Calling all DIY gurus

[Fish]

Does anyone know what the proper name for a bulkhead/plug that would allow you to put an electrical cord (like for a heater) through the side of an eheim cannister filter? I imagine it to be like those plugs in the top of powerheads where the cord goes into the body and prevents water from getting in.
Does that make any sense? Any ideas where I should start looking?
Top secret project :razz: .
TIA & Merry Christmas,

- Chad

[Bob I]

Nope, don't get it :mrgreen:

[Fish]

Nope, don't get it :mrgreen:

Haha
Do you mean "no, I don't understand your silly description" or "no, don't bother getting that part" ?
Either way, thanks for nuthin' :mrgreen: (jokes).

- Chad

[StirCrazy]

wire glands? if I recall corectly.

Steve

[Fish]

Cool, I'll try that. Thanks!

- Chad

[Skimmerking]

If your going to drill into a pressure like cannister filter i wouldnt do it ,asking for trouble.

[Fish]

asmodeus,
I appreciate the warning. I guess I have no idea how much pressure is found in a cannister filter. Where there's a will there's a way though right... ? Maybe? :confused:

- Chad

[Canadian Man]

The plugs on powerheads are also put in place and then the epoxy is dumped into the body, sealing everything off.

[Fish]

Jonathan,
I was hopeing to lure you out :smile: .
Do you think that a cable gland and silicone would be enough to prevent leaks in a pressure application like a cannister filter. How would you put a heater inside a cannister filter and have it water tight?

Can anyone remind me the name of the electrical supply place in town that has everything from pvc fittings to sockets? I think it is in the Manchester area between Mac Tr and Blackfoot. They might have some ideas.
Thanks,

- Chad

[Tarolisol]

Why would a canister filter have pressure in it. They are gravity feed and pumped back out i cant see there being to much pressure.

[Canadian Man]

Yea Chad I think you would be fine. As sean said I don't believe there would be much pressure in the filter anyway. Depending on the type of cannister the only pressurized area(after pump impeller) would be just a small area and the return hose to the tank.

As you mentioned they are availiable for heaters. It's amazing what a compression type fitting and or an oring will hold as far as pressure is concerned. I remember seeing a probe holder once that goes onto your return plumbing on your tank. Another item that's along the same idea.

I'm excited to see this mystery project! :cool:

[kuatto]

Chad
Are you trying to heat the water inside before it leaves the canister?How big is the heater going to be and how are you going to monitor it?
I like the idea,be interesting to see how it all works.

[Fish]

Hi,
Thanks for your interest. I was planning on surprising everyone when it was all built but maybe I should spill the beans now incase there are problems with my design.

My plan is to turn an eheim 2222 cannister filter into a "sump" for a 3gal nano :eek: .

I know that some cannister filters come with heating elements inside but these are designed to heat large tanks and are usually 250W and bigger!
If I needed a heater at all it would be the smallest that I could possibly find 50W??

I actually don't believe I will need a heater because my plan is (and this stays between us :razz: ) to put a submersable light bulb in the bottom compartment of the cannister along with a handful of chaeto. The top layer of the filter would be for live rock rubble and both of the lines would be plumbed into the bottom of the tank through 1/2" hosebarb "bulkheads" with the inlet and outlet hidden by rockwork.
This will allow me to add more water volume, additional biological filtration, and provide all of the circulation needed without having any visible equipment or plumbing or electrical cords!!
My plan was to put it on top of the island in our kitchen and have the cannister below with the pots and pans. I think it would be awesome because it would allow for 360 degree viewing, but my wife isn't too excited about me drilling the countertop. It would be lit by a desklamp with a 50/50 pc bulb and contain a rock "pinnacle" in the center of the tank with clippings of soft corals from my "big" tank. I would have a hermit, maybe a neat looking snail, and an arrow crab.
Man, I'm gonna build the thing now, even if I don't have a place to put it yet!

I would need to decide on what would be the most stable heating technique and also how to match the return flow to the size of the tank. Possibly through splitting the return or modifying the impeller.
What do you think?

- Chad

[Fish]

I call it my Sump-in-a-Can.
Man I suck at keeping secrets...

