Build a Diatom Filter for under $100.00

[Paul B]

I have 4 or 5 old Vortex Diatom filters in various stages of disintegration and I use one all the time to stir up the gravel in my 125 gallon tank. I also use it to blow out detritus in the pores my real rock. The tank uses dolomite gravel and the gravel has been in there for the 52 year life of the tank.



I also use the diatom filter many times when I collect NSW which is full of sea weed parts, sand and all sorts of debris because I take it from shore.



My last Diatom filter croaked after many fixes and modifications so I built one. I have been wanting to do this for many years because the manufactured model has not been built in many years and it was a horrible design for salt water and it rusted bad causing the bearings and seal to fail.

This working prototype I built in about an hour and so far it runs very well but I didn't put the diatom powder in yet.
The main two parts are a typical under sink water filter housing available from Amazon for about $20.00. The pleated filter cartridge inside is a 30 micron. They sell a one micron and if you use that you don't need diatom powder but I want to try this one first with the powder.

The pump is a 500GPH Supreme Hydro-Mag pump. $68.00 on Amazon

The membrane inside is $13.00​

Pentair Pentek R30 Sediment Water Filter, 10-Inch, Under Sink Pleated Polyester Filter Cartridge, 10" x 2.5", 30 Micron​

This is the finished prototype ready for testing.

The galvanized cap on the bottom of the filter is a 4" end cap for a dryer vent duct. It will corrode so I will replace it on the finished model with a rubber one available in a plumbing supply of Home Depot.

I also would not use that piece of "melamine" shelving material at the bottom as it doesn't do well with water. I will use either Plexiglass or varnished wood.

I also will replace that clear tube between the pump and filter with a 1/2" PVC pipe using a union in the middle for ease in taking the thing apart.

 

[reefsandrotts]

Do you need an elbow inside the canister to direct the water around the membrane?

 

[Paul B]

No, the water filter is designed so the water enters on the outside of the membrane and goes through to the inside just as it works under a sink.

I installed the thing and it is working better than my wildest dreams......... Well,, maybe not my wildest dreams because they involve a bowling ball, Vintage Linda Ronstadt "record", 2 Q-Tips, a brake shoe from a 1957 Oldsmobile Starfire and a duck.

But it is working perfectly and I couldn't be happier. Well, yes I could but I can't talk about that here.

I stirred up the gravel here. The entire job was about an hour not counting going to Home Depot.

Speaking of Home Depot. When I came out of the store this guy approaches me saying "Sir...Oh Sir". So I know he is going to ask for money.

He tells me he is 58 years old and has no money. They just turned off his "Cable" and his kids are going nuts. Meanwhile the guy is dressed better than me and has about 2 pounds of gold chains around his neck one of them is big enough to secure a bicycle with.

And he has CABLE.
I told him being that it is near Christmas I will give you two bucks. He says, can I do any better?
I said listen, you really need to come up with a better line and get rid of those gold chains (or sell them and get rid of cable.

I said Take it or leave it. He said, i will shut up now. I said..Good Idea.

 

[Yates273]

No, the water filter is designed so the water enters on the outside of the membrane and goes through to the inside just as it works under a sink.

I installed the thing and it is working better than my wildest dreams......... Well,, maybe not my wildest dreams because they involve a bowling ball, Vintage Linda Ronstadt "record", 2 Q-Tips, a brake shoe from a 1957 Oldsmobile Starfire and a duck.

But it is working perfectly and I couldn't be happier. Well, yes I could but I can't talk about that here. :grimacing-face:

I stirred up the gravel here. The entire job was about an hour not counting going to Home Depot.

Speaking of Home Depot. When I came out of the store this guy approaches me saying "Sir...Oh Sir". So I know he is going to ask for money.

He tells me he is 58 years old and has no money. They just turned off his "Cable" and his kids are going nuts. Meanwhile the guy is dressed better than me and has about 2 pounds of gold chains around his neck one of them is big enough to secure a bicycle with.

And he has CABLE.
I told him being that it is near Christmas I will give you two bucks. He says, can I do any better?
I said listen, you really need to come up with a better line and get rid of those gold chains (or sell them and get rid of cable.

I said Take it or leave it. He said, i will shut up now. I said..Good Idea.

View attachment 53658

I like the idea here I think I have these parts in my closet to mimic what you did. I have been using a bucket top vacuum to clean my tank, l and throwing out the water, but this is a win since you can recycle the water. I may copy your prototype. Hope I am not violating and patent you have. Lol

 

[Paul B]

I already have 2 patents and I am done with that. No more patents that I know of. Just build the thing if you like,

 

[Paul B]

In my test it looks like some of the diatom powder is getting through the 30 micron filter so I ordered some 5 micron filter cartridges for a test.
I knew there would be some tweeking to do.

