Filtered Pet Watering Bowl

We have both dogs and cats in our house. The cats are finicky about their water and the dogs would drink out of any water bowl in the house. After the dogs had finished drinking, the cats didn't want anything to do with the water in the bowl. This self filtering bowl is a solution that keeps all of them with fresh clean water with minimal fuss.

The bonus is that this filtering water bowl is about half the price of some of the commercial filtering water bowls and will hold at least two gallons of water.

Step 1: Gather materials

You will need the following:

• Large water bowl (I prefer a 10 quart stainless steel) - (about $17.00 USD)


• Small aquarium circulating water filter - (about $13.00 USD)


• Plastic or wood pieces to shim the water filter - (free or very cheap)

Comments

[binkycakes]

I love the idea. I think this could do really well in pet stores.

[Ibanezfoo]

I thought those filters were meant to only filter some stuff, but also introduce certain bacterias that fish environments need.... is this really safe for a dog to consume?

[MsChris]

They will filter-period. The media you use determines what is filtered out of the water. The bacteria is created from the ammonia (the fish waste) introduced into the water in an aquarium. Those filters are usually designed to only keep larger particles from getting back into the fish tank. This is called a biological filter and will grow the bacteria which deals with the ammonia and nitrates in a fish tank. Then you have the chemical filtration (which is what you would want for your cat fountain), which filters out chemicals from the water, such as the chlorine used in our tap water. The design of the external aquarium power filter just happens to be one useful for this pupose as well. So unless you have ammonia or other waste in your pet water, it is really safe.

[cfuse]

Trickling filters (like the one in the instructable) don't introduce anything into the environment that wasn't there to begin with. The principles they work on are mechanical filtration and as an environment for naturally occurring nitrifying bacteria to thrive. They also sometimes contain highly porous media (like charcoal or zeolite) for trapping contaminants. None of this things should present a hazard to animal health.

[zerodb]

While it's true that aquarium systems and filtration includes biological elements, those bacteria are introduced (either from the environment or with the fish you add to the tank) and then colonize any porous surface in the tank and filter media and go on to feed on and process fish waste. The filter itself does not introduce any bacterial elements, and ideally for something like this you would only load the filter with activated carbon and replace it periodically to ensure that it doesn't get loaded up with some sort of dog slobber bacteria ecosystem!

[Dillard421]

I think the marine filter you are thinking of is the one with the Bio-Wheel. Its a spinning wheel that creates a suitable environment for bacterial growth. These particular filters do not have a bio wheel. If bacteria grew that easily in one of these filters, it would negate the need for a bio-wheel model. Here's a link to some examples of the bio-wheel model on Google product search: http://tinyurl.com/28qmyxp

[MsChris]

The bio wheels are simply an additional media for bacteria to colonize. The only difference is that the biowheel is exposed to water AND air, where as the other filtering parts are always submerged in water. So the submerged filter will only colonize anaerobic bacteria (the ones that do not need air to live), wheras the biowheel colonizes aerobic bacteria (the ones that need air to thrive. Each type of bacteria fulfills a different function, which is why the biowheel is an addition to the simple powerfilter.

[be23skido]

I have been thinking about building something similar for my cats. I recently learned that the black spots you see around a cats mouth is acne from dirty drinking water. However, providing my cats clean drinking water is tough. One of my cats is a water freak. She plays in all the water around the house. We don't always leave the toilet seats up so the only water available is in there water dish. The water freak has been known to stand in the dish, paw at the water, drink water off her paw or some variation of the three. This creates terrible drinking water. Some of the problems I run into with filtering is that the water freak has a habit of splashing all the water out of the bowl which in turn burns out the motors. She also creates blockages from the amount of dirt she puts in the bowl. In planning this, I've found that animals will find the best water, water that's been ariated, clean and cool. My goal is to provide filtered water that the cat can't play in or that I have some control over how she plays in it. Any suggestions?

[bustedit]

one of our dogs gets that black around his mouth, and needs to be on cycles of the steroid Prednisone occasionally to clear it up. he is an italian greyhound, primarily an insider, so it's not like he's rooting around outside in filth ever, but has developed a nasty habit of licking his front feet until he gets open sores, which turns into an endless cycle in itself, and the Pred also fixes that. Steroids are not the best solution, obviously, but they work well, and he can now beat me @ arm wrastling.

[MsChris]

Italian greyhounds are natural runners and have lots of energy, which, if not provided with adequate exercise, will typically result in the development of "nasty habits" like licking and chewing their paws until they are raw. It's called boredom, can easily be prevented and could avoid using steroids, which can have a slew of side effects, as all chemicals do. Shame on you...

