I saw this idea somewhere and tried it. It not only is easier maintenance than a filter sock, but it completely quited my sump! Take an empty 2 liter bottle and cut a rectanglular hole in one side large enough to get your hand in. Drill numerous small holes around the bottle. You will need enough holes to allow the water to flow out at the same rate it is coming into the bottle. I did about 6 rows of 10 holes each. Get a threaded pvc connector that will screw into the top (the guy at Lowe's found mine in the hose fittings section). Get a connector that will fit into your downpipe that empties into your sump. I had to use an elbow to allow my bottle to lay sideways. Fill the bottle with filter floss (i just bought a huge bag of fiber fill from Wal-Mart). Rinse it before you put it in the bottle. Don't pack it tight as the water will not flow through it quickly enough. Make sure you put the hole for refilling the fiber at the top of the bottle when you attach it So that changing the fiber is easy. I just put mine in, but my understanding is that you only have to change it every two weeks or so. As an added benefit, this has made my sump almost silent!I apologize if this idea has already been shared on here!
DIY alternative for filter socks
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revhtree
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Hmmm pretty cool idea! I'm all ears to what others think!
revhtree
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You could also fill your socks with this filter floss and just change out the floss couldn't you? As long as the whole sock is covered?
larangcon
Valuable Member
That's exactly what I did before, the only problem is the flow was cut down tremendously where the water just overflow once it hit the floss inside the socks. So I do not use socks anymore, I just let the skimmer do the work.
Fin
Professional Procrastinator
I don't know. Unless I am misunderstanding how this is being used, if that bottle stops up, there is no place for the water being pumped back up into the aquarium to go, except over the sides of the tank. I just don't like any restrictions on my drain line. Now, if you built a by-pass into the design - a place for water to escape if the bottle becomes clogged, that may provide some degree of safeguard to prevent oveflowing the tank.
As long as you rinse the floss to remove dust, etc. I understand it is. I vetted it through more experienced readers and they have used it. How would the bottle stop up with a large hole and numerous small ones? The flow is fast enough, I think, to keep the top of the bottle clear because the water is pumping in it so fast
Bob Escher
Welcome to Saltwater
There is another alternative to all that work. A guy by the name of Steve Rotter has made a pvc tube that also has a overflow. All you need is to attach it to your down pipe and it comes in different sizes.
Look here:
http://www.rottertube.com
Look here:
http://www.rottertube.com
Go
Good idea...I saw this idea somewhere and tried it. It not only is easier maintenance than a filter sock, but it completely quited my sump! Take an empty 2 liter bottle and cut a rectanglular hole in one side large enough to get your hand in. Drill numerous small holes around the bottle. You will need enough holes to allow the water to flow out at the same rate it is coming into the bottle. I did about 6 rows of 10 holes each. Get a threaded pvc connector that will screw into the top (the guy at Lowe's found mine in the hose fittings section). Get a connector that will fit into your downpipe that empties into your sump. I had to use an elbow to allow my bottle to lay sideways. Fill the bottle with filter floss (i just bought a huge bag of fiber fill from Wal-Mart). Rinse it before you put it in the bottle. Don't pack it tight as the water will not flow through it quickly enough. Make sure you put the hole for refilling the fiber at the top of the bottle when you attach it So that changing the fiber is easy. I just put mine in, but my understanding is that you only have to change it every two weeks or so. As an added benefit, this has made my sump almost silent!I apologize if this idea has already been shared on here!
DMan
Active Member
And for the same reason this idea is a disaster waiting to happen. If a filter sock stuffed with floss backs up and overflows, how do you think a solid container with a few holes drilled in it will react. Drill a hundred holes, it's still not as pourus as a filter sock. It doesn't even need to clog up. Unless you have an emergency drain in your overflow as soon as the flow through that bottle is restricted enough that the return pump overtakes it you'll have water going over the edge and onto the floor.
I agree with trouble waiting to happen.
I have a very large sump with 4-5" acrylic dividers, i use egg crate on the bottom between the dividers and a couple layers of the pillow stuffing from walmart on top of the egg crate, and if not changed out the stuff clogs up bad enough to overflow that chamber (for me it just goes up and over the divider into the next section of the sump bypassing the filter material)
But in your case, it would restrict the flow of your drain line and possibly overflow your display tank.
You could add a second emergency drain to the tank, or somhow make it so that if the filter material clogs ot overfows the bottle into the tank without restriction.
I have a very large sump with 4-5" acrylic dividers, i use egg crate on the bottom between the dividers and a couple layers of the pillow stuffing from walmart on top of the egg crate, and if not changed out the stuff clogs up bad enough to overflow that chamber (for me it just goes up and over the divider into the next section of the sump bypassing the filter material)
But in your case, it would restrict the flow of your drain line and possibly overflow your display tank.
You could add a second emergency drain to the tank, or somhow make it so that if the filter material clogs ot overfows the bottle into the tank without restriction.
DMan
Active Member
OH my "insert Deity" ! Stop doing this. It's going to eventually flood. Maybe not today or tomorrow, but it will eventually cause a flood. Unless you have emergency drains. If there is only one standpipe in your overflow "DONT RESTRICT THE DRAIN!"
actually you can simply add a 1 inch pipe coming out the side of that contraption and an elbow and make that go up a foot, if the filter clogs it overflows up the spout and out and you can see that its clogged and clean it out.
bobman
Well-Known Member
I agree with the rest by saying this is not going to work as if it clogs and it will it will over flow the tank however you can add a bypass with just a few PVC fittings. All you have to do is somewhere on your drain line above the water level in the sump add a tee and reconnect the drain to the bottle as normal. Add a 90 to the tee so it points up add a piece of PVC a couple inches in length and another 2 more 90s and a pipe to run to the sump. That way if the bottle backs up water will flow through the tee then up the pipe and back down into the sump causing a lot of noise to warn you its time to replace the filter media. Here is a picture I drew onn paint (and yes I know my 4 years old has more skills than me when it comes to paint lol)
