DIY canister filter?

I have been looking for a canister filter, but they can be so expensive! My mother made a canister filter for our pond, and it has been up and running for over 7 years, and it works great. The only thing is that it uses gravity to pull the water back into the pond because the filter is situated higher than the pond. Can I make my own canister filter for my aquarium, and somehow make it work, against gravity, and still have it be successful at cleaning my tank? I would like to attach it to a chiller too, but would that be too hard to accomplish?

Thanks!

Marc

Edit: The tank size is 36 gallons

 

yes you can. I've seen several cases, i'll try to see if i still have the links on my comp.