[deckard1]

Put the filter on a plug timer. Even the smallest aquarium power filters circulate, filter, and aerate WAY more water per hour than what the biggest pet bowl would need; Will also save electricity... Most power filters use a submerged magnetic impeller and even if the bowl or tank runs dry there will still be a small amount of water in the filter tank that did not get expelled, this will keep the magnet cool and keep it from "burning out". Source: 30 years maintaining aquariums.

[Thenicholas3]

We built a cheap water fountain for our cats who also like to play in and sometimes lay in the water bowl.
You need 1 very large plastic bowl, 1 plastic bowl that fits upside down in the large bowl and has a flat bottom, and 1 plastic margarita glass. You will also need the submersible pump from a table-top fountain.
First, drill a hole in the bottom of the small bowl. Then drill a hole through the stem and into the top of the margarita glass.
Now take a table-top fountain pump, pull the hose through the stem of the glass and through the hole in the small bowl.
Put the pump in the center of the large bowl, put the smaller bowl upside down over the pump inserting the hose into the pump outlet hole. Sit the margarita glass ontop of the upside-down bowl.

  Fill the large bowl with water, making sure that it goes into the filter area. Now place  clean river rocks in the large bowl around the smaller bowl. Turn it on and watch the happy cats, they can splash in the shallow water over the stones, but never touch the pump or splash all the water out. 
The first one we built lasted about 3 years running non-stop, the bowls and margarita glass were from Walmart and the fountain was from the dollar store. It held about 3 gallons of water and we emptied and cleaned it 2-3 times a month. we do use filtered water in it to help keep algea from growing in the summer when it sat on our screen porch. The cats love it and now we've built a larger one for when the dogs are outside. just a note though, the dogs actually like the water better when it's a little dirty. I guess it has flavor then. If this is confusing send me a note and I'll send you pictures.

[smilebrite1h]

This fountain is just what I've been looking for. Yes, if you would please send me some pictures of it. Does it drip down water in a stream to drink? Thanks, I'm a new member, smilebrite1h. My email is [e-mail]

[talonts]

Build a bowl as above, but find one with a snap on lid. Cut a hole just big enough for the filter to work on one end, and a small cutout at the other for the cats to drink from. This will at least keep the cat from standing in the bowl (and YES, I have a cat that like to slap the water out of the bowl with his paws).

[infernisdiem]

we use the bathroom sink method because our cats wash their paws in the bowl, however, I have to keep my fishtank levels down because my cats try to drink/fish from them. lol

[swake]

Excellent job! I've had one of these setups for about a year now, and the cats tolerate it. I bought a 4 liter plastic CD box from Office Depot for the bowl and added a piece of plastic tubing so that it draws water from the very bottom. The cats took about a month to "trust" it enough that I could leave it as their only source of water. Other than the breaking in period, they have never given me any grief about it. I scrub it clean every month or so and replace the filter every other month (or so) and it has worked faithfully (and silently) with no issues whatsoever. Thanks!

[eman_p]

Hey there, I used your idea and made one, made a video talking about it as well:



I realize the filter is overkill, it's just what they had at the shop for the right price... I'm thinking I'll do as deckard1 says and put it on a timer.

Does anyone have any ideas about how to add a reservoir to a setup like this, maybe a 2 liter bottle?

[cmastin]

Thank you for posting video!! Cute cats!!!

[cmastin]

I know there are mixed opinions with the filter. I have actually looked into building a filter for human consumption because I'm sick of paying for Brita filters and I've found some DIY projects.. here is one:

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-refill-a-disposable-Brita-brand-water-pit/

I have not tried, and I'm not knowledgeable about filtration for humans or animals. I think that its a really cool concept if its safe and come on, 50 cents to refill a filter?? I would gladly pay $10.00 a month to insure the safety of my animals, but thought it would be worth looking into. I mainly want a filter to cut down on the thick gelatinous gel that collects on bowl, which was the main culprit to the down fall of the commercial running water unit I used in past. My cats have flat smushy faces and have to dip their heads into the bowl to drink. One of my cats has upper respiratory problems as a result. I'm excited to try this project with a cup underneath where water pours so that they can lick the water in a more vertical position. If anyone has more insight to refilling filters please "fill" me in!! get it? haha?:) If the prices are accurate it would save a ton! Hell I would drink out of their bowl;)

[pyromonkey]

What a cool idea. I have been wanting to get my dog a filtered bowl for awhile and they are pretty pricey. Since his bowl is similar to the one you show I dont think I need to buy him a separate bowl either :) Thanks for the instructable.

