Acrylic wet/dry trickle filter

Just wanted to share my new trickle filter. A few weeks ago I had to build a brace out of acrylic for my tank and in doing so realized that it's actually pretty easy stuff to work with. This is the first of a few projects I'll be crafting out of acrylic.

How it works (old news for most of you but might help someone)

The filter media isn't submerged in water but is rather just "rained" on. Hence the name wet/dry. Some of the beneficial bacteria is aerobic, meaning they use oxygen to do their work. This high oxygen environment allows them to work more affectively.


I got the acrylic sheets from home depot, and the silicone is aquarium safe. Also got a few pieces of pvc, a flex pvc pipe and some teflon tape.






To cut the acrylic you "score" it with a razor blade, then hang the cut barely over the edge of a counter and press down firmly to break the section off.

(This is the brace that I made, not a cut used on the filter. I already had this pic to show cutting so didnt need to take a new one.)





Squared up two pieces and tacked them together with a dot of crazy glue.




Got two of these formed and moved to the counter.




The drip tray



(A little tape helps when squaring things up)



Used CD cases to get the spacing right and put small pieces of acrylic on the inside corners to hold the drip tray. (The box is upside down.)




Cut out a piece for the bottom, and a cover for the drip tray. Then cut a hole in the cover for the pvc fitting.

If you want a really clean look there is some glue I saw at the store that dries clear and bonds the acrylic together very well. I didn't want to worry about leaks though so I just used silicone.




And that is the basics of it. I sealed that top cover to the drip tray but you can make it removable. And the whole drip tray slides into the box resting on those small acrylic squares in the top corners. You also have a few options for the draining in the bottom, I just cut some slots on the bottom edge and drilled a few holes on each side and the bottom.

Filter media: There are a lot of things you can use like bio balls and other various plastic stuff, scrubbing pads, rock rubble. I used rock rubble, have about 5 lbs in there but I'll add more as I go.


This is before.



After

 

a very well written account of the build takingvapes

and good supporting images also

interesting project

thanks for sharing

Steve

 

very nice. I've recently started working with acrylic as well. I did not have very good luck with the scoring and braking, mine cracked, how hard/brittle is your acrylic? I cut mine with a dremel and a saw cutting attachment, but would not really recommend it if you want perfectly straight cuts.

 

Cool I might make one.

 

I have never seen it in hardware/home improvement stores, only in automotive paint stores. When I cut acrylic and get a ragged edge and/or just need to smooth it, I take a piece of sticky back roll sandpaper and stick it to my table saw top and long enough to sand my piece. Then I simply sand the edges smooth. The sandpaper I use is in a roll and has a sticky back on it so I am not limited to the normal 12" or so that sheet paper comes in. I have every grit from 80 up to 600 and have never needed anything finer than that. Its not really worth buying a whole roll to diy acrylic but if you have an automotive body shop nearby, they may be willing to sell you 4-5 feet of each grit.

 

awesome!

 

Thanks. The acrylic wasn't really all that brittle but once you put that mark on the surface it breaks quite easily at that point, or at least did for me. Just try to get a nice mark with a razor blade. The stuff I was using is only about .088" thick if I remember right. It's called "Optix Acrylic" if anyone wants to find the same stuff, it breaks pretty easily.

 

Nice presentation. If you would like more info on acrylic fabrication, please download my Free book.

 

What, no BioBalls?

NIce thread