DIY Sand filters

[Fordy17]

Evening all,

After getting a new tank a friend of mine was having a problem getting his tank to run clear. After numerous amounts of water changes and different methods to try and clear it he decided to get himself a sand filter which set him back about £65 ($104). I have not read and posts about sand filters on here yet as I have yet to stumble across one. Now, I remember being told when i started out in fish keeping that sand filters were not ideal for the hobby we all love but i cant remember why... If anyone knows why I would be grateful if you posted letting me know. Before installing this new sand filter however we took it all out of the box and decided to have a crack at making one so that the purchased one could be returned to the shop. The sand filter we made was very basic, made out of a 5.5gal drum (6.6 US) a few plastic pipe fittings and some very cheap and cheerful clear 3/4 inch clear hose. The filter outlet back to the tank goes via a pond UV steriliser before it does back into the tank. The sand for the filter came from the local swimming pool installer and was the majority of the cost at £25 ($40). I'm hoping to get some pictures to go with this thread at a later date for anyone interested to make their own and make a good saving with how basic the design actually is. My friend's 500l fish tank was spotless withing 24hrs just to add.

Just a couple of my own questions now:

1. Does anyone know if the sand for a sand filter has to be of a specific type or could you use general purpose sand for a job like this?
2. Any recommendations for filter(s) for the 750Gal tank I'm setting to build in the next coming weeks?

Regards

Fordy

 

[fishman61]

Are you talking about the new sand substrate added to the new tank? I use silica sand in my tanks, 125 & 150. It must not be comfused with pool sand. This sand is white as snow and very fine grained. It compacts really well so the waste from the fish sits directly on top so it's easier to remove. I rinse it about 20lbs at a time with a garden hose and a 5 gallon bucket. I put the sand in the tank, fill the tanks and it still took about 2 weeks for the cloudy water to become clear. I use (2) canister filters for each tank. I found the silica sand locally at a place that sells pools and hot tubs. It's really cheap $5 for a 75lb bag. I use 150 lbs in each tank.

 

[Fordy17]

Thank you fishman61. The sand filter is actually being used as an external filter where the water is being passed through the top of the barrel down through about 9 inches of sand and out of the side near the base which in turn connects to the UV steriliser and then fed back into the tank. All of this is driven by a small pump housed within the tank itself. I like the prices where you are! It's the equivalent of $5 per 2.2lb here! This is one of the reasons for the amount of DIY aquarium items we are trying. The big project starts soon with the 750Gal!

 

[fishman61]

let us know how it goes

 

[Blackumbi]

Sent from my iPhone using MonsterAquariaNetwork app

 

[Fordy17]

Ok so, these are the parts i bought and put together.

I'm powering the sand filter using 2 powerheads which i had spare laying around.

Twinning the powerheads into a single line connector just gave the set up an extra boost so that there is a good amount of flow created within the tank on return. As you can see i have also piped this
through an inline UV steriliser.




From this picture you can see the amount of dirty captured just 8 hours later. Unfortunately i waited too long before getting the 'Before' pictures as it slipped my mind However it was only 4 hours after installation i remembered so i caught it fairly early on. All these pictures were within 12 hours of the installation.

Hope you enjoy and get a little something out of this idea

 

[MakuCentauri]

Looks pretty cool. What's the plan for cleaning the sand filter once the dirt level gets high? I guess some sort of back flush like with regular pool sand filters? The other concern I'd have would be if a high dirt level slows the flow through the sand and builds up pressure in the container/filter. Wouldn't want the pressure to get too high and have the lid blow off or the plastic to split.... that could get messy. Not trying to rain on your parade or anything - just curious.

 

[Fordy17]

I have since thought of this issue and removed one of the powerheads but kept the twin flow in place. If the pressure becomes too much the back pressure hits the connecting breaching and comes back into the tank. Once the flow becomes obvious it is blocked too much i will be shutting off the powerheads and switching the supply to feed in through the base and removing the cap allowing the dirt to be kicked up along with the sand so all the scum will come out of the top.

I'm moving home soon and this will be living in the garage with me and the 10ft i will be building once the house has been painted completely throughout, from there i will have enough hose to take this filter into the garden and flush through completely. Now... Any ideas of what i should use to filter the 2800L of water from the 10ft i want to build?

 

[mitch.silk]

nice job. i know there is probably a really simple answer to this but i believe you said you output is on bottom. what prevents you pushing all 9" of your sand into the aquarium?