[p0sta1]

My dog suddenly went blind five days ago. She's having a hell of a time getting to her food & water so I'm going to build this for her so she can hopefully find her water easily. Thank you for the idea! :)

[Mamohau]

I will be making these as Christmas presents, not only for my family who have pets but also for my ferrets as they much prefer the water in the fish tank or pond to that in their bowl! All excellent ideas thank you all contributors, from a dedicated Instructables Brit!

[Cactus-Bob]

Very good idea, I created one of these a couple years ago for our dogs and cats. I used one of the 5 gal pet waterer's and put it on the side just like this. The shims are a good idea, it didn't take long for the cats to send the first pump out of the bowl. We used it for a couple years for an aging cat with two dogs and had no issues except one dog didn't like the noise so wouldn't drink out of it. Good indestructable and well written

[marybarrow]

What a wonderful idea. I have one the expensive units and I could make one of these for use in our trailer when we travel.  Thanks for the idea.

[aznaquarist169]

Well the aquarium filter only takes out certain containments that would affect aquarium fish...i dont know if the water is actually potable. Just get one of those Brita water filters.

[tylermusiclady]

The aquarium filters pull out the same thing a Brita filter does. They both work with a carbon filter. The Brita is a good idea, but those cartridges cost a lot more and you would still need to dump the bowl and refill it every time. This is basically an automated Brita.

[p3ngwin]

actually, waters filter like Britta do more than aquarium filters. they filter to reduce the level of Chlorine, lead, copper, cadmium and mercury. see bottom of this page: http://www.ehow.com/how-does_4675121_brita-water-filter-work.html but for a our pets, this instructible is still great, so i'm building one. to be extra lazy, i mean autonomous, i'm going to hook it into my water supply with a automated valve. so it auto-re-fills, and filters.

[codongolev]

because we're (mainly) americans, nobody would actually do this (we're too snobby), but really, attaching an aquarium filter to a pitcher of water would probably get it more clean than a brita pitcher, because it keeps circulating it.

[monkeyhihi]

...and now I want my own circulating water fountain on my desk with a tap. If I could just have like a 20 gallon bucket of water that I keep circulating/filtering all the time with a faucet-like thing on the end for my cups... *bliss*

[tylermusiclady]

@condongolev. Good point!!! If the filter is new, why not? It is the same thing some under counter filters, the counter top filters and the existing commercial cat fountains.

[Mrs. Skunkbait]

How often do you have to fill the bowl back up? This looks like something my cat would really like. He goes to the kitchen sink and gets fresh water whenever he wants (we have a bad leak). But when we fix the leak he will want to "play" somewhere else.

[Dirkus]

The bowl is topped with fresh water either daily or every other day depending on the season and usage. (We have small animals.) About once a month the filter is changed and everything is washed and scrubbed. The flowing water will sometimes create bubbles on the water surface. The cats will bat at the bubbles. I will also put an ice cube or two in the bowl for the cats to watch and play with.

[justelise]

I think this is a fantastic idea. Most pet water fountains look great and work well, but they're insanely hard to keep clean, because there are narrow areas where bacteria can easily collect. Even though i have a pet fountain, I may build one of these to replace it. The Top Fin filters are good and cheap, and the replacement cartridges are probably a lot cheaper than the replacement cartridges for a pet fountain.

[Mrs. Skunkbait]

Thanks I will have to make one soon- it is hot out and pets need to drink more now!

[Sgt.Waffles]

(removed by author or community request)

[ultrauber]

dude, do you keep fish? topfins are insanely good filters. the top fin 10 gets 80 gallons per hour, which is like triple what you need. these filters are also pretty frickin cheap, and you can easily stick in your own media. the only better filter would be like a 4000 gph pond filter or something. i do agree on the pointlessness of filtering the water. i think it's probably better to replace it twice a day than to filter.

[ShallMaBear]

True Ultrauber.. But I know from experience, that cats and some dogs prefer moving water.. I tried to build one of these pet bowl/filters a few years ago, it did not work, and now I know why, I was way over thinking it. I bought a moving water pet bowl filter and was so disgusted with it.. The filter was not adequate to handle the three cats I had at the time.. This would have been 100% better.

[get to da parakeet]

accouly slobber from this owner's pets get in water. he might not like replacing it so much. that is why you filter the water. my dog loves filtered water!

[ultrauber]

Truddat, although you can wash your hands.

[gcole]

waffles, im guessing you dont have cats. they wont not drink the water until they die, they will however jump on top of all of your furniture, wait until your watching, then shove your stuff onto the floor. When cats arent happy they know how to make you not happy and make you know that thats why they are doing what they are doing. The real question is why does anyone have cats? Still though, I'm almost done making one for my two cats.