 

[mrehfeld]

I have 4 or 5 old Vortex Diatom filters in various stages of disintegration and I use one all the time to stir up the gravel in my 125 gallon tank. I also use it to blow out detritus in the pores my real rock. The tank uses dolomite gravel and the gravel has been in there for the 52 year life of the tank.



I also use the diatom filter many times when I collect NSW which is full of sea weed parts, sand and all sorts of debris because I take it from shore.



My last Diatom filter croaked after many fixes and modifications so I built one. I have been wanting to do this for many years because the manufactured model has not been built in many years and it was a horrible design for salt water and it rusted bad causing the bearings and seal to fail.

This working prototype I built in about an hour and so far it runs very well but I didn't put the diatom powder in yet.
The main two parts are a typical under sink water filter housing available from Amazon for about $20.00. The pleated filter cartridge inside is a 30 micron. They sell a one micron and if you use that you don't need diatom powder but I want to try this one first with the powder.

The pump is a 500GPH Supreme Hydro-Mag pump. $68.00 on Amazon

The membrane inside is $13.00​

Pentair Pentek R30 Sediment Water Filter, 10-Inch, Under Sink Pleated Polyester Filter Cartridge, 10" x 2.5", 30 Micron​

This is the finished prototype ready for testing.

The galvanized cap on the bottom of the filter is a 4" end cap for a dryer vent duct. It will corrode so I will replace it on the finished model with a rubber one available in a plumbing supply of Home Depot.

I also would not use that piece of "melamine" shelving material at the bottom as it doesn't do well with water. I will use either Plexiglass or varnished wood.

I also will replace that clear tube between the pump and filter with a 1/2" PVC pipe using a union in the middle for ease in taking the thing apart.

well done

 

[Paul B]

I acquired a half size model so while I am tweeking the larger one, I will design a smaller one for a smaller tank. These prototypes are just for design ideas. I am not sure yet if I can get the correct cartridge for the smaller one.

I also found a material for the base that is cheap, available and all plastic. I will use that for future models of this project.

 

[Foxchase]

Excuse my ignorance but what is a diatom filter used for?

 

[Paul B]

A "Diatom" filter is a powerful canister filter that is designed to use intermittently, not for continuous use. You hook it up to your tank with hoses and put about 2 cups of diatom powder in it. The powder is normally used in swimming pools and will remove anything up to about a micron or a millionth of an inch so any parasites, tiny particles and even some bacteria will be removed. It polishes the water to unbelievable clarity. You can use it for a couple of hours, then back flush it in a sink and the dirty powder is discarded.

I use it sometimes when I collect natural seawater because it is filled with one celled algae that tints it green along with sand, detritus and mud. I also use it occasionally to stir up my gravel and blow detritus out of rocks. I could not be in this hobby without a diatom filter as I have been using them since the 60s and I find them indispensable but of course no one needs one. My tank has been running over 50 years and I attribute some of the success to this filter.

Diatom powder looks like talcum powder but it is actually the skeletons of prehistoric "diatoms" which were microscope creatures. This powder is very common on Earth and some places have deposits of it miles deep so it is not very expensive.

This is one diatom.




The one company that sold them "Vortex" went out of business many years ago.

 

[Yates273]

Question, if running ozone is there a “need” for this?

 

[Paul B]

Question, if running ozone is there a “need” for this?

There is no need for this with or without ozone. Ozone has nothing to do with this. Ozone purifies water, may kill some parasites and bacteria and this device removes particles. It will also remove parasites but I have no need to remove parasites. I realize many people do not like parasites and this will remove them, but not the ones on the fish unless they drop off.

 

[Paul B]

If the 5 micron cartridge does not coat with diatom powder like I hope it will I designed another modification but it will be a little tricky to build into this device so some people may have difficulty with it. I will see soon as the 5 micron filter is supposed to arrive today.

Right now with the 30 micron cartridge, most of the powder falls to the bottom and turns into mud.

 

[Boehmtown]

I'm hoping the small one works out. I have a small tank with only rocks and a Refugium , no mechanical filtration, I'd be nice to kick everything up and filter it out to this degree once in a while.

 

[Paul B]

I can't find any cartridge smaller than 30 microns for the smaller one but I am still looking.

 

[reefsandrotts]

If the 5 micron cartridge does not coat with diatom powder like I hope it will I designed another modification but it will be a little tricky to build into this device so some people may have difficulty with it. I will see soon as the 5 micron filter is supposed to arrive today.

Right now with the 30 micron cartridge, most of the powder falls to the bottom and turns into mud.

