Krylon fusion spray paint and I use the flat black color for Media
I went with Lava rock. I got 7 pounds for 5 bucks a highly porous and long-lasting type of rock that serves as an excellent
Biological media for mechanical I went with some spare filter sponge ahead and cut it to size of the pipe [now] the way this works
is simple water is pumped into the top of [the] filter and it's mechanically filtered first as it passes through that sponge and then
biologically filtered as the water passes [through] the Lava Rock
Finally exiting at the bottom and pump back up to the top of the tank [now] since we are using a cat that twists on
And off made water proof by that gasket we can get into the canister
filter to clean it by simply
Disconnecting the pump [and] twisting the [cap] off now you can position this canister filter beside your tank or hang it right on the back
That's really up to you now
you might be wondering what the one of these things are since an option is to hang it on your tank and
Empty they weigh about three pounds each once I filled it up with Lava Rock
They weighed five pounds each and since they are packed with a lot of Lava Rock
There's not a ton of water that can really fit in here
So once it's filled with water [it] only weighs about 10 pounds total now that might sound like a lot of weight however in
Comparison to some hang on the back or a few gems that you can buy that can weigh upWards of [20] and [30]
pounds
this is not a big deal at all you might also be wondering how to size them for your aquarium and
an easy rule of thumb that I like to go by is [for] every foot of
Cannister you could use it for a [thirty] to [fifty] Gallon aquarium
Flow rates in somewhere between six and eight times per hour
Which means that you'll be turning over the entire volume of your aquarium six to eight [times] through that canister every hour now
This is actually a very vague statement though because not all bodies of water actually contain the same fish or have the same filtration
requirements, however
It will serve [as] a general rule of thumb with that said I did dedicate an entire chapter
My book that goes over all the details of things just like this now one of the greatest things about building your own
canister is the fact that there is no real rules for supplies that you must use or
Configurations that you must follow so use this video to inspire ideas of your own
Or at the very least try new things and find out. What works best for you. Anyways. Hope that you guys enjoyed today's video
I also want to thank you for watching and I'll see you guys next week for a new boot [yourself] project