# I need some help with my DIY canister filter.



## JoseDRivera (Jun 22, 2016)

I decided to try my hands on building a canister filter for my turtles with a Home Depot 5 gallon bucket and a Leaktite screw-top lid. The problem I'm having is that no matter how tight I screw the lid on, water keeps spraying out from multiple spots. The pump I'm using is a CN-3500 from Chaning. Any advice?


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## somebody (May 13, 2014)

You can try running a bead of silicone along the gasket in the lid. Stupid question but does the lid have a gasket?


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## JoseDRivera (Jun 22, 2016)

The lid comes with a gasket. And I caulked around the lid, but I did must have did it poorly because water still leaked and squirted out.


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## JoseDRivera (Jun 22, 2016)

This is the lid: http://www.homedepot.com/p/Leaktite-5-g ... /203205720


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## SrsSarcasM (Jan 28, 2016)

A standard snap-on lid type on a bucket will NEVER seal from the pressure developed from a pump, even with a seal. They are designed to stop liquids sloshing out of the bucket when in transit etc, they aren't designed at all to hold any sort of pressure.

If you try to permanently seal it you will run into the issue of being unable to clean it later...

You need to use a proper pressurized container.

I don't know what you could find in your area but try to find a large plastic container with the snap-on lids. They usually hold an OK seal. Of course over time that seal will degrade and one day you will come home to a small flood in your house. If you're serious about DIY you probably need a low tank level shutoff switch to kill the canister filter pump if your water level gets low (due to a leak).

Alternatively you can sometimes get 5 gallon screw on mini water barrels that are OK.

Also if PVC pressure pipe is cheap in your area you can try making a PVC canister filter like some of Joey's videos here: https://www.youtube.com/user/uarujoey/videos


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## JoseDRivera (Jun 22, 2016)

It's not a snap-on lid. It's a screw-top.

>If you're serious about DIY you probably need a low tank level shutoff switch to kill the canister filter pump if your water level gets low (due to a leak).

And where would I get that?


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## somebody (May 13, 2014)

GE silicone 1, or any common aquarium silicone, will provide enough of a bond to seal but not so much as to not be able to remove later down the line. When you say caulk I imagine a putty type material that hardens, am I correct?


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## JoseDRivera (Jun 22, 2016)

Yeah, that's what I used. I'll look into the aquarium silicone. Thank you.


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## somebody (May 13, 2014)

make sure the gasket is sealed properly to the top of the bucket. It might be getting caught up and twisting and compromising the seal. When you change the oil filter on your truck you dip your finger in oil and rub it in the new filter gasket. This helps it slide... same concept just use tank water to slide the gasket over the rim of the bucket.

Somethings you can try can be to....
1) remove the gasket that came in the lid and run a bead of silly cone in the same spot instead of the gasket. Don't put the lid on yet, instead, let it cure for 48 hours and create it's own gasket. That should be thick and soft enough to make your own gasket.

Or...

2) you can run a small bead in the groove of the old gasket then put the gasket in top of the silly cone. When it cures and you screw it on the bucket and that will provide more 'squish' room for the gasket to seal.


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## newcichlidiot (Jul 7, 2010)

Maybe look at some weather stripping for use as a gasket. Also you may have to use oil or some lubricant to let the gasket spin as you screw down the lid. It may be getting scrunched (technical term) up. Thanks for listening.


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## joeyo (Jul 2, 2012)

Hey, we're you able to resolve the leak? Did it hold up or did you give up on the DIY Canister? I'm about to do this too. Just ordered the gamma seal ring gasket and screw top for a five gallon bucket. I'm copying a Joey's version from u tube. He said silly cone and Vaseline to lube the gasket part for preventing leaks, so curious if you tried that and if it fixed the problem. Let us know!


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## Vociferus (Aug 10, 2016)

Maybe I'm late to this, but you should have the pump on the exit side of the filter. That way there won't be pressure in the canister, only vacuum.


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