Pump for DIY Canister Filter and help with setup.

[Ethan]

Hi guys, I am new to this forum and forums in general, so I am sorry if I have put this question in the wrong spot or done something wrong. In fact, I am new to aquatic care too...

I am trying to set up a low cost and functional filtration system for 2-3 tanks. I have one turtle tank, one fish tank (with one goldfish ha) and the turtle's feeding tank. My plans for the tanks are pretty elaborate because I am a trying to get it to work well, whilst being a cheapskate. Preferably, I wanted to build 3 canister filters for each tank, each with their own pump, that would, through lots of valves, all connect to the same UV filtration device (this would be used only by 1 tank at any given time). It's kinda simple in theory, once you get your head around it, but there is a lot that I don't know that has set me back a lot (pump types, electricity for the pumps, etc). My second thought was to buy a proper canister filter for the turtle and get a cheap filter for my single goldfish but I had already bought a separate UV filter, so I kinda have to keep going. I also wanted a external pump so I could use a large tube to suck the dirty water out of the turtle tank. I wanted a large tube because turtles' shells shed and I am not sure if a submersible pump would be able to pick them up (due the the slits they absorb water through).

So, my question is if this pump:
( http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/12V-DC-80...item4abe9bb41a )
would be suitable for a homemade canister filter. I heard you need something pressurised and that was the cheapest I have come across. I was previously looking at this pump:
(http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/300820201...84.m1423.l2649 )
or something similar but I don't know if it will do the job or not. I have thought of making the canister filters by putting them in old 1kg 'Peach Slices' plastic containers. I am unsure if they could hold the pressure either but I was going to line the canisters up next to each other and insert tubing from one to another. I would also insert the dirt water at the bottom and let the water rise through the filter medium, is that the correct or preferred way in my situation?

Will those pumps be too much or to little power?

I am thinking of changing the tube sizes through the process, will the pressure be too much?

I was going to have the mechanical 'peach slices' container before the pump, as a kind of pre-filter to avoid pump damage, then the Bio and Chem (chem empty for now) containers, good or bad idea?

Sorry for the long winded questions, but any help would be greatly appreciated. I am a bit lost in it all.

Thanks

[dbosman]

The high pressure pump is out of the question.
The appliance pump might work out, but... why not one use a standard design instead of trying to invent something. Very few pressurized DIY canister filters work out as the container use for the canister is too weak or the seal is too fragile after the container has been opened.

Please forget the valves and T's they will require.
Every time you add a connection, of any kind, you restrict the flow through the piping. There are calculations involved to find the optimum diameter, length, degree of bend, etc.

Piping everything to one UV unit isn't going to do any good, by the way, unless the UV unit is sized to the needs of the system. That isn't for a cheapskate. The entire system matters. More calculations. Undersize UV units will kill green water algae and nothing more. Also UV lamps need to be replaced regularly as the useful UV portion of the light bulb/tube/lamp wears out before the lamp stops lighting.

The simple answer for a multi-tank setup with one UV unit, is all tanks draining to a large sump. Small pump circulates water into the UV unit and back into the sump. Large pump, or several smaller pumps lifts water back to the tanks.