DIY carbon filter. Would this work??

Alright so i was basically in the process of making a carbon filter i saw on this site, but half way through i thought of this idea. It is currently installed in my box, however theres no plants so i cant tell you if it works or not. I've thought about it and it should work the same, but im not 100% sure. I made it this way because it had a lower profile.

Materials:
plastic piping elbow
aluminum screen / fiberglass tape
PC fan
Some sort of breathable material,
Activated carbon

Basically what i have is just a 4" plastic piping elbow

A pc fan is glued onto one end of the tube, moving air through it. Then i basically went around my house looking for a ring-like thing just barely fit in the tube. What i found best was part of the lid to a jam jar. Since i didnt have any aluminum screen, i used fiberglass tape (same concept as screens). Then i wrapped tape around the ljam jar lid too hold the tape (make sure you do multiple layers of the screen so it doesnt break, and enough tape to hold it securely. Then i basically forced this screen just over half way down the curve in the piping. I knew it was secure becuase i could not get it back out, nor push it farther through. Then i just poured activated carbon, ensuring none got through the screen. I covered the top with a breathable material i also found around my house.

Im assuming that this will work because its the sme basic idea as all the other carbon filters ive seen: The danky air goes through some sort of carbon. If i am wrong and this will not work , someone please lmk know


Total cost:

plastic piping elbow - $4
aluminum screen / fiberglass tape - $10 for big roll of aluminum screen
PC fan - $5 to $10 (or find an old computer
Some sort of breathable material - $?
Activated carbon - Not sure, i already had some for a fish tank

This litteraly cost me $4 dollars to make. However, i had the majority of supplies already, all i had to buy was the plastic piping.



lmk what u think!

just make sure the carbon isnt too loose or too compact and im not sure if im remembering right but i thought it was more efficient to suck the air through the filter instead of blowing.

I've heard this too, unfortunately i did not think of it until u just reminded me. Do you guys think that switchin the filter around so the fan pulls through would be much more efficient??

normally the out side of the can has more surface area than the inside so sucking through would be better but for this it does not make much difference, also instead of a pc fan look for one of the 6 inch inline duct booster fans mine was $30 and moves a lot more air, for the activated carbon the local pet shop should have it for about $13 a half gallon, i'd say about 3-4 inches in the bottom of a 6 inch pvc with a screen or something at the end would work for a small amount of smell in a closet or some thing similar.