Anyone make a Diatom water polishing DIY filter??

[NTORIUSB]

I love DIY projects.... Wet/dry filters.... Overflows...Tanks ...stands.. I have made a few of these with good success.. I would like to try a homemade diatom filter, but I don't have one to copy from... Anyone make one of these with success?? OR not ?? Maybe I can save a step or two!!

Thanks in advance guys!!!and gals... which brings me to ask.. BETH... Did you ever go for your pool project?? and if so, did it work???

Thanks!!
Brian 8)

[NTORIUSB]

Guess not...

Anyone USING a diatom filter??? If so, how many gallon tank(s) do you use it on and how long does it take to clean them?

thanks,
Brian ???

[ronrca]

Sorry Brian! I have not made a diatom filter. I do know that Dave C using one though on his tanks and is very happy with the performance. Perhaps send him a pm! ;)

[Dave C]

I have used the Vortex Diatom filter but I just hated it. It did a great job but was a real pain to get started and wasn't easy to move from tank to tank. I even had the valves that they sell to allow you to prime it away from the tank, still no fun. I switched to Marineland Magnum filters. They have micron filter inserts that do a great job. Not quite as good as the Vortex but the simplicity is there. And if you're bent on using diatom powder I've heard of people doing that though I don't know why they'd bother. They have a 350gph floor canister model but I prefer the HOT model. I've got 6 HOT and 3 base models. They run 24/7 on my tanks. I clean the filters every 3 days or so. One filter works fine on my 29g -65g tanks. The 350gph model does a great job on my 180g. I have a bucket of bleach/water in my fishroom at all times (covered of course). I just rinse the filter off with good water pressure and then stick it in the bleach bucket for a day. Then rinse again and into the clean bucket for a day. Once they're bone dry you can use them again. So I have 3 microns for every filter I'm running.

With these filters there is not much to siphon in the morning, often nothing at all. It allows me to get away with three 50% w/c per week rather then daily. Some may call that lazy, I call it using technology to achieve the desired result. The HOT models cost about $46 each and mine will pay for themselves in about 2 years based on water saved. That doesn't even consider the time I've saved but Discus keepers clearly don't value their time. ;)

[ronrca]

Thanks Dave!
$46? Where do you buy your filters Dave?

[Dave C]

http://www.petsolutions.com/cgi-bin/cgiitmls?m=ThisP&p=1010.400000&l=13

Actually it's $46.99.

[ronrca]

O! But thats American currency which its roughly $65cdn. Big Al's is selling them for $120cdn I think! Do you know how much shipping is perhaps?

[Dave C]

Of course that's U.S.$ If a price is low it must be from an online source and therefore it is likely that it's U.S. Big Al's sells the HOT Magnum to the U.S. for $39.99 and to Canada for $120. What a joke, especially with the current exchange rates. I asked them about their Canadian pricing one time, I wanted to know if I could order from their U.S. store since the Cdn one was gouging (aka charging far more then the exchange rate) Canadians. Here's the reply I got:

Mr Clubine if you have a US address to ship it to the US warehouse can ship it there and you can order in US dollars. The US warehouse can not ship in to Canada All Canadian orders go through the Toronto Warehouse. The Canadian prices are set to the stores retail prices.

You be the judge of that policy.

I don't know what the shipping would be from Pet Solutions, I've never ordered a single filter. When I order 3 HOT Magnums plus 6 micron cartridges and 2.2lbs of Hikari food the shipping was $49.50U.S.

[O]

If you still want to use the powder, you can turn the Magnum filter into diatom. I have not tried but here's a step by step:

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/viewtopic.php?t=3250

HTH,
O.

[NTORIUSB]

Thanks... I was actually looking into the magnums.... I value my time and am looking for an easier solution to keeping the water as clean as possible with the least amount of time...

I have 2 120 gl tanks,29 gl, 55 gl, 35 hex, a 40gl and I just made my first acrylic tank which measures 28x18x18... I use a homemade Python sysyem now, but I find myself not doing daily water changes.. especially in the summer.. you know... GOLF!!! So, I am looking to maintain the highest water quality, but still have time for other things...

Thanks.. .and if anyone has any ideas about keeping them clean.. I AM ALL EARS!!!!

FORE!!
Bri ::)

[Rick_May]

I've used the Magnum w micron filter and DE. It works great but only for about 24 hours (that’s enough time), but your all right its a p.i.t.a. to clean setup and restart. I've switched to a system one DE filter and its the best out of all the DE filters I've seen or tried. All you do is unscrew the bottle, add DE screw the bottle back on and hang it from the side of your tank. It’s a little noisy and the motor gets hot but you only need to run it for an hour on a 75 gallon tank to have crystal clear water. I bought mine used off of ebay for 30.00 new they are around 100.00 but I think its worth it, especially if you have a tank that constantly gets green water from too much light.

[Mr. Limpet]

In defense of Vortex, I love my XL. 100 gallons, Pea soup to crystal clear in 3 to 4 hours. Once you get the system down, it is not so bad. This is the DIY section, you guys are supposed to be handy. You could fairly easily copy the Vortex design. You could even buy the bag from them for $15 and supply your own jar and pump. It might work.
I have not tried the other filters, and I'm sure they work too, but they don't have the capacity of the XL. Paul.

[Rob]

I have built swimming pools fro over 15 years, here's a few thing I know about DE filters that may help for DIY'ers:

High end DE filters have 'micron filter' fingers that are usually threaded, about 3/4" by 4". These are usually installed in a threaded plate with the fingers open end up (out flow side). These fingers can ussually be purchased at most Swimming pool supply stores.
Something like this.
Out flow side
_____________________
|| || || || || || ||
|| || || || || || ||
U U U U U U U

In flow Side

Low end DE filters have a Micron filter cartridge similar to a Whisper power filter bags and are also installed with the open side up.

The water pressure itself, through the filter, keeps the DE powder in the top of the main chamber, and the dirt (heavier) in the bottom. This prevents the filter from clogging.
Something like this.
Out flow side
_____________________
X||XX||XX||XX||XX||XX||X
X||XX||XX||XX||XX||XX||X
XUXXUXXUXXUXXXUXXUX
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX X is DE powder

In flow side

DE pool filters usually run at about 8-15 psi.

The cannisters are usually two part with a bolted sealed seam seperating the main chamber from the outflow, with a seperate insert to hold the micron filter fingers.

I Gave some thought to building my own DE to filter a couple of racks I have but prefer to isolate each tank. Although I am still toying with an idea to run a DE and then a UV sterilizer, which should eliminate most problems associated with a central system.

Here is a rough plan of how I thought I might build one:

6" x 18" PVC main chamber
2 - 6" to 1" PVC reducers
6" male Threaded (one end) glued (other end)
6" female Threaded (one end) glued (other end)
6" round PVC plate, drilled and tapped for 10-12 fingers

Reducer at bottom glued to main chamber.
Female threaded adapter glued to top of chamber.
Plate with DE fingers inset in threading.
Male threaded adapter glued to Reducer.

Two problems I've thought of with this design:
1. Need one way valve at bottom/intake of DE filter
2. Not sure of water pressure needed to keep DE in fingers. (any fluid engineers out there?)

Note long term use of the filter may require cleaning of DE finger with muriatic acid to remove caked on DE powder and other detritus.

Hope this may help.

[Discusgeo]

Cheapest I could find one for was at petsmart. Heres the link and I couldn't find one at Pet Solutions
http://www.shopping.com/xFS?KW=diatom+filter&FN=Pets&FD=96443