# DIY canister filter-how big?



## thaerin (Dec 12, 2004)

All righty, I give up. My Penguin 170 does a wonderful job of bio-filtration and the mechanical is not horrible, but it's not great either. So for giggles (and lack of funds) I'm going to try making a canister filter. I've got the major expense covered, the powerhead. An AC 20, rated for 127 gph (is this powerful enough? Hope so). 
I've seen lots of designs, including Niko's and understand them. I don't expect this to be hard. 
But my question is: How big a container should I use? 1 liter of space for media? 2? The size needed is one of the choices I need to make before I decide what material to use, which would be cheaper. It'll be filtering a 20 gallon (long version) tank.

At the moment, the filter is likely going to be just for mechanical filtration and I'll keep the Penguin running. If I like how the canister works, assuming it's big enough, I'll wait until the media has a good growth of bacteria then take out the penguin.
And any suggestions on media to use? Floating around is a huge piece of Marineland's rite-size bonded filter pad, a big bag of filter fiber and sponges for an aquaclear power filter. I'll likely use them for the mechanical filtration part, but I'm asking more about the bio filter part. Go with the cheap DIY filter media like shotgun wadding or see if I can get some good stuff, like Eheim's media cheap?

Floating around is a huge piece of Marineland's rite-size bonded filter pad, a big bag of filter fiber and sponges for an aquaclear power filter. Likely


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## turtlehead (Nov 27, 2004)

where will you be placing this filter next to the tank of below? next will require less gph below qill require a lot more.


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## thaerin (Dec 12, 2004)

Hmm...It will likely be just behind the tank or off to the side. Attached is an old pic of the tank but it still in the same spot. It's on a shelving unit from IKEA. I could place it behind or build a small holder that can hang of the shelf for it. End result is maybe a foot or two of tubing, but likely at most a foot of height in difference. I'll try to get a better picture later, can't find the camera right now.


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## turtlehead (Nov 27, 2004)

about 180 gph will do fine(overfiltered).


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## niko (Jan 28, 2004)

I believe that 1 liter container would be enough for a 20 gal. tank. But it's a good idea to have more space so if you can use a bigger container then do it. My 35 gal tank is running perfectly clean with this size container (about 1-1/2 liters I think).

I don't remember who told me about this link, but it can't get cheaper than that I guess 

No matter which what media you decide to use it may be a good idea to seed the filter with commercial bacteria. In the last few weeks I've started to think that one needs both bacteria that breaks organics (like this) and nitrifying bacteria.

--Nikolay


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## thaerin (Dec 12, 2004)

niko said:


> No matter which what media you decide to use it may be a good idea to seed the filter with commercial bacteria. In the last few weeks I've started to think that one needs both bacteria that breaks organics (like this) and nitrifying bacteria.
> 
> --Nikolay


Careful with that stuff Niko! I used a different product, Nutrafin's Waste control, but it sounds exactly like that stuff. 
"- Contains beneficial bacteria that break down organic waste
- Breaks down organic pollution resulting from:
-- By-products of decaying matter
-- Film and sludge on decorations and accessories
-- Slime on glass
-- Protein film on top of water
-- Fish waste
-- Plant leaf remnants
"
http://www.hagen.com/uk/aquatic/product.cfm?CAT=1&SUBCAT=121&PROD_ID=01076640030101
It works wonderfully at reducing the buildup of organics but it will cause a BIG ammonia/nitrite spike when you first use it. All the things that would break down over time do it all at once instead becuse of the added bacteria and overwhelms your biological filtration. I've got a Penguin 170 biowheel for a bit of overfiltration(rated for a 50 gallon, it's on a 20) and a tank that are both fully cycled and I still got a nitrite spike. The spike was large enough to cause a lot of stress, one of the cories lost nearly half his tail and then got fin rot on the damaged fin. 
I tested the water when this happened and discovered the nitrite. As this was the next day after I tried the waste control for the first time and they warn "Ammonia levels may peak during this process.", I'm assuming that's what caused it.

