# Nano Canister (literally) for a nano



## taekwondodo

Didn't want to spend $70 for a canister filter, so I made this:










from this:









seen similar things done... but love the food "Canister" (hits left shoulder with right fist).

The biggest drawback on this DIY was that I already had all the tools...


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## rohape

nice job! wheres the pump?


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## taekwondodo

rohape said:


> nice job! wheres the pump?


Its a small powerhead in the tank...

(I'll fix the oversized "parts" picture tonight).

Total cost was under $20.


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## erijnal

how'd you get the hole on top?


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## raven_wilde

Yeah, is that canister glass or plastic? If glass, how did you drill it?


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## taekwondodo

acrylic. From WalMart. Its working great (had to grease the gasket though).

- Jeff


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## Gomer

You can probably just move the pump into the canister


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## Paul Higashikawa

It would be even more awesome if you could really integrate the pump into the canister body. But in my opinion, this is already a pretty nifty gizmo 
Great job!

Look forward to more pictures! We really need more novelties like this one so even the nano tanks can enjoy the benefit of that clean tank look often can only be seen in bigger tanks.


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## raven_wilde

What did you 'grease' the gasket with? This looks like a great way to upgrade the filtration on my 5 gal.


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## taekwondodo

Silicone plumbers grease (for faucet o-rings).


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## apogenaton

very interesting, good job.


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## taekwondodo

Update:

This thing just rocks! Works better than I could have hoped. Going a weeks strong now and the water is _*crystal *_clear.










(sorry for the crappy camera phone picture...)

- Jeff


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## DelawareJim

Nice canopy on the tank. Is that DIY too?

Cheers.
Jim


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## taekwondodo

yes, and thanks. My wife loves me and has bought me an awesome set of woodworking toys... (router/router table, table saw, drill press, sanders, etc...)

- Jeff


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## jeff63851

Nice DIY Canister filter! What equipment did you use to make it? The only thing that I don't understand is how to do cut holes in the jar.


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## AaronT

jeff63851 said:


> Nice DIY Canister filter! What equipment did you use to make it? The only thing that I don't understand is how to do cut holes in the jar.


Being that the jar is acrylic I'm guessing he simply drilled them and tapped them out to fit the hose barbs.

That's a neat little project. I agree that you should look into putting the pump into the canister. I'll bet it would still work.


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## taekwondodo

I could figure out a way to put it in the canister, but it's not bothering me in the aquarium either - drawback of putting it in the jar is that I would have to drill a hole in the acryilc, cut the cord and pull it through, then "Goop" the hole the cord comes in... essentually making _that_ pump a permanent part of the filter. If the pump fails (haven't had good luck with small pumps being reliable) I have to hack out the "Goop" and install another one...

Because this is working so nice, I may replace the 4x16" canister I built out of 4" ABS (for less than $15 sans pump, pictures to come) for my 55G with one made out of a larger acrylic canister (seen 1 and 2 gallon acrylic jars with similar clamp-down lids)

- Jeff


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## AaronT

The other option is to get a small pump that can run externally and simply put it inline.


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## Ownager2004

Wow i like it.

Couple questions.  Do you think this would work well on a 10 gallon? How many gph are you using with it?

Oh and im not very good with recognizing those parts... Can you give a parts list? please 

thanks


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## DJKronik57

Wow, that's awesome! I've been looking for a small canister filter for my 10G tank but couldn't find one and stumbled on this looking to see if I could make my own. There really is a lack of small canister filters on the market. My Hagen HOB filter also seems to get rid of all the CO2 I put in the tank and produces way too much current for shrimp. What size powerhead do you use?

I was thinking of using something similar to the homemade CO2 reactors made out of a Python nozzle but filled with filter media, but this looks like it could be easier with the right tools.  

Could you post a parts list and maybe just a short list of steps to build this?


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## kimo

taekwondodo said:


> Silicone plumbers grease (for faucet o-rings).


Vaseline works great too... and lots cheaper.


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## taekwondodo

kimo said:


> Vaseline works great too... and lots cheaper.


People already think I'm a little "off" for having a tank and all of the accys in my office (bucket, syphon tubes, nets, gallon jugs, etc...). Imagine the look I would get if I had a jar of vaseline sitting on my desk!!!

