Filter concept

[RedNeckTakashi]

Call me crazy but I hate looking at my tank and seeing all these tubes and wires and what not. I've used every filtration method on the market short of drilling the tank and nothing has worked to my liking. I settled on a home made overflow setup due to its larger area for beneficial bacteria to thrive. That being said, it's an eye sore.

So here's my thought... I want to create a hood for my tank with the filtration, heater, lighting and co2 injection built directly into it. I figure it can be a tall hood while retaining its elegance so long as i make it match the stand the tank is on.

Does anyone have any ideas or knowledge of such a thing even existing?

 

[Betta keeper]

I have heard of three stage filtration built into the hood

I can't remember where I saw it, but it was three connected boxes

Biological media, mechanical media
A little shrimp tank

Have you tried YouTube?

 

[BBradbury]

Red...

Consider natural filtration using land plants. No wires, no noise. Plants are immersed in the tank water, with the leaves above. Roots take in all forms of nitrogen and grow with four fixture shop lighting. Water changes are minimal. Open tanks, allow plant growth, several weekly water top offs maintain good water conditions. Add Ramshorn snails. They help maintain a clean tank and when they die off, the shells dissolve in the tank water, replacing trace minerals the fish need. The plants use the only the CO2 from the surrounding air. No expensive mechanical gizmos needed.

Silence is bliss!

B

 

[Betta keeper]

What plants work for this? And are they cat safe? My cat thinks everything green is salad

 

[Ironworker161]

Hi redneck, just saw your post today. I was wondering what you came up with for your under the hood filtration, I think it's a pretty cool idea. I'm thinking if you can find a pump with with an intake tube that could come down from the hood into the tank, that would be the only visible part. ( the tube that is, pump would be under the hood) then it's just a matter of pumping the water through a filter box that you could build yourself out of Lexan. Then another tube on the opposite end of the tank to return the water to tank. Pretty simple right ? : )

Check out the pics of my treasure chest tank on my profile page, a hood like that would house everything you need.

 

[coralbandit]

This is like a sump ,but you pump up to it and gravity returns the water.
AE SHOP New Aquarium External Hang on Filter Canister Saltwater Freshwater fit | eBay
I believe there is a set up that has filter in hood made by Eclipse...
The one in the link seems like an easy enough DIY and a solid plan.
Start with vinyl gutter as base and build up from there?

 

[RedNeckTakashi]

Thank you all for the input.!

Ironworker, I couldn't get the image to render on my iPad but I think I get the concept of it. I assume it's custom considering your page says you're into woodworking. I have a wood shop myself! However it's in my garage and my garage is cold. And I'm a wimp in the cold...[emoji16] How do you think the intake from a fluval50 hang on filter would work? The tube coming down with the motor in the hood, thus leaving gravity to do the rest

Bbradbury, this is an interesting concept however, how would the plants keep the detritus from building up in the substrate? I understand it breaks down over time but with the finer substrate I use it seems to all ball up under the mess of moss until I vacuum.

Sassymomma, I have tried YouTube and google but I can seem to find anything even relatively similar to what I want to make. If you can find anything to give me some sort of head start would be awesome though!

Coralbandit, I like where you're coming from with the vinyl gutter idea, I think ironworker's lexan idea would work in the gutters stead. Just to keep the corners square, making removable media boxes to then insert into the acrylic "channel"(for lack of a better term).