# DIY Filter



## kajunfish (Mar 19, 2011)

Has anyone tried using a whole house filter for aquarium filtration? I saw some with clear housing. They come in two sizes. Theres many different filters they sell to put in them, even some with carbon layers. With a good pump and some pvc pipe and fittings it seems it could work. OR am i missing something? Thanks for your imput!

This is a great forum!


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## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

First off, welcome to the forum.

These filters aren't designed to handle large solids, so I'd imagine they'd clog really quickly and become very expensive to maintain. I'd stick with made for the purpose stuff. You could always replace their media with something else, and attach a pump to it, but then I think you'd be reinventing the wheel, so to speak.

Also, let's keep specific retailers out of the discussion area if it's not important to the topic.

Thanks for your cooperation.


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## PfunMo (Jul 30, 2009)

Several of us have used whole house filters set up different way to do different things. I have a whole house set up as a portable temp use filter that works for me. I find it too hard to maintain for everyday use but for temp use too clear a tank after major stirring or to clean a spot of major debris, it works fine. For normal use, I have too much spent on parts to make it practical to replace a ready made and it does have the downside of harder maintenance. Pump, filter housing, filters and fittings add up to about $70 which comes close to a HOB Emperor 400. I do use alternate filter media on all my filters which makes it much cheaper. I use the blue/white bonded pads cut to fit for value and do not use carbon under normal conditions.


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## kajunfish (Mar 19, 2011)

I have a gift card at the place that sells them and I like building stuff like that. Thats why I asked about the whole house filters. Im always tring new ways to filter my tanks. My favorite invention (im sure its been done before) is my sand vacumn. I take a piece of hose and hook it up to my Aquaclear 110 intake tube and vacumn the waste off the top of the sand carefully. It works great! I only have sand in one tank and its black, so I like to depoop it quickly without doing a water change.

You said you don't use carbon. Thats what cost me the most for all my tanks. Whats the deal?
Carbon? No carbon? *** read some post about it but im still not clear on the subject. (sorry I jumped subjects).


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## Guams (Aug 21, 2009)

Carbon isn't needed for everyday use. It's expensive, as you found out, and if not replaced regularly can leach whatever it pulls out right back into the water column. I never use carbon in any of my tanks, but have a little of it hanging around if I need to medicate the tank (carbon works well for removing it when you're done with the treatment).


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## PfunMo (Jul 30, 2009)

Carbon is charred organics like coconut shells. As such it has millions of tiny little holes that snag many really fine particles that many of the manmade filters are too large to catch. Carbon is great for catching medicines, gases, and even colors like tannin. If those are things you want to remove, it is great and should be used. I keep some on hand. But the downside is that those tiny, tiny holes fill up pretty quick with the larger things we are often filtering like food bits and yuck stuff. That means it needs to be replaced often to continue to work. Like every two weeks , maybe? That is too much work/expense for me. What I want filtered most of the time is the larger stuff and something to provide lots of places for good bacteria to hang out. Filter floss, sponge, fiber mats, etc. are all up to this job and much cheaper and last far, far longer.
My current favorite is this stuff:

http://www.petsolutions.com/storefr...t-blue-bonded-filter-pad/prodmagnumfilterpads

Depending on what size filter, you can cut a lot of replacements out of a three dollar pad of this and rinse them twenty times before they break down.


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## newcichlidiot (Jul 7, 2010)

Also, those whole house filters with the carbon cartridge, the carbon cartridge is expensive. Something like 30$ apiece to replace. I just added a whole house filter to my well (house) and am using a pleated paper filter (the carbon cartridge reduced flow like you wouldn't believe). Only need to change about once a month, works great for sediment and such, and about 3$ a pop. So go ahead invent something, I think you will want to use the pleated filters. And what you have read above about carbon is true. I do not use carbon in any of my tanks. Yet, I still have it around just in case.


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## redfish (Nov 30, 2002)

they sell a reuseable filter for 15 dollars made to come apart and put carbon cotton or
whatever, the regular filter can be washed many times , the filter I have is to polish it did clog quick
but I got a inline sediment filter coming going to the water from my outgoing of the sump
that all you have to do is run a hose to the bottom back to dirty water and turn the handle
and it backwashes completely clean going called (Twist2turn Sediment Filter) for water look it
up online will let everone know how it works has a fine SS screen adding this before the big
blue, big blue cost 45 dollars need to get a 50 micro will not clog as quick and the twist 2 turn
before that should catch mostof the trash. Twist2turn filter is something new very small dont
never need a filter and cleans itself out in 20 seconds look on utube I was very impressed.
the only way I could polishs water that clear was putting cotton in the filters and buying carbon
tried of messing with cotton was hoping big blue would last about a month before cleaning will
figure something out


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## isontenney01 (Jan 16, 2016)

sorry to bump an old thread. But how did the twist II clean filter work out on your tank?


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