How Can I Make My Own Sand Filter to Clean My Freshwater Aquarium Fish Tank?

Sand filters physically trap detritus, debris and bacteria that grow on the individual sand particles, converting the toxic metabolic waste products of fish into harmless products. A sump is a second tank standing below the aquarium and can easily be converted into a sand filter. Water from the main aquarium flows onto a sand bed in the sump via a pipe. Water leaves the sand filter through a barrier of fine mesh and is pumped back to the aquarium.

Things You'll Need

  • Aquarium sump, 18 inches long by 5 inches wide by 10 inches high
  • One pane of glass, 5 inches long by 4 inches high, 0.31 inches thick
  • Clean cloth
  • One tube of non-toxic, 100 percent silicone, 10 fl. ounces
  • Two match boxes
  • One roll of masking tape
  • Scissors
  • GenX -1500 volute submersible pump
  • 6-foot-long plastic tubing, 1.5-inch diameter
  • Plastic clamp
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Instructions

    • 1

      Turn off the sump pump and remove it. Remove the sump from under the aquarium and dry it with a clean cloth.

    • 2

      Make a mark 8 inches from the right side of the sump, on both the front and back glass panes.

    • 3

      Tear off a strip of masking tape and place it on the floor of the sump, joining the mark on the front pane to the mark on the back pane.

    • 4

      Place two match boxes horizontally on the masking tape, at equal distances from each other.

    • 5

      Squeeze a thin bead of non-toxic silicone sealer along the side edge of the 5-by-4-by-0.31 pane of glass.

    • 6

      Place the piece of glass carefully into the sump and rest it on the match boxes. Use your finger to smooth out the silicone, where the pane of glass joins the sump.

    • 7

      Cut two strips of tape and secure the pane to the sump. Ensure that the glass pane is resting on the match boxes and that there is an opening between the bottom of the glass pane and the base of the sump.

    • 8

      Allow the silicone sealer to cure for at least 24 hours.

    • 9

      Remove the match boxes and the strip of masking tape along the bottom of the sump. Remove the pieces of masking tape between the glass pane and the sides of the sump.

    • 10

      Cut a 6-inch-by-5-inch piece of very fine plastic mesh.

    • 11

      Squeeze a thick bead of silicone sealer along the top and bottom width of the piece of plastic mesh.

    • 12

      Place the piece of plastic mesh, silicone side down, partly against the 5-by-4-by-0.31 glass pane and partly on the floor of the sump, so as to cover the opening between the glass pane and the floor of the sump.

    • 13

      Push the mesh against the glass and then leave the silicone sealer to cure for 24 hours.

    • 14

      Place the sump back under the aquarium. Ensure that the right side of the sump is under the down flow pipe from the main aquarium.

    • 15

      Fill the first compartment in the sump with pre-washed fine gravel. Ensure that the gravel is not so fine that it washes through the mesh barrier. Leave a half-inch space between the top of the gravel and the top of the 5-by-4-by-0.31 glass pane.

    • 16

      Place a filter mat on top of the sand. Ensure that the water entering the sump via the main tank's overflow pipe falls onto the filter mat and not directly onto the gravel.

    • 17

      Return the pump and its tubing to the second compartment of sump. Position the fee end of the plastic tubing over the aquarium rim at the opposite end to overflow pipe. Secure this end to the aquarium rim, with a plastic clamp.

    • 18

      Turn on the submersible pump.