15 replies to this topic

[koiguy1969]

i made this vaccuum for my basement pond only i dont know if it would be too great on my larger outside, but for a small pond; or indoor pond where your big concern is fish waste building up. it will do just fine...
parts:
#1 tetra pond 425 gph pump
#2 tetrapond barrel style prefilter (large)
#3 attachment end with brush for cheap 12 volt car vaccuum
#4 3/4" pvc pipe 7' legnth.
#5 3/4" pipe mounting brackets
#6 nylon window / door screen
#7 nylon stocking / panty hose (optional if i need it)

i built this with what i had handy except the brackets and 7' of 3/4" pvc.... i cut the screen the size of the matala type prefilter insert, and wrapped it around it. then inserted this into the prefilter casing, and installed the cap.. not using the middle vented tube. if needed i will slide a section of nylon stocking over the casing for real fines catching
using the apropriate fitting put this assembly on the pumps output.. it will be filtering from the inside out rather than from the outside in. then on pumps input i put the vaccuum attachment. mounted this on a peice of black plastic then the whole thing on the pvc pipe..
will post how it works when i use it....it is similiar to DrDaves , ive been meaning to build this for a while now just got around to it.

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Edited by koiguy1969, 03 October 2009 - 07:55 PM.

[poodles-ponds and gardens]

Good design. And if anyone wanted to do water changes at the same time, all they would have to do is connect tubing run to the surface instead of the prefilter!

[koiguy1969]

I think it should perform quite well!! but on a larger outdoor pond, the filter would need to be cleaned too often.

[poodles-ponds and gardens]

koiguy1969 said:

the filter would need to be cleaned too often.

Could you run tubing up say, through a 5 gal bucket of quilt batting?

[koiguy1969]

i dont see why not..may want a stronger pump tho..my original thought was to run a tube up to my original tetrapond 10 gallon down flow bio filter filled with fiber fill like when i use it as a fines filter.

[DrDave]

I took care of the unwanted thread for you.

Here is the comment and question I had on the deleted post.

I like the prefilter for the basement pond vac, very clever. When I built mine, it was for the outdoor nursery pond and the plants around it got the benefit of the waste.

Does Tetra sell the prefilter seperate or does it come with the pump?

[koiguy1969]

thank you much D.D
and to answer your question, they are sold seperately, this is the larger one and if i recall it was about $18.00 @ Lowes the other ones about half its size...i know what you mean on yours too...

[nc0gnet0]

An eight to ten inch filter sock sealed to some tubing by a nylon zip tie wold work well too.....you can get them all the way down to 1 micron.

[koiguy1969]

i used the vaccuum this morning..it performs quite well... except..i turned it on and within seconds blew out a small cloud of tan/brown particulants.. but an old sweat sock over the set up cleaned up the out flow real nice.i think i didnt clean up the prefilter good enough when i disconnected it from use outside...the crud sat in the prefilter dried out and got a good rinse iout...my bad!!

[nc0gnet0]

I have done something very simular, using one of these:

http://www.amazon.co...r/dp/B000CPZTEK

If doing water changes I just route the discharge out of the pond while cleaning. If I wanted to just clean the water one of these over the discharge hose and back into the pond works well: (I actually use a 25 micron)

http://cgi.ebay.com/...=item45ee503c15

What I did was to connect a 5 foot section of PVC to the suction attachment. It's a handy little pump to have around, but not intentded to be run 24/7.

[koiguy1969]

made a modification to the vacuum, and it definately made it more efficient. because the pumps impeller purees fecal matter as it passes thru.. the after pump debris catching was o.k but not as effective as catching it before hitting the pump and getting chewed up.. I made this change shortly after making the vacuum but it just dawned on me to post the improvement............. here is a picture of the new setup....
12" section of 2" pipe with caps ..the caps have been drilled to accept pvc fittings. one to screw into pump fitting and one to accept the vacuum attachment.. the pie is filled with mattala then furnace filter then scrubby pads cut to fit.finally filtered thru fiber fill or pillow stuffing.. on my basement pond i can vacuuum the whole thing in just minutes, (3or4 minutes)..i just unscrew the assembly, take it apart, and clean it in the laundry tub.

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Edited by DrDave, 20 March 2010 - 06:01 PM.
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[koikeepr]

LOL! koiguy, you need to go into business. You're a frustrated engineer!

[DrDave]

Innovation, I love it.

[nigil]

Amazing idea, looks good.

[DrCase]

should help a lot !!! Koiguy