This is my initial design on a DIY filtration system for my 600 gallon tank to replace my current sump filter. With this change I hope to get better water clarity and longer life from my pump because there will be more water pressure behind the pump assisting it in delivering the water back to the tank. So rather than buying another monster canister for $300-$400 I would stick with something more enjoyable than opening a box. If your a DIYer then you know what I'm talking about.
Before I started the design I knew I had to design something I could just turn a valve or two to remove the filter, open it up, clean, then close it back up replace and turn the valves back on. It also had to be able to handle the bio-load of the tank and be more effective at cleaning the water than my sump was. What I ended up with was a Modular PVC Inline filter. I figured out the cost without pump was just around $50 a piece going by the prices a Home Depot which was a lot cheaper than I thought it would be. Granted I will be redoing most of the plumbing on the tank but thats where all the fun is. So anyways here are my initial drawings please pick this apart now I need feedback now both good and bad before I start to build.
Here are the Parts involved.
I'll break down the parts a little here. The ball valves are there for obvious reasons to shut the water off to that filter for maintenance. The reason there are two at the bottom on either side of the bottom union is so when I remove the filter the water will remain in the unit itself and not spill out and to keep the water from being pumped out while the other 3 are still in use. Unions are there to make the whole thing removable. The reducing bushings are to take the pipe from 1" to 4" and back to 1" again. The important part is the male and female thread to slip adapters which will allow me to open the filter and clean the bio media and replace the coarse filter pad at the top and the fine water polishing pad at the bottom. I chose 4" pipe because its big enough to put my hand into and when you go higher the prices on some of the fittings jump. With the 4" pipe I figured out that a 4"x30" piece can hold 1.63 Gallons of Media or if I went with 36" that would be 1.96 gallons of media. I think I'm opting for the 30" since that will require me only buying one 10' section of pipe. The 4" to 2" bushing not only helps reduce the line down from 4" to 2" but its also concave which will allow me to put in some sort of rigid screen to hold the fine filter pad in place and not get sucked into the 2" opening and allow for better flow through the fine pad due to its shape.
This picture shows the assembled Filter and how I plan on supporting the filters and anchoring them to the wall.
This is how the filters will be lined up and the placement of the pump.
Here is a better view of how I plan on having everything lined up. 4 is all I can fit in there but all 4 filter modules will hold a total of about 6.5 gallons of media. The filters in this drawing are not scale this is just so I could fit them on paper.
TIA,
Gator.
Before I started the design I knew I had to design something I could just turn a valve or two to remove the filter, open it up, clean, then close it back up replace and turn the valves back on. It also had to be able to handle the bio-load of the tank and be more effective at cleaning the water than my sump was. What I ended up with was a Modular PVC Inline filter. I figured out the cost without pump was just around $50 a piece going by the prices a Home Depot which was a lot cheaper than I thought it would be. Granted I will be redoing most of the plumbing on the tank but thats where all the fun is. So anyways here are my initial drawings please pick this apart now I need feedback now both good and bad before I start to build.
Here are the Parts involved.
I'll break down the parts a little here. The ball valves are there for obvious reasons to shut the water off to that filter for maintenance. The reason there are two at the bottom on either side of the bottom union is so when I remove the filter the water will remain in the unit itself and not spill out and to keep the water from being pumped out while the other 3 are still in use. Unions are there to make the whole thing removable. The reducing bushings are to take the pipe from 1" to 4" and back to 1" again. The important part is the male and female thread to slip adapters which will allow me to open the filter and clean the bio media and replace the coarse filter pad at the top and the fine water polishing pad at the bottom. I chose 4" pipe because its big enough to put my hand into and when you go higher the prices on some of the fittings jump. With the 4" pipe I figured out that a 4"x30" piece can hold 1.63 Gallons of Media or if I went with 36" that would be 1.96 gallons of media. I think I'm opting for the 30" since that will require me only buying one 10' section of pipe. The 4" to 2" bushing not only helps reduce the line down from 4" to 2" but its also concave which will allow me to put in some sort of rigid screen to hold the fine filter pad in place and not get sucked into the 2" opening and allow for better flow through the fine pad due to its shape.
This picture shows the assembled Filter and how I plan on supporting the filters and anchoring them to the wall.
This is how the filters will be lined up and the placement of the pump.
Here is a better view of how I plan on having everything lined up. 4 is all I can fit in there but all 4 filter modules will hold a total of about 6.5 gallons of media. The filters in this drawing are not scale this is just so I could fit them on paper.
TIA,
Gator.
