# DIY intake strainers



## Flippercon (Mar 5, 2011)

Has anyone made one? I made the spray bar and want to get rid if the bulky design of the fx5 one. Any ideas.


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## 60gallon (Dec 14, 2010)

I made a 3/4" spray bar and intake for my FX5 and Im looking for a new strainer too because my fish almost died getting stuck in back of the glass and strainer. I found some strainers that will fit 3/4" PVC....theyre bookmarked on my home computer so I'll PM you some links when I get home tonight.


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## 60gallon (Dec 14, 2010)

http://www.coralreefsupply.com/index.ph ... ing_screen

http://www.marinedepot.com/Strainer_Plu ... ST-ct.html


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## PfunMo (Jul 30, 2009)

Depends what you are looking for but I make some out of CPVC when I feel the need for a different item. Find adapters to fit the plastic pipe to whatever tubing you have and then you are free to design what you want. A pipe cap on the end and drilling holes where you want works. If you have a power saw like a table or radial arm saw, slicing slots in the pipe gets you a lot of space for water flow and can be made really quickly.


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## Flippercon (Mar 5, 2011)

Good idea would regular pvc work? I would just paint it black after cutting the slots. That would be so much more stealth . +1


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## newcichlidiot (Jul 7, 2010)

It might be a little safer to maybe use a dremel with a saw blade to cut the slots. Just Sayin'.


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## Riceburner (Sep 3, 2008)

use a hack saw.... the speed of the dremel may just melt the plastic cut


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## 60gallon (Dec 14, 2010)

Just use a power miter saw. Itll work fine.


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## PfunMo (Jul 30, 2009)

Pvc or Cpvc will both cut nicely with most any tool. Dremel running at slower speeds will not melt it much. Hacksaws do fine as well as regular hand saws if you don't mind it dulling them a tad quicker than wood might. Actually if I can't plug a tool in somewhere---I assume it is broken! When using a power saw, just use what should be common safety thinking and feed the work slowly until you get a feel for how it is going to react. Smaller teeth on the blade will grab less but even chisel tooth cutoff blades do fine if you feed it a bit slower. Pipe is so cheap that you can afford to ruin one or two if necessary before you get what you want. Just don't give up any fingers as they are hard to replace!


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## Flippercon (Mar 5, 2011)

Yeah I might do the hack saw deal. Has any one made one with a 90 on it? I'm thinking L shaped to run along the bottom of tank. The Vertical bar would be unslotted and painted. What do you think? or maybe a T.


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## PfunMo (Jul 30, 2009)

Both the "T" and els will work to get you what you want. Plastic pipe is great stuff to work. One small item to keep in mind is that there is a small drop in flow for each turn the water makes. Not much importance unless one really gets carried away. I've never really found a way to cover all the spots in a tank so that debris doesn't settle somewhere. There always seems to be one rock or log where it collects but then if it's out of sight it bothers me little as long as my filtering keeps up with the job.


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## Flippercon (Mar 5, 2011)

Okay built the intake strainer out of PVC today. Sealed all connections and painted it. I used a 90 street and 2 90's. Two pieces of PVC one 18 in and the other is about six. Used a hacksaw to cut slots .25 in apart on the six inch piece. I will post the pictures once cured and installed. Thanks for all the good ideas all.  :fish:


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## Flippercon (Mar 5, 2011)

Well I failed at making the strainer. Seems I didn't put enough openings in the intake so my hose would partially collapse. Gonna try again when I make it to the hardware store.


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## PfunMo (Jul 30, 2009)

The saw kerf from a hacksaw blade may be what did your plan in. I used a powersaw and the kerf is about 1/8 ich wide making much more opening.


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## xxbenjamminxx (Jan 22, 2011)

PfunMo said:


> The saw kerf from a hacksaw blade may be what did your plan in. I used a powersaw and the kerf is about 1/8 ich wide making much more opening.


+1 Dont think that will give you enough flow. I have also cut pvc with a chop saw, just go REAL slow and it works great. Also if you turn the blade backwards it will cut plastic much nicer. (We always did this to cut vinyl siding and it works great!)


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