DIY Power Filter

T-J · Feb 23, 2022

I thought I'd share how I built my power filter for the grand total cost of $ZERO!

I had an extra Sicce 1.5 laying around along with 1" PVC. I drilled some holes in the PVC pipe, then I 3D printed an end cap for the pipe, as well as a fitting that goes from the pumps 1/2" female thread to my 1" PVC. Superglue it all together and WHAMO! A power filter!

Now I'll wrap it in filter mat and see how it does. It's a bit undersized for my system, but I'm curious to see what it does in conjunction with my filter sock that I already run in the sump.

I'll post pics as it runs. As well as a before/after of the water in the tank.

T-J · Feb 23, 2022

Here's the power filter with the filter pad wrapped and rubber banded on. Since I plan on only running it for 24hrs in my DT, I'm going to stick it to the side glass and have the output run directly into the overflow.

shakacuz · Mar 21, 2022

curious to know what the results have been.

Daniel@R2R · Mar 21, 2022

Nicely done!

T-J · Mar 21, 2022

shakacuz said:
curious to know what the results have been.

Apparently I have a really clean tank already! The filter didn't really pull out a ton of stuff. I tried it a few times with putting the filter floss on different ways.

I think the 100 micron socks I'm using are already filtering the water well. The only other thing I can think of is that the pump on the power filter is pretty small. In the future I may try it again with a larger pump, but for now, I won't be using the power filter.

shakacuz · Mar 21, 2022

T-J said:
Apparently I have a really clean tank already! The filter didn't really pull out a ton of stuff. I tried it a few times with putting the filter floss on different ways.

I think the 100 micron socks I'm using are already filtering the water well. The only other thing I can think of is that the pump on the power filter is pretty small. In the future I may try it again with a larger pump, but for now, I won't be using the power filter.

is it small enough to fit in your sump? maybe putting it there to help kick up and stir some detritus.

ideally, for my sake, i am looking to add one to my DT to help catch the small particles, although i am inclined not to since i don't want to add clutter. was considering adding it to my sump but i have no room!