[snaggle]

you can put a valve on the return side of things and trim the impeller a little bit I dont think it would be a good idea to trim off to much. the light might give enough heat but a heater wouldnt be a bad idea just incase. you can try http://www.nano-reef.com they can help you out there. I had a 3 galon this summer I had a small goby, small perk, 3 hermits and a turbo snail. you can also do a sexy shrimp.
hpe this helps

Brad

[Fish]

Thanks, Brad. I have just posted on nano-reef as well. I'm hoping that i can put a t-fitting on the inside of the tank (under the rocks) and this will allow for the full flow from the eheim without having too much velocity.
Here is a picture I found in Coral magazine of how clean I want the tank to look:

http://www.canreef.com/photopost/data/500/1185dreamtank.jpg

A sexy shrimp would be awsome! I can't seem to find the things here in Calgary. The closest I came was at Big Al's where a staff member told me that they had three of them in the tank. As she was trying to spot them I said "you mean this tank? The one that says 'mantis' on it as well?"

"ya"

"miss, you aren't going to find any sexy shrimp in there anymore..." :rolleyes:

[AndyL]

Why not just use one of the inline heater modules (sold just about everywhere) for just that purpose? Or for that matter you could build one, looks basically like a T fitting, some PVC pipe, then a threaded cap with a hole / o rings in the top for the heater.

BTW if you find sexy shrimp lemme know :) My 2.5g (soon to be 3) is begging for one.

Andy

[Fish]

Andy,
Good thinking. I'm not sure if I will even need a heater yet - it will take some testing. I'm expecting the heat from the bulb and the pump to add a few degrees over room temp - especially in this small a water volume. And my house is already strictly temperature controlled for a very sensitive organism - me :lol: .

And yes, you'll be the first to know if I find any sexy shrimp.

- Chad

[AndyL]

As the owner of a 2.5 - I can tell you it sure can't hurt to have one. I know the heater on my nano comes on semi regularly at night. I'm assuming your tank wont be lit 24/7 :)

I always prefer a heater that I don't need over one I don't have.

BTW 20g's coming along nicely - she's up and running as we speak; hopefully the 175w MH for it arrives early in january.

Andy

[Fish]

Andy,
Actually the bulb in the chaeto fuge will be on 24/7 but I can slip in a heater if I need. I really have no idea how much heat a submerged light produces - who knows, I might need a little chiller instead :razz: .

Glad to hear that the 20 is working out for you - can't wait to see some pictures!

- Cahd

[KrazyKuch]

I would suggest putting in a inline heater just for the sake of tempurate control instead of the bulb at the bottom....

Just my opinion...If you need a schematic for a DIY inline heater I can provide one!!

[Fish]

Thanks,
You and Andy are giving me some good advice, I'll hit you up for some info when I get to that stage. Right now I'm stuck on the "wife isn't crazy about me drilling the island" stage :sad: .

I'll keep you posted.

- Chad

[AndyL]

Just to keep the pressure on albert / dennis :)

Dennis at golds said he'd order a "Bunch" of sexy shrimp in!!! Voila you should have some soon! (I might add 1 to the now 2.75, and a couple to the 20).

[Fish]

Andy,
You... are the man! I didn't realize it was that easy :razz: .

[AndyL]

I had figured you would have made that request long ago :)

FWIW scratch building tanks is a pain (literally), do yourself a favour get someone to cut the glass and polish the edges before you start assembly :) I'm currently leak testing my new 2.75g tank to replace the 2.5 - you have no idea how much blood sweat and tears went into that little monster!!!

Andy

[Fish]

Haha, thanks Andy.
I'm still trying to find a place in town that sells cable glands.
I will keep everyone posted.

Cheers,

- Chad

[JimE]

I'm still trying to find a place in town that sells cable glands.


Home Despot. Electrical section - they call them strain relief connectors. Made of pvc - pipe thread one end, compression nut and assortment of grommets at the other end. Not rated for "pressure" but I've used them before and they'll hold pretty well for what you want to do. Give er.

Jim

[Fish]

Jim,
Thanks man! I stopped by MD yesterday and picked up the thing that you described, the guy there referred to them as 'liquid tight ends'. Is this the right thing you figure?

- Chad

[Fish]

Here is the light I was planing on using. Do you think this will be bright enough to grow chaeto:
http://artisticdelights.com/halogenlight.html

or should I go with this:
http://artisticdelights.com/10watspotlig.html

Thanks!

- Chad

[JimE]

Jim,
Thanks man! I stopped by MD yesterday and picked up the thing that you described, the guy there referred to them as 'liquid tight ends'. Is this the right thing you figure?

- Chad

Should be. Everyone seems to call them different things - strain reliefs, water tight, weatherproof, cord seals, etc. The ones the local HD has are made by Scepter - beefy compression nut, 4 or 5 grommets of various sizes, sell for 4or5 bucks I think.

Jim