What about the marineland diatom cartridges,I believe still available on amazon

 

[redfishbluefish]

I'm following along with this DIY in part because I'm familiar with DE (Diatomaceous Earth) because that's the filter on my pool. I take it apart every year to clean the "fingers" inside the filter:



If you zoom in on those fingers, they appear to be a woven synthetic material



And being the inquisitive type, I always wondered....and still wonder...... how does that apparent large weave hold back those small little diatoms. So I know that DE runs at 10 microns and up in size, and I scratch my head every time I put the filter back together and load 12 coffee cans of DE, and I get no cloud of DE being shot out of my plumbing into the pool.

Back to your little filter....I would think, with DE at 10 microns and up, the 5 micron filter should hold it back. I am now curious as to how much DE you load into that filter....that's an important number you need to tell us. You more or less want a fairly light coating of DE on the filter element to still allow good flow through the filter while stopping the small unwanted crap in the water.

 

[Paul B]

Redfishbluefish, I usually don't measure the powder and dump in about a cup or a little more. But that was in a normal Vortex Diatom filter. This one is anyone's guess but some experimentation and a lot of wasted powder should tell me the amount.
That pool filter certainly doesn't look like it should work, but we know it does.

My 10 year old Grand Son yesterday called my wife to say to her: "Grand Ma, do you know what I did today?" She said :No Teddy, what did you do?"

Teddy said, " I watched 2 1/2 hours of PopPop on YouTube talking about fish. And he has 15,000 followers". I never even knew he cared anything about fish, or me for that matter.

He also said: PopPop is the only one fast enough to catch a lizard" . (I once caught him a lizard) I probably fell on it.



I received the new 5 micron filter cartridge yesterday and hopefully will try it today. I don't think it will work exactly like I want yet but I did design the piece that should make it work perfectly. This new piece may be difficult for many people to build at home so I will try to simplify it.

I could make it with my 3 D Printer but that is a pain to set up and I think I can make the "prototype" one by hand faster, just not as good looking. If it works well, I may 3D print them.

If I ever had to manufacture these things (and I have no plans at this time to do that,) I would have to have at least make that part made in a factory.

The issue is that adding the diatom powder right into the housing like I normally do in a diatom filter, the powder falls to the bottom and turns into mud and resembles the make up on one of my old girlfriends who used to put it on with a trowel.

I designed a tube that extends to the bottom of the canister like the old diatoms had that will keep the powder in suspension while it is coating the bag. (Someone on one of these forums asked me about a tube and he was correct but I tried without it and it failed)

The problem is that there is only about half an inch of space between the cartridge and the housing so little room for the proper sized tube and no space to connect it to the inlet pipe. I solved that problem and hope to build it today.

There is a chance, and I will test it today that the powder will coat the cartridge if I slowly add the powder as the thing is running. But that is a pain and would have to be done in something other than the tank or powder will go into the tank. It can be done in a separate container but I am trying not to do it like that so I think I will have to build my modification.

Vortex used to sell a 4 way valve that was great but it is out of production and also difficult to build even with a 3 D printer (for me anyway as I am not that good at getting it on my computer so the printer knows what I am doing.

If I ever sold these things, I would also have that commercially built but the initial model would cost me thousands for the mold. I know because I patented the "Mojano Wand" and the tiny tip on the thing was maybe $15,000.00 and it costs about five cents to make (after you have the mod built.)

I am trying to simplify the thing so anyone, even my Grand Daughter (or Humble) could build it.



Yesterday I received a Rx from my Doctor. It is a little patch of what looks like Scotch tape and you stick it to the inside of your cheek. It dissolves in half an hour and is a narcotic. So if it puts me in a drug induced stupor, I should be able to design these parts easier.

 

[Paul B]

The 5 micron cartridge seems to work very well, "So Far in a test". I put diatom powder in a container with water and had the filter suck it up.
It coated the cartridge and completely cleared up the water of powder.

The only "issue" of starting it like this is that it would be difficult to start it in my tank this way. Normally, I add the powder with some water into my diatom filter before I start it. Then I put the ends of the hoses together and let it run until the jar gets clear and all the powder is on the pleated cartridge.

To run it this way, I would have to start it in a container of salt water and after it clears, I would have to put the ends of the hoses together while it is still running and transfer it to my reef. Then put the ends of the hoses under the water in my tank and pull them apart.

I normally do it that way anyway except I dump the power in before I start it. If I did that now, I "think" the powder would lump up on the bottom of the filter and stay there. I will test that and if that happens, I devised another way to start it that is very simple but I need to test it and it won't cost anything or take up any time. Just cost two bucks to implement.

I will post what happens.

 

[MadReefer]

I need step by step instructions. What does the inside of the cap look like?