 :toimonst:

Partslist for those that asked:
Small acrylic food canister (make sure it will seal air-tight)
Couple of nipple fittings from Orchard Supply (or Lowes, or Dome Hepot, etc...)
Drill bit ~same size as the nipple's "south-side", or slightly larger (Drill slowly or you can crack the acrylic)
Tubing to fit the nipples... (no jokes on vaseline and nipples please  )
Plumbers goop.
Some pillow stuffing from WalMart, JoAnne's Fabrics, LFS, etc..
A scrubby plastic brillow pad from Walmart...
Some opencelled foam cut-to-fit.

Drill a hole in the top of the canister and one on the side near the bottom. Heavily apply Plumbers Goop. Let it dry overnight.

Stuff your media in the cannister, hook up the hoses to your cannister, pump and spray-bar (made this out of some acrylic I had laying around).

Turn it on and you are set...


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## colindoug

commenting on the reliability of small powerheads...
I think it would be better than that of a powerhead in your tank. If the powerhead is at the top of the canister, all water would be going through your filter floss and would not clog as easily - extending the life of the powerhead.


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## turbomkt

kimo said:


> Vaseline works great too... and lots cheaper.


Vaseline might not be the best choice as some rubber compounds can be broken down by the vaseline.


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## Dusty

That is a great idea! Can't wait to get one together for one of my 10's.


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## Longanlon

Check out these handmade canisters - I suppose not many of you can read Russian and Spanish, but the pictures are self explanatory:

http://lis.aqa.ru/bigcan/bigcan.html

http://www.drpez.net/panel/showthread.php?t=127510


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## taekwondodo

on the first one... is that a Maxi-jet 150 powerhead he is using externally? I'm looking for a small external pump (smaller than a Quiet-one or equivalent...)...

- Jeff


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## Longanlon

It is said the pump is *Maxy Jet 750*


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## $CREWSTONTEXU$

heck yess dude!!!!
imma sooo try to do this...im going to set up my 10G hopefully all goes good!
tnx


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## TAM

taekwondodo said:


> The biggest drawback on this DIY was that I already had all the tools...


You are just too funny.

I love this idea, think I'll try it myself. :high5:

TAM


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## aquariageek

I'm definitely looking to make one for my 10 gallon. I'll wait a bit and see if anyone else does and has any problems first....  


I guess the scrubby pads are there for the biological filter, used instead of bio-balls, etc?

Good work! Keep the thread going with updates


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## DJKronik57

I'm currently gathering the supplies to make it, but I'm unsure what pump/powerhead to use. What would be a good flow rate, if it works outside of the tank, etc. I'm thinking I'm going to mount a powerhead directly on top of the canister. Any thoughts on the pump?


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## DWIZUM

Not to hijack, but anyone on here made a bigger home-made canister? The ones at those links looked interesting. I have nearly everything laying around, so it would be free.

There are so many water-tight buckets available in the 5g size that it would be a great way to do it for a large tank. Even a new, food quality bucket with lid should only be $10 - $15 (check a homebrew store).


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## taekwondodo

DWIZUM said:


> Not to hijack, but anyone on here made a bigger home-made canister? The ones at those links looked interesting. I have nearly everything laying around, so it would be free.
> 
> There are so many water-tight buckets available in the 5g size that it would be a great way to do it for a large tank. Even a new, food quality bucket with lid should only be $10 - $15 (check a homebrew store).


I made one out of 4" ABS for my 55G. Cost less than $10.

also looking for a giant solution for my 4KG pond...


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## Tiapan

absoluely incredable, im hooked completely, gonna try to set one up on one of my 10's lying around or maybe my 15, got filters for everything else


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## joephys

taekwondodo said:


> ...
> 
> also looking for a giant solution for my 4KG pond...


I would just do something similar with a large trash can. The only difference would be, have the trash can be slightly higher (burried in the ground) than the pond, so you don't have to worry about it being under pressure, or about it over flowing. The water in filter will never overfloat since it can't get to be a higher level in the pond. Since it would be below pond level for the most part, gravity would do most of the work instead of a pump.


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## taekwondodo

Porblem with the trashcan is i need something pressurized because my pump is lower than my 4'high waterfall - thinking along the lines of finding an old DE canister (for a pool filter).

