diy canister/sump troubles

[tim4072]

i have a a couple of designs. 1 for a sump and 1 for a canister. but i am confused on where the water pump would go in either design and how i extract the water from the aquauim as i dont want to drill it

[dskidmore]

A true canister filter is a closed loop system, so the water can be pulled by siphon from the aquarium. I personally would put the pump after the filtration media; the pump life will be increased if it doesn't have debris running through it all the time.

A sump system is open to the air, so a siphon will likely either pull too much or too little water. You would instead want an overflow box. An overflow box uses a siphon to bring water over the side of the aquarium, then has a baffle the water flows over when the water level rises above it. This allows only as much water to flow down into the sump as you have pumped up. The sump pump should be attached to the aquarium return line, to produce positive pressure for the trip back up. The sump pump inlet can be open in the sump or plummed to a bulkhead near the bottom of the sump.

[RandyStacyE]

If you don’t already have a canister filter you would save quite a bit of money and maintenance costs by making your own. It’s very simple. Check out http://randystacye.com/diy_canister_filter.htm

Anyway whether you have a sump or not you will require a pump to drive water through the canister. It is always suggested by every pump manufacturer I’ve seen to push water with the pump. In other words push water through the canister NOT to suck water through the canister. Evidently it is destructive to restrict the inlet of a pump but you can restrict the outlet. Just use a “pre-filter” on the inlet of the pump – this will keep crud, snails and critter out of the pump.

Yes a canister filter is a “closed loop” and you can plumb a canister filter many different ways. You can suck water out of your sump, push through the canister then back to the sump. You can suck water out of the sump; push through the canister to your display tank. Just don’t pump water from your display to your sump (this can cause serious problems).

In my opinion if you are using a sump the best way to filter a system is to use a simple filter sock. I have a DIY Filter sock page in that site as well. This is even cheaper than a canister filter.

[RandyStacyE]

If you don’t want to drill your tank you should definitely go with a “siphon overflow”. I usually go with 1 size larger than designated for your flow rate (gph your pump puts out). That way if you ever upgrade to a larger pump you’re covered.

I forget where I bought mine but I would check: http://www.aquaticeco.com/index.cfm/.../4982/cid/1345

That overflow looks identical to mine and a very decent price (I may have bought mine here). Now when I received my overflow, hooked it up and fired up my pump the overflow standpipe makes a sound that can eventually become irritating as ****. This sound is just water running down the pipe. What you do to silence this is make yourself a Durso Standpipe shown here:
http://www.dursostandpipes.com/

The Durso works flawlessly and will make any overflow dead silent.

In my opinion this is the best rout to go.

If you need a pump Aquatic Eco even sells excellent pumps that will work for either inline or submersible use (with the same pump).
http://www.aquaticeco.com/index.cfm/.../8787/cid/2142
These pumps are identical to SEDRA, Dolphin Tank Master etc… made by the same manufacturer. I use them and I love them.

[dskidmore]

Originally Posted by RandyStacyE

Check out http://randystacye.com/diy_canister_filter.htm

Nice site! I liked the venturi and PVC overflow sections best.

[greenmaji]

Originally Posted by dskidmore

Nice site! I liked the venturi and PVC overflow sections best.

Yes, great work