As I understand it, the stuff contains the bacteria (heterotrophic) that grows before the nitrifiying bacteria starts growing. It's the stuff that breakdown fish waste and other organics into ammonia.
"There are two main groups of bacteria living on the filter: heterotrophs and autotrophs. The heterotrophic filter bacteria break down organic materials containing nitrogen, like proteins present in food and fish wastes, into inorganic pollutants like ammonia. The autotrophic filter bacteria break down the ammonia into slightly less harmful chemicals, like nitrite and finally nitrate. Nitrate, which is only mildly toxic, can be diluted by making partial water changes using low-nitrate tapwater. 
As the different types of bacteria grow, a number of things happen to the pollutant content of the water. Some of the changes in the pollutant levels are shown in the graph (right). 
Heterotrophic bacteria start growing before autotrophs, like Nitrosomonas which break down ammonia into nitrite. These reach high levels after about two weeks, at which point the ammonia level starts to drop and the nitrite level starts to rise.
"
http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/pfk/pages/show_article.php?article_id=74

If you decide to use it, make sure to keep a close eye on the tank for a while. You might need to to a big WC afterwards to help control the aftermath. I haven't used the stuff since, as I just finished treating the cory for his fin.

Sorry for the long rant but I'm rather attached to the cory and was rather upset when I woke up to find half his tail missing. I got lucky when I got him as I bought 2 cories and they ended up being a mated pair, so I'm a lil protective of him. That and I'm fairly sure it killed all the fry, I haven't seen them since. They were the first fry from the pair too =(


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## thaerin (Dec 12, 2004)

Oh and so much for a DIY canister  The parental units are uneasy about the idea and would rather I pay a little more than I would for the parts for DIY and get a good quality filter. 

*edit* woops, 72 not 62. still darn cheap for an Eheim!
so for $62, including shipping, would an Eheim classic filter plus kit (includes media basket, media and double tap valves) be a good deal and enough of a filter for a 20 long? I'd replace the Penguin (after the Eheim cycled) with the Eheim. 

If need be, I've still got the powerhead and the quickfilter attachment I can use for extra filtration. The quickfilter has this nice little container you hook onto the power head. I could fill it with a sponge instead to act as a sponge filter for extra filtration. The filter cartridge it uses is nice and can be used to polish the water a bit (claims 1 micron filtration) but don't last terribly long and are on the expensive side (3.59 for a 2 pack, maybe a month at best)


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## turtlehead (Nov 27, 2004)

Good thinking!


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## Botia dude (Feb 4, 2005)

The Ehiem Classic 2213 would be perfect for a 20 gallon. I've been using one on a 28g for over 3 years now with no problems.


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## AaronT (Apr 26, 2004)

Why are you worried about biofiltration? That's one of the reasons why we all grow plants in our tanks. The cycle works like this; nitrites turn into nitrates turn into ammonia get broken down by bacteria. However, with healthy plants in a tank the nitrates and ammonia are used up by the plants. So long as you have good healthy plant growth you ought to be able to just hook the Eheim right up and take the Penguin off. $62.00 is a good price for a 2213 and should work well on your tank.


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## thaerin (Dec 12, 2004)

Key phrase "good healthy plant growth" 
While I have graduated from the black thumb of death to the not so nice shade of brown that can grow somethings, plant growth still sin't that great. Still learning though and maybe some day I'll get my green thumb and won't have to worry about bio filtration.
What I might do is rinse the bio wheel off with tank water into the Eheim to give it some of the bacteria build up and remove the Penguin.

One question grandmaster, I thought the cycle was Ammonia to nitrite to nitrate?


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## AaronT (Apr 26, 2004)

I am fairly certain that is the cycle, but I've been wrong before. All I know is that either way the cycle gets broken by plants consuming nitrates and ammonia. 

You'll get to the point of healthy plants. None of us grew healthy plants right from the get-go.


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## dwhite645 (Jan 9, 2005)

well, I was running an marineland emporer 280 (great filter, just wanted a canister) and bought an Eheim 2213 and hooked it right up and took off the emporer. In a well established planted tank, it's really not necessary to worry about the bio stuff. I do run a little portion of zeolite 'just in case' since there's no harm in doing so, at least not that I know of, just in case things go hay wire for some reason. The rest of my 2213 is packed with the filter pads to rid the debris and fine particles, and a little portion of carbon to keep the water sparkling clean and odor free.


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