pool filter in 225 gallon aquarium

[toyotasrfun]

okay
so i was goin through the garage today.. and i found this pool filter..
it says that it's good for like 3 thousand something liters or something..
i imagine that's the rating per hour..
i wont need anything close to that but i was wondering.. woudl i be able to use this?
i'm hopin to save a dollar or two on picking up a filter for my aquarium.. wondering if this is even somethign i might be able to look at..
please let me know what you think..

also.. i'll be using a small compressor to run airstones and junk into the tank.. i'm told arowana require lots of air.. gonna read as much as i can into that and hopefully figure that out.. plus i figure it cant be bad for my discus to have lots of air in the tank right?!
anyhow.. it's not a giant compressor by any means.. has a very gentle flow.. it's one of those airbrushing compressors.. very very small compressor.. i'll try to get the rating on that too..
anyhow.. lemme know what you guys think..

 

[Oddball]

A pic and details of the internals of the filter would help in determining if it could/should be used on an aquarium. A typical 3000gal rated pool filter may be useless for aquaria if it is a simple pleated filter element. You'll get mechanical filtration but, little to no biological/chemical filtration.
Using a shop compressor is a no-no on aquariums. These compressors blow through alot of oil and carbon dust. Plus, they're notorious for being big power consumers so, you'll wind up paying more for a "free" pump than you would in buying a proper aquarium air pump. The same excess power consumption goes for a pool filter.
Aros are part-time air breathers so, over-aerating your tank isn't really a necessity. Just provide them clean water through proper filtration and a regimen of routine water changes/gravel washes, keep them at the proper temp, and provide a varied/balanced diet and your aro will do fine.

 

[CHOMPERS]

... and i found this pool filter...but i was wondering.. woudl i be able to use this?
i'm hopin to save a dollar or two on picking up a filter for my aquarium...

... lemme know what you guys think..

WOW! I love how you think!
I am thinking of using a small swimming pool sand filter as a denitrator. A pool filter will make a great mechanical filter as long as it is not a DE filter (you will have to manually dissassemble it to clean it; it will take over an hour each time).

A cartridge filter is really the only type you would want to use. It will give you a large filtering capacity and longer cleaning intervals. Again, it gives minimal aerobic biological breakdown of waste. Make sure you can drain the water in the bottom of the filter. Each time that you clean it, water dripping off of the cartridge will rinse off some of the fish waste. It is inevitible to get a bunch of waste left in the bottom of the filter tank. If this is not drained out, it will make a mess of your tank(s).

Sand filters are out of the question because they require backwashing. This process uses water from the pool and sends it to waste (sewer or on the ground). There is not enough water in an aquarium to backwash a swimming pool sand filter.

 

[Dr Joe]

WOW! I love how you think!
I am thinking of using a small swimming pool sand filter as a denitrator. A pool filter will make a great mechanical filter as long as it is not a DE filter (you will have to manually dissassemble it to clean it; it will take over an hour each time).

A cartridge filter is really the only type you would want to use. It will give you a large filtering capacity and longer cleaning intervals. Again, it gives minimal aerobic biological breakdown of waste. Make sure you can drain the water in the bottom of the filter. Each time that you clean it, water dripping off of the cartridge will rinse off some of the fish waste. It is inevitible to get a bunch of waste left in the bottom of the filter tank. If this is not drained out, it will make a mess of your tank(s).

Sand filters are out of the question because they require backwashing. This process uses water from the pool and sends it to waste (sewer or on the ground). There is not enough water in an aquarium to backwash a swimming pool sand filter.

And sand filters usually use a 1hp - 1.5hp pump. My 1.5hp cost $132.00 a month to run 12-16hrs/day.

They can do a good job mechanically, but have to be used with a very big bio filter.

Sand filters can be backwashed with the use of a large sump or holding pond and extra plumbing.

You gotta really want to use one to go thru all that. Then again if you have a 3000g tank aquaclears ain't gonna cut...

 

[toyotasrfun]

alright
ive got some details on the pool filter
first its the kind of filter that has a strainer in it
this one doesnt have a strainer though.. i guess the previous owner had some sentimental value attached to it or something?
AAnyhow..
here is what it is

filtration rate 550 GPH
120V
90W
60 Hz
1.6A

the brand is an Action Sports, Inc. F120

ill have some pics of it up soon.. ive caught enough flaq about it.. i only plan to use it for a little while till it burns out or whatever.. since i have it already it wont cost me very much i imagine.. have to to see though.. let me know what you all think and i guess ill have to go from there

 

[CHOMPERS]

Just for clarification, a picture seems to be warranted here. It sounds like what you really have is a pump and not a filter. Pool pumps do have a strainer on the "wet end" and a power rating on the motor. Pool filters are plumbed into the system after the pump for the micro filtration. They usually do not have a motor, except on very small ones. The pump strainer only catches the big stuff like leaves and dead frogs.

If you have a pump instead of a filter, under most cercumstances it is way too big. For fast water river species such as trout, you could set up your tank with river rock and boulders for one of the coolest and most unique tanks around.

If you throttle the pump down to any appreciable degree, it will overheat the water and kill your fish. You should experiment with it and see if the pump will heat up the water by just running unobstructed.

 

[CHOMPERS]

Ummm....wait a minute...I stand corrected. I think you have one of the small ones with a pump and filter combined. 550GPH is near perfect for your tank. (I was not paying attention to the numbers.) It will be just under three turnovers per hour. It will not have a river quality flow, but a very mild current.

Many of the smaller pool pump/filter combos do not pump to a high head (height in the plumbing above the pump). Set it up outside with a bucket of water and see how high it will pump water in a hose. The higher you want it to pump, the less water it will pump. The 550GPH rating is at a zero head pressure. Time how long it takes to pump five gallons from one bucket to another four feet higher to simulate pumping from a sump or wet/dry back to your tank.

 

[gomezladdams]

1.6 amp sounds really small for a pool pumpbut like a really good size for your tank.Like chopers said you may have to figure a way to run it level with the tank instead of in the stand.If the motor is rated continuos duty it could work out really well