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DIY Trickle Filter (Wet/Dry)

Started by Gilbotron, February 07, 2017, 05:51:32 PM

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Gilbotron

I found some nice designs on the internet for a trickle filter (also called wet/dry or waterfall filter) and really liked the idea so with some bashing of ideas I built my own and am extremely happy with it.  I'm surprised these aren't more common as they seem to be excellent in terms of flexibility and can easily be scaled for large or small tanks by changing the # of chambers and size of the pump.  They're great for aerating the water as in each chamber, the water trickles down over media until it returns to the tank - lots of agitation before it gets to the tank - great if you're dosing CO2 and don't want alot of surface agitation.  Also, with how I built this one, its almost completely silent - I was expecting it to be quite loud, but the 90 deg elbows at the bottom doesn't produce any splashing and the plastic compartments insulate the trickle noise quite well.

Parts and costs
Stackable snap-together plastic containers - 6 for $20
240gph water pump with hose - $35
2 PVC elbows - $5
Pot scrubbers, lava rock, sponges, filter floss for media - $10

So in total ~$70 (for 240 gph of filtration using LOTS of media)

Assembling it was quite simple.  Just drill lots of small holes in each of the containers except the bottom one.  I chose to only drill holes on one side of each container to force the water from left to right and back again at each stage so all of the media is in contact with water.  In the bottom chamber, cut 2 holes the size of the PVC, and silicone them in.  I recommend 2 outputs just in case 1 gets clogged.  The pump is in the tank, and pushes water up to the filter which sits on top of the tank.  Not the prettiest setup, but it is functional.  Another alternative is to use an overflow from the tank, have the filter underneath/hidden, and use a pump to push the water back up to the tank.  My fear with that design is if the pump fails, you'll have a flood - the way i did it is if pump fails, the filter just stops working.

I've attached a couple pics - the 1st is when I was testing with a garbage pail and different media, and the 2nd is installed on the tank.  As you can see it just sits on top with the pvc returning the water much like a HOB (and my bamboo shrimp loved it so much they moved right in within minutes!).

If you want more pics, more info or have ideas for improving on it PM me anytime.  Hope you enjoy and can improve on this!



Kelly

it looks like it would work well if only it wasn't so ugly, you'd have to hide that combo.
Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there.

Gilbotron

Ugly indeed!  As with most DIY projects, not always fitting for display tanks/rooms without some extra engineering/polish.  Although if you saw the room its in (workshop) you would say it fits right in with the decor/theme!

I toyed with painting it, but decided against it.  I might try my hand with aquaponics on the same tank as my next DIY project in which case I'll have to install a window blind or something over the tank so the lights aren't in your face when viewing.

Box Jockey

How has your DIY filter been working now that a significant amount of testing time has passed?
"You can't run from me! Oh, you *can* run from me! You keep surprising me." -- Tamatoa

Gilbotron

In one word or less - awesome.  Works great, and only issues I ever get is sometimes baby snails or plant debris gets caught on the pump intake so it can get a bit noisy, but cleaning it takes a grand total of 30 seconds (pull it out of tank, wipe snails & debris off).  Super easy to clean too.

Its saved my butt a couple times now - most notably my recent leak with the 120.  Because of it I had an unlimited amount of seeded media to fire up a bunch of HOBs on buckets, and I was able to use it as the only filter on an 18g tote with approx 70 fish in it.

Only improvement Id make is maybe a bigger pump.  It could easily push a lot more water if I upgraded that. 

One really nice unexpected benefit is I dont have to turn it off when doing a water change.  Great if I need to do a deep clean on the canister filter or want to spend extra time cleaning glass, pruning, go for dinner, etc. 

Box Jockey

I'm definitely putting this on my to do list! Thanks Gilbotron.
"You can't run from me! Oh, you *can* run from me! You keep surprising me." -- Tamatoa

Jody

That looks good.
Very simple system, with lots of adaptability.
I am planning something similar in my sumps.
They are great to have on hand, nice easy source for extra bio media.

Jody

Gilbotron

One thing to add...  The containers I use aren't water tight, so it could flood if it got clogged or pump was too strong, but I've never had an issue (I drilled pretty big holes).  If you can find water tight containers, that would be best for peace of mind.  I've been thinking of adding a seal to mine with some silicone or rubber bands.