wet dry filtration

[UNCLERUCKUS]

i have been reading over the years of the benefits of the w/d filter. this year i think i may just go ahead nd do it. ive researched a bit and found that i can build one w/ a 30gal or 40 gal rather cheaply as opposed to spending hundreds. my questions are has anyone built their own? avg costs? best materials for the job that you recommend? lastly the pump specs also. im loving the idea of better water and best of all ill have a new project and i will learn a few things along the way. any advice , contributions are really appreciated. thank you in advance.

 

[Charlutz]

Welcome to the Club! I've been using them for years and have built several. I wrote a long article for The Biotope a couple years ago that gave step by step instructions and a price list. Pat may be able to get you a copy or I can see if I can find mine. I might even have the article saved somewhere.

 

[UNCLERUCKUS]

Welcome to the Club! I've been using them for years and have built several. I wrote a long article for The Biotope a couple years ago that gave step by step instructions and a price list. Pat may be able to get you a copy or I can see if I can find mine. I might even have the article saved somewhere.

thank you very much for the welcome and that info it would be priceless

 

[crazyclowntang]

Uncleruckus, I think you should try a wet/dry filter if you can. If you have a sump it might be better, then you can add a Protein skimmer like saltwater setups have. I don't know why freshwater fish keepers don't use a protein skimmer in a sump? I know it kept my nitrates to zero in my old saltwater setup.

 

[Charlutz]

Protein skimmers don't work well in a FW setup and they aren't typically necessary. The bubbles produced in FW are not as fine as in SW, so you don't get a good bubble column to skim the sludge. They also aren't as necessary as FW fish by and large are not as susceptible to harm from nitrate like SW invertebrates and corals are. We can keep our fish healthy with regular water changes. I know of one guy who uses a skimmer on a dovii tank as they produce a lot of waste, but he skims about 10g of water out a day. Not the most efficient system IME.

 

[crazyclowntang]

Charlutz, what do you mean by "The bubbles produced in FW are not as fine as in SW"? If the pump is chopping up the water and making bubbles why does it make a difference if it is FW or SW?

 

[George]

I have a couple of wet/dry filters. I do them on the cheap. I use a 29 to 55 gallon sump. You can use a big rubbermaid container to really keep costs down. The pump is dependent on how big the whole thing is and how much water you want to move. My tanks are drilled for the overflows. There are ways to avoid it but I have found that overflows can get clogged so I always do two now.

For the filter you can use a number of things. My favorite is an empty cat litter container. I wouldn't have a cat but I watch for them in my neighbors recycle. These are somewhat square containers which makes them easier to suspend them over my sump. A round bucket would work but the round thing isn't as easy to support. I just punch lots of holes in the bottom of the bucket. I have used two by fours, acrylic, and a plastic shelf sitting in the sump. All of these worked pretty well.

For filter material you can use your imagination. Bio-balls and the like can get expensive. Sometimes you can find women's platic curlers in the dollar store. These worked great for me years ago. Now I use some bio-balls I got cheap at an auction and filter material from Aquatic Eco Systems. There are all sorts of things that work.

As you can tell this isn't something I like to spend money on. If you wanted more detail on how I did any of this, let me know.

George

 

[UNCLERUCKUS]

I have a couple of wet/dry filters. I do them on the cheap. I use a 29 to 55 gallon sump. You can use a big rubbermaid container to really keep costs down. The pump is dependent on how big the whole thing is and how much water you want to move. My tanks are drilled for the overflows. There are ways to avoid it but I have found that overflows can get clogged so I always do two now.

For the filter you can use a number of things. My favorite is an empty cat litter container. I wouldn't have a cat but I watch for them in my neighbors recycle. These are somewhat square containers which makes them easier to suspend them over my sump. A round bucket would work but the round thing isn't as easy to support. I just punch lots of holes in the bottom of the bucket. I have used two by fours, acrylic, and a plastic shelf sitting in the sump. All of these worked pretty well.

For filter material you can use your imagination. Bio-balls and the like can get expensive. Sometimes you can find women's platic curlers in the dollar store. These worked great for me years ago. Now I use some bio-balls I got cheap at an auction and filter material from Aquatic Eco Systems. There are all sorts of things that work.

As you can tell this isn't something I like to spend money on. If you wanted more detail on how I did any of this, let me know.

George

ok thanks george!

 

[dogofwar]

Those three drawer Rubbermaid organizers also work well.

Drill a hole in the top for water input (from your overflow)
Drill lots of little holes in the bottom of each drawer.
Fill the top drawer with filter fluff (pillow stuffing)
Fill the bottom two drawers with bio material. Plastic scrubbies work great and are cheap.
Drop the whole thing into a rubbermaid tub.
Run a pump to return water to your tank.
There's your sump!

 

[Charlutz]

Charlutz, what do you mean by "The bubbles produced in FW are not as fine as in SW"? If the pump is chopping up the water and making bubbles why does it make a difference if it is FW or SW?

Bubbles are finer in SW. Look at the airstones in your LFS in the SW tanks and the FW ones.

 

[crazyclowntang]

dogofwar, what size holes do you recommend drilling on the bottom of the drawers? I think I might do one like that for my tank, should have kept my old sump

 

[Charlutz]

thank you very much for the welcome and that info it would be priceless

I finally managed to pull the article and pictures and start a thread. Sorry it took so long, but I wanted to clear it with Pat since it was written for the Biotope, and then in the meanwhile got really busy at work and had to travel to Florida for a personal matter. At long last, you can see what I did. All suggestions for improvement welcome.