- Jeff


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## chadly

taekwondodo said:


> I made one out of 4" ABS for my 55G. Cost less than $10.
> 
> also looking for a giant solution for my 4KG pond...


check out this 5 gal bucket filter I made for my 140gal

http://aquaticpredators.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=22572


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## Burks

So has anyone tried this yet? I may look into it for my 1g and 10g tanks.


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## DJKronik57

Yep, I made one for my 20 long. Works great! :whoo: Check out the pictures of it in action: http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/aquascaping/27772-high-rise-aquascape-3-tank-rack.html

I filled it with peat granules and filter floss for the time being. I will probably build another smaller one for my 10 gallon when I have the time. The only downside is worrying that it's not quite water-tight or that it will fail and cause a mess. If that's worth $70 to buy one, I wouldn't build one.

Problems I ran into: the 1/2" hose barbs I got at Home Depot were too big for the largest drill bit my drill handles (a 1/2"). Therefore I had to botch it a little and push them through from the inside and silicone them in rather than screw them in from the outside. This made the bottom connection unusable (if you tried to push the tubing back onto it it would dislodge the silicone) so I just siliconed the 1/2" tubing into the 1/2" hole which turned out to be a much better fit. For anyone else looking to build this, make sure the hose barbs you choose fit your drilled hole.

Also, drilling the top is a bit tricky. The canisters lids are double walled and the second wall shattered as my drill punched through the first, so be very careful and go very slowly. I'm lucky that my "inside-connector" botch job meant the mouth of the hose barb protruted below the second shattered wall, so water does not fill the lid as long as I keep it above the tank. If the canister is put lower than water level, the pressure forces water into the lid and it leaks out the top and sides.

I also stuck with the powerhead in the tank design. I had a Hagen AquaClear 30 powerhead that I wasn't using and it had just the right amount of flow, plus it uses far less power (~8W) than the pump I was looking at, a QuietOne 1200 (~25W). With the 10 gallon though, I may decide to use a small pump mounted inside or on top of the canister, just to save space inside the tank. Problem is, most smaller pumps don't have intake connections, just vents around the base of the pump. Anyone have any ingenious designs for putting a small pump like a Mini-Jet 404 inside the canister? :-k


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## aquariageek

bump

Any updates? Is it still working as it was when you started using it?


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## onemyndseye

"...anyone haveingenious designs for putting a small pump...."

I havent tried it but I've always assumed that if the pump is in an airtight container and pumped water OUT.... the suction would be enough (after being primed) to keep water flowing.... but I dunno

Take Care,
-Justin
One Mynds Eye


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## DJKronik57

onemyndseye said:


> I havent tried it but I've always assumed that if the pump is in an airtight container and pumped water OUT.... the suction would be enough (after being primed) to keep water flowing.... but I dunno


True, but the hard part is, how do you get the power cord in to the pump without making the container leaky (thus reducing suction) or cutting the power cord?

My filter was running fine until 2 days ago when I replaced it with a 2213 that was handed down from a larger tank that got a new filter. I'll probably set it up on new tank when I get the money for another tank!

Only complaints:

I had mine stuffed with filter floss and biological rings and it clogged up relatively quickly, causing the powerhead to make noise. I guess this means it's doing its job?

My seal started to leak a little while back due to normal use, but I fixed it with silicone.


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## onemyndseye

hehe...well... you cant  without cutting the cord that is....you can cut the very end off and wire on a replacement end that wouldnt look too bad 

Other than that drill a slightly undersized hole and pull the cord through it. I guess seal with silicon. Though epoxy might be a better bet. *shrug*

ofcoarse this is all speculation as I've never tried it  LOL

Take Care,
-Justin
One Mynds Eye


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## Gomer

I was thinking about making a nano canister and had some spiffy ideas and realized it may not be worth it with the Zoomed 501 costing ~$35


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## toddnbecka

...


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## epicfish

toddnbecka said:


> ...


What's the "..." for? =)


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## toddnbecka

I needed a spot to paste a link, but it was off-topic, so I edited it out.


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## erthlng

Here is a DIY Nano tank canister filter I put together last month.









more info can be found here: http://www.picofilter.com

Phil


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## laqu

cool


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## whispyb

Very interesting, wish I could do things like this.


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