How To Make My Own Fry Filters?

[Gun]

A margarine tub or something (trying to think of another smaller/squarer 'everyday use' plastic container..?)

Pierce or melt holes through bottom area (intake) and add holes at top for airline/airstone/out flow. Place small weight inside (pebble maybe), then fill with either something homemade or bought filter wool/carbon.

1) Do you think you could use the inside of an old quilt for the wool? There's a lot of media there...in one quilt alone, (if possible).

2) What could be a 'free' substitute for carbon?

3) Say I made one (size-wise standard margarine tub). Do you think this homemade air-driven filter would be sufficient for say a 36X18X18 with up to 60 1" guppie fry in?

I would like to think I can make as many of my own 'air driven filters' as possible, this way I can save money/spend more on the pump.

 

[Jazzzz]

love your guppy pic its just like one i got today

 

[peter22UK]

dude dobbies at ponteland had those bubble line filters for dirt cheap...

why go to the trouble of making your own?

 

[england]

i have the sponge filter which you connect to a pump, costs around 6-7pounds..hey presto, cheap as chips

 

[shelaghfishface]

you must live in a really posh part, chips are only £1 up here

 

[shelaghfishface]

there are lots of DIY instructions in the hardware part of the forum various diffrent types of filters

 

[Gun]

Thanks for the advcie

I've got a few empty fish food containers (tubs). Gonna have a go at making something with those.

If anyone has any ideas on 'homemade' filter media?, I would be very grateful.

Yeah, they are fairly cheap to buy (found the Hagen Jet Flo Corner Filter for £3.65 and Algarde Biofoam 45 Filter(£2.91) /200 Filter( £7.33), also Penn Plax Clear Free Corner Filter 1 at £4.38).

But there could possibly be a lot of small tanks building up in the fish house and I would like to keep startup/running costs to a minimum. If this means making stuff with some ideas from you guys...I'm happy to do that.

Just need to think of an 'everyday use' small plastic container that can be used to make air powered sponge filters for anything from 18x12x12 to 36x18x18 tanks. I think they should be easy enough to make, it's just what to put inside of them (filter media)?

love your guppy pic its just like one i got today

Yeah I like it to. It's not one of mine though, found the pic online

EDIT: Just read your other reply shelaghfishface. Will check it out

 

[Tolak]

1) Do you think you could use the inside of an old quilt for the wool? There's a lot of media there...in one quilt alone, (if possible).

This depends on if the quilt is treated with fire retardants. I buy bags of the cheapest pillow floss I can find for mechanical filtration, and toss it every couple of weeks. You are looking for polyester floss that has no fire retardants.

2) What could be a 'free' substitute for carbon?

You don't need to run carbon unless you are removing medications.

3) Say I made one (size-wise standard margarine tub). Do you think this homemade air-driven filter would be sufficient for say a 36X18X18 with up to 60 1" guppie fry in?

I've seen it done, in that size tank. Aquarium gravel on the bottom, floss on the top. You can even put some plants in the gravel if you like.

There is a pinned topic in the DIY section on building a sponge filter using a fish food container, just make it larger with the margarine container.

 

[Gun]

Ok thanks Tolak

I'll check that thead out

 

[OldMan47]

There are lots of threads on here about DIY filters for fry. Most of them amount to a tube sitting in a larger tube. Place gravel between them and drill holes in the inner tube near the bottom. Place an air stone into the inner tube to promote flow out of the inner tube. The water gets replaced by flowing through the holes near the bottom and that means water flows down inside the outer tube. Place some filter media on the top of the outer tube and you have a filter for a fry tank. It costs next to nothing to make and would take maybe 10 minutes to make. This assumes you have the air pump to run the air stone. The gravel serves two purposes. It holds the inner tube in place and allows water to flow freely toward the bottom of the filter where it enters the inner tube.