Well, I found the exact pump he was using in that video. Its only $60 and it comes with FREE shipping! WOOT!
Aquarium Water Pumps: Supreme Classic Mag Drive Pump
I'm not really understanding what you mean by "all the work". He made it pretty simple. Drill here, insert bulk head here and here, silicone here, cement here, add everything and hook it up. I don't see where you concluded that this DIY project would cost $100. He generously rounded up his costs and it came out to $15. I didn't do pricing in my area, but it can't be much different.
I am REALLY confused by this. Are you saying I can make a shorter but "fatter" canister? What do you mean by "plug up"? Just confused by the whole quoted statement really.
My apologies for any confusion, not my intent.
Also, I'm not really trying to talk you out of the project... well, maybe I am... I just get rambling on and I end up touching on more points than I intended when I started. My justification or intent with something like this would be different that yours and this is based on what my goals might be and perhaps I'm trying to install mine onto you. Type "A" problem I am told.:roll:
All the work involves more than drilling a few holes and glueing and connecting. I do my own plumbing with everything from copper to plastic, solder to press fit.... I consider myself good at it but things still leak the odd time. I am willing to do it as the cost savings over the years have been thousands of dollars and i enjoy the work. Given that experience I would not choose to do a DIY filter over a tested and proven manufactured product if the cost was going to be anywhere near similar.
I mentioned that a canister might cost $100 and the $20 savings wasn't likely worth it, I pegged all up cost at $80, that may not have been clear. So the pump is $60 (is that going to be a good enough pump as the filter starts to fill with particles? i dont know) the estimate for parts is $15... We're at a $5 discrepancy and I am sure there will be something to make up that $5 before you are done, there ALWAYS is. I didn't see if he used check valves or quick disconnects and if they were included in the estimate, i highly doubt it. You would want them to make servicing easier and quicker and a decent canister comes with this setup already.
The short fatter perhaps is irrelevant in your case so you can ignore that argument if you want.... but ill clarify anyway.
short fatter would allow a greater cross section so you spread the crud buildup over a larger area which makes it longer before the water flow gets restricted or just longer between needing to clean it. Compare it to a narrow stream vs a wide stream, which is easier to block up with the same amount of material? If you are only going with 2', I don't think that fatter is worth the extra the parts would cost. His example of a near 4' long filter is just not going to be efficient as it will fill with crud faster. If you look at filter designs, that's generally what you see, the larger the capacity the wider the canister... taller too but there is a proportional formula that works better.
Did I help or make it worse?
Jeff.