# PVC Canister



## KaiserSousay (Nov 2, 2008)

After a few days of letting the aroma of solvent clear from both the garage and my head..the voices started.."If you build it, it will clean"
Well, maybe all the solvent vapors hadn`t gone.
I`m thinking..3 or 4 pieces of 4in. pvc, slip cap on one end, screw cap on the other. Caps drilled for 3/4 pvc conduit fittings for bulkheads. Garden hose fittings to inter-connect the pipes, pump connections, and to the pipe for both lift tubes and return spray bars..for easy removal and for cheap shut off valves on the system for service.
I would use an external pump, as this would be a closed system like a canister.
1 or 2 pipes would hold bagged filter floss going into 2 pipes of bio media, then into the tank.
900 or so gph pump, with a loss of appx. 3-400gph for filters and head????
Going back in the previous DIY posts, even saw a heater installed in a pvc pipe..
Any been there done that on this, before I go into obssesd mode?


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## elgenyo (Feb 26, 2004)

Were you planning on using screw on cap on one end so you could remove used media and clean periodically? I was thinking about doing the same thing but haven't gotten around to trying it. Take pics! I'd love to see em!


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## boredatwork (Sep 14, 2007)

Like this?

http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_AquariumP ... nline.html


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## petro4411 (Feb 3, 2008)

i've done this!! 4 inch pvc in a big u shape that goes from the top to the floor and back up with screw on caps on top and fittings for a in and out line powered by a powerhead and filled totally with lava rock from bennys --maybe a small prefilter sponge on the intake--once this was ripe, i was able to keep about 300 fish in a 46 bow for a grow out tank....


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## KaiserSousay (Nov 2, 2008)

Thanks for the interest ya`ll


> Like this?


 No ,BAW..I was thinking more of a continuous filter..each pipe segment would act as the tray of a canister..no internal baffles or distribution pipes, just an empty cavity stuffed with media..the way I see it, the first one or two would have the floss..just like a tray of floss..with male hose fittings on the pipes, female swivel hose fittings on the connecting hoses for easy removal..small garden hose shut offs(just little ball valves)so the segments don`t flood me out..an external pump would pull the water from the tank, and push it through the filters..900-1000gph at 0hd. would maybe put 400-600gph to the tank???


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## iceblue (Apr 27, 2004)

Here's one that was done a while back. http://www.cichlid-forum.com/phpBB/view ... ht=#675204


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## KaiserSousay (Nov 2, 2008)

> Here's one that was done a while back


Closer, but no cigar  
Now, see, if I was a Reefer, I would have this all laid out, fine line drawings.."with circles and arrows..and a paragraph on the back of each one"


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## KaiserSousay (Nov 2, 2008)

Well, did some on-line calcs..4in pipe at 12in long x 4 would give me 2.5gal of available media storage(more or less)..with a flow rate of 500gph into the tank..if I could do it for less than half the price of store bought..I think it would be worth the effort.
Thoughts out there????
Yea, I know..go ahead..do it..hahaha..take pics..hohoho..
"first comes the oohs and ahhs..then comes the running and screaming"


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## petro4411 (Feb 3, 2008)

the one i built a few years back had 10 feet of 4 inch pvc pipe (4feet on each side and 2 feet at the bottom connecting the two) that was totally filled with lava rock--that's a lot of biomedia--the only mechanical filtration was a small sponge on the intake of the powerhead--flow was very good and perfectly silent as the pump was just below the surface of the water-this was an extremely inexpensive filter to make


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## boredatwork (Sep 14, 2007)

I must admit I still don't think I understand.

But I will say this. Is there really a price advantage? I mean, when you buy a canister, unless it is an Eheim, you are basically paying for the price of the pump. When building a canister, the main cost is going to be the price of the pump. That's the main reason I never tried making one.

The other reason, and I think the hardest problem to tackle, is priming. Of course, I have an FX5 and it auto primes, so maybe I am not thinking clearly never having used a non auto prime canister, but how would prime a DIY canister. To me it seems like that would be the toughest part.


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## boredatwork (Sep 14, 2007)

I must admit I still don't think I understand.

But I will say this. Is there really a price advantage? I mean, when you buy a canister, unless it is an Eheim, you are basically paying for the price of the pump. When building a canister, the main cost is going to be the price of the pump. That's the main reason I never tried making one.

The other reason, and I think the hardest problem to tackle, is priming. Of course, I have an FX5 and it auto primes, so maybe I am not thinking clearly never having used a non auto prime canister, but how would prime a DIY canister. To me it seems like that would be the toughest part.


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## KaiserSousay (Nov 2, 2008)

> price of the pump


Obviously the most costly part of the build..I`m thinking a $100 bill. I have not got to price pipe, fitttings, etc. yet..do it this weekend.


> priming


Never having had a canister I am only guessing, that priming is a problem because of the submersible pump sucking any air trapped???
I don`t see this as a problem with an external pump always having water in it and any air in the pipe segments would purge to the tank...the pump is pulling water from the tank and pushing it thru the pipes.
My main thoughts on this was to have a system equal in preformance to a $400 store bought.
Still early in it..I want to see what pipe/fittings are going to cost..then?????


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## KaiserSousay (Nov 2, 2008)

What I should have called this idea..PVC Segmented Pipe Filtration System..
After further review from the booth 8) 
I guess the Pentair system is the closest to the pictures in my head.
Sorry for any confusion, other than my own.


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## KaiserSousay (Nov 2, 2008)

OK, got the numbers on the pipe/fittings..with just the bare essentails
$84.00..add in a Quiet One 1400HH at $90.00 and I come in at $174.00.
Kick in another $20 or more for hose, fittings, yadda-yadda
We are now at $194..quick trip through Dr.`s F&S catalog..
For the same or less a 405 or xp3 or 2217-37 or 3 HOT250.
Scratch this as a project.
Will have to find something else to reinvent a wheel about.


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## boredatwork (Sep 14, 2007)

Haha, isn't reality a shame? Sorry for pointing it out.

As for the priming issue, I personally don't understand it myself. As I said I have never owned a canister that didn't prime itself, so I am not exactly sure what it is doing. I don't think it is as easy as just pumping the air out though. I do know that a canister that is not properly primed can cause a lot of problems. There was a post by Aquatester55 on some FX5 modifications and he had a terrible timing fixing the priming problem. After watching what he went through and doing the math on the cost I abandoned the idea of a DIY can.

Here's a question though. If you were a canister manufacturer, aren't you glad to see that your prices are competitive enough that people are kind of forced to buy your product? Makes you wonder why this is not true for a lot of other aquarium products.


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## KaiserSousay (Nov 2, 2008)

> prices are competitive


Man, I thought I could beat their price by 1/2..even at the higher teir canisters, the money saved would be eaten up by the xtra labour invoved in routine servicing  
Freshwater=+10% markup
Salt=+30%markup


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