# DIY Trickle Filter



## Seanmiller09 (Dec 8, 2010)

Well I think I'm going to drill one of my little 10g tanks to get rid of the HOB. 


First obstacle: housing fish during build. A 5g bucket should work with a light, substrate, a rock with some java on it, maybe the old HOB if it will fit.... if not ill rock a water bottle air powered in tank filter. Are walmart buckets safe for temp housing these lil guys? Its just a handful of guppies.

Next obstacle: Its one of those waly world Aqua Culture 10g tanks they sell for like $20, I should not have to worry about the sides being tempured, right? Just maybe the bottom? 

I think Im going to do a 5 gal bucket for now for my refuge. Any better/cheap ideas for something to be converted into a trickle filter thats going to have some holding room for some added volume?

Ill probably move the fish out, and if the glass isn't deemed tempured, Ill drill it out for 1/4" fittings... Should be big enough for a 10 g, right?

Does anyone think I should drill the bottom if its not tempured and set up an internal overflow? 

Any thoughts? Questions? Similar builds I need to out do?

Thanks, 
Sean


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## bearwithfish (Sep 29, 2009)

well lets start with te bucket.. as long as its clean and never been used for chemicals you should be good..
next the sides are not tempered glass but the bottom most likely is... as for the drilling i personally would not use anything greater than 1/2 inch (inner diameter) so 1/4 should be fine... her is one issue to consider... the glass on a 10 gallon is fairly thin so any weight applying presure (your pipe) may crack the glass in light of this i would suggest that you use some type of support to hold the weight of the pipe... for example a friend uses zip ties to support the pipe stapled to the stand ....


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## Seanmiller09 (Dec 8, 2010)

I'm not completly in favor of the bucket, I just think it would be easiest/cheapest so I wouldn't have to cut any pieces of curved lexane to fit the profile of the walls of a rubermade. If I go with a bucket it will be a cheap virgin one from either walmart of home depot.

Ah, very good point. I had not thought of sheer force being a problem, but as you said this glass is very thin, I will definitly need to address this. 

Does anyone know if they make larger bulk head gaskets and nuts? That would help spread the oposing forces caused by the 90 bend out of the tank. 

Also, I want to paint the overflow black. Is standard paint safe for the interior of aquariums or should I not play with fire so to say and just leave it clear?


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## bearwithfish (Sep 29, 2009)

for painting any PVC or plastic in the tank most folks (myself included) recommend Krylon Fussion... this turns into plastic after drying and is safe in the aquarium.... 

larger holes mean larger area of missing glass and higher risk of breakage....


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## Seanmiller09 (Dec 8, 2010)

Got all the supplies and plumbing for the W/D (minus bio media and filter media) and overflow, curent investment: $21

Home Depot didn't have large enough diamond dust hole saws, so I had to Amazon.com some... should be here Thursday morning. But I got a few other tasks knocked out of the way, pics in a second.

For now, it seems my freebie fountain pummp only has a maximum vertical push of about 2 1/2 feet... oh well. Anyone know of a good, cheap pump that can do about 4 feet all day?

Now for a few pics I snapped this evening. Not much, but its a start.

Temp Tank:


















Trickle housing:




































DIY circular saw guide for nice straight plexi (aint a college budget grand?)


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