3D Printed Aquarium Filters

This is the first of some posts that discuss experimenting with 3D printing aquarium filters. The process is continual, with testing and design improvements along the way.

Sponge filters are a great option most of the time, however, the air pumps tend to be noisy. Impeller-driven Internal aquarium filters usually have intakes at the bottom or sides, with the power head on top. While such filters remove junk from the aquariums, extracting them for cleaning releases the filtered material back into the water column.

Since there isn’t a reasonably priced filtration option that fixes these problems, I decided to design and 3D print my own filters.

3D Printed Filters

Inexpensive submersible pumps are available on amazon. With a little trial and error, custom connectors can be designed to interface with the intake side of the pumps. At the same time, additional open-ended and screened boxes can be added and configured for effective low-maintenance filtration.

Polylactide (PLA) is made of starchy vegetation, such as corn or sugar cane. The source material varies regionally. It is compostable and is often considered renewable. I use PLA for items that don’t get submerged and to prototype parts before printing using PETG.

Polyethylene terephthalate glycol (PETG) is the stuff that plastic bottles are made of. It’s strong and it lasts a long time. I only use PETG if PLA isn’t appropriate.

For the submerged stuff, I now use a clear filament, on the assumption that it is less likely to contain chemicals that can leach into the water and harm fish. This may or may not be correct, and I may have just been lucky so far.

Is it safe for aquariums?

A logical thought on fish-safe materials is that if a material is a food safe for humans, it is safe for aquariums. One issue that has come up on various 3D printing forums is whether or not objects using Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) can be food safe. Besides possible chemicals and dyes, the concern is that the little grooves on the printed objects may not be easy to thoroughly clean and could harbor bacteria.

That makes sense. The grooves could, however, provide additional surface area for beneficial bacteria to colonize. The clear filament, which appears whitish due to edges and internal structure, gets a dark greenish hue after a while. Something’s growing on it…

My primary concern with the 3D-printed aquarium filter concept is the possibility of dyes and chemicals from the plastic leaching into the water column and harming the fish. For this reason, I am sticking to the filaments that I have already tested, although there is definitely a risk that the companies that make the filament I am using could change their formulas, making their filament unsafe for aquariums.

I am not aware of any standards that govern the additives and dyes in PETG or PLA filament. Some companies claim their filament is FDA approved – that might be a better option than what I’ve chosen. Perhaps it’s worth a try.

Try to use good-quality Filaments

this are the first and second versions

updated files will share soon