Crystal Clear Water || Aquarium Power Filter Mod

I am an Aquatic enthusiasts, marine life really fascinates me (I spend hours looking at them). My roots are based to fishermans, but the day i started keeping fishes as hobby i quit eating fishes (its like eating my loved ones). I own a fresh water aquarium for quiet a long time. Those who visit my place are always intrigued by the water quality i maintain. I explain each single one of them with much interest. I have a dropbox file which explains he same and i forward it to those who request the mod for maintaining the crystal clear water.

Note :This may not be the best filtering mechanism, or better than commercial products available. But this custom mod suits my needs and very low in maintenance. It is not a replacement mechanism for water changes which are required in Aquarium.

I have other Ible published before for lighting using LED LINK which was featured here.

Step 1: Problems

During early times i used to find the boyu canister power filter very troubling and have many shortfalls :

1. The waste collected is always inside the tank (need to push them out)
2. The force of the filter out was so high that fishes were overworked (need to control the flow)
3. Cleaning the filter media inside the filter was troubling which inturned made my water merkier during cleaning. (ease the process).

All this shortfall made me think of modding the existing filter and also provide good bacterial growth.

Note :Many will debate on this is not an bio filter. It may not be best but it provides a breeding ground for good bacteria in the cleaning medium itself.

To make things easier i devised a plan as shown above, where the filtering mechanism inside the filter is removed and pushed on top of aquarium. By doing this

1. waste is not collected inside tank but outside
2. cleaning process is done at ease without disturbing the tank
3. also the flow is reduced considerably where fishes stopped sweating.

Step 2: Gathering Material | Reuse

I have used the

1. canister or candle used in drinking water purifier.
2. cold drink bottle to house them.
3. Synthetic wool/cotton used in soft toys awesome filter.

Every 6 months those candles are replaced and are useless for drinking which cannot be reused.

Once these are collected lets start rigging.

Step 3: Prep the Bottle

Cut the bottom from where we can insert the filter media. It would be of immense help when we refill or clean the existing media for maintenance.

Remember the top where bottle cap is - INPUT (water flow in)

Bottom of bottle - OUTPUT (water flow out - in the aquarium)

Step 4: Build

Have used enough images to make the picture clear.

Rig the filter candle

When we tear down the filter candle we get enough material to build our mod

1. Outer casting mat/mesh
2. Inner linen to filter minute particles (we wont be using this since it requires pressured water)
3. cotton like mesh
4. activated carbon

Make

1. we will fill our first medium i.e. synthetic cotton or wool

Adv : Will filter out the debris collected, this will collect almost all the dirt.

2. we fill second layer with activated carbon.

Adv : With help of activated carbon harmful chemicals get trapped (chemical adsorption)

3. we fill the last layer with striped cotton rigged from filter candle

Adv : Grow good bacteria colonies provides enough surface to breed.

Lastly close the open wide end of bottle with mesh with help of elastic band (this is where the grooves on bottle comes handy).

Note:in between each filter medium separators are used so that they don't mix/interfere with other mediums.

Step 5: Cleaning

This filter will be used above the aquarium water, so all the dirt will not be inside water. Also cleaning is a breeze, where one just needs to unhook the bottle and clean/replace medium.

I do cleaning twice a month and complete material replacement once a month. Filter is kept running 24x7.

This filter will maintain water crystal clear with no odours. I have been using the same for past 4 years.

Note :Cleaning interval may change based on number of fish, tank size, feeding intervals and amount feeded and excreted.

Positive criticism appreciated towards upgrading the ible and its content with sole goal of enhancing the aquatic life.

Step 6: Fish Tank Over the Years