CichlidFish.com - Fish That Think.

I see these filtering systems (aka Fluval and I forgot the brand of the other one) and I realized I don't know if they are wet-dry systems or not.

Are 'wet-dry' and 'canister' synonymous? Aren't some of the canister systems completely underwater (hence, slower bio filter)?

I wanted to price stuff for a 125 gal tank but all I can do successfully is price the Emperors (which I'd rather not use on a tank that size).

I'm tempted to by a pond pump and drop it in a 5 gal bucket with a sponge and call it good.

I'm frustrated because the LFS doesn't seem to have a clue.

grrr.

I have a cousin who does basically that with his koi, during the winter months when he can;t keep them in his pond. Not sure but his tank is 250 g's or so. He also runs the outlet back into a second contanor, filled with fillter media, from there it re enters the tank. Works well for him, total cost was about 1oo bucks.

a wet/dry is a wet/dry

and a canisters a canister


A true wet dry (what your probally looking for since its a big tank)


-- Water flows from the tank - either through a drilled hole or overflow of some type (overflow box etc..)

-- Water flows from the overflow or hole down through filter media

-- The filtered water goes to the bottom of the wet/dry (the sump)

-- a pump is kept in the bottom (submersiable) or connected to the bottom (external style) of the sump

-- The pump returns clean/filtered water to the tank



The best designs for wet/dry's are L shapes on the taller part,you have the "tower".The tower is what houses the filter media. The taller the tower = the more media. Taller tower and more media = a better chance for a true wet/dry (air exchange) effect
Then the other part,just helps house the clean/return water.


Unfortunately I never reall got a good pic

but heres a pic of one of my bigger wet/drys (you won't need anything near as large)



Since it sits back it's hard to see clearly but for mine
the tower is an old 60 gallon tank and the sump is an 80 gallon.

The 60 was turned on it's end the former "top" was sealed with an extra peice of glass,except for about 8" left open for water flow. What was the "right end" was removed -
Now that it's on end - water flows down (what was the right end) through about 12 gallons (volume) worth of sponge and filter floss.
Onto some plastic - with lots of holes to make the water spread out (dripplate)
Drops an inch or so then goes through about 40 gallons worth of bioballs.
After the bioballs it's in the sump where it goes through some sponge thats mainly just there to make sure nothing makes it into my pump.

--- With a wet/dry -- biological filtration also occures in the plumbing,so it's an added bonus - the filter + how ever many feet of pipe or hose you use. (which adds up quick,I've got over 600 feet worth of pvc on that system :thumbsup:

Like I said you won't need anything near that size - I'm filtering over 1,500 gallons with that sump and it's probally 6 times more then is actually needed.

I'm frustrated because the LFS doesn't seem to have a clue.

The should be able to order wet/dry's
Marineland (tidepool)
Aquaclear
skilter
acrylic creations
tenacor
and some others all make wet/drys - complete with hoses,overflow boxes and pumps.


If your store just sucks,make one!

One idea a lot of people are useing now are the 3 drawer plastic boxes you can buy (sterilite and rubbermaid,make them the look like little cheap dressers)

- drill a hole in the top and run the drain from the tank/overflow into it

- take the top drawer (and the shelf under it,if it has one) - drill as many holes as possiable in the bottom of it - fill it with filter floss or sponge

- take the middle drawer (and the shelf under it,if it has one) - drill as many holes as possiable in the bottom of it - fill it with bioballs or lava rock

- hook the pump to or put it in the bottom drawer and that becomes the sump

-- if your tanks not drilled - any pet store can order an overflow.
-- then buy a return pump - when you buy a pump look for flow rate 3 times the tanks volume at the height it'll have to pump.can be more if you want but 3 times turn over is whats "needed"


two emp 400's or two aquclear 500's or two of most cannister filters will give you 3 gallons (volume) filter media at most .

even the cheap DIY drawer wet/dry will give you about 15-20 gallons of filter media :thumbsup:



If you don't want to build your own and can't get anything locally check with Jehmco
"Call TOLL FREE 1-800-521-6258
for Sales or Product questions, or contact us at sales@jehmco.com "

They sell the Tidepool (marinland) wet/drys with biowheels and some of their own custom systems.I never checked their prices on smaller stuff like that,but everthing else is reasonable and their customer service cann't be beat.If you call they'll anwser any questions.

Glad to notice you marked the GFI (Ground Fault Interupt) on your diagram. A lot of ppl run aquriums ect, and don;t have any idea how much of a risk they take on an unprotected electrical circuit.

Wonderful!! Thanks guys.

I've seen the Tidepool at the LFS but I didn't realize it was what I was looking for.

I'm a Chemical Engineer so pumps, sumps and pipes are my thing. I'll price the parts and then compare.

stilllearnin, your picture was great. Thanks!

By the way, won't lava rocks make your water hard?

By the way, won't lava rocks make your water hard?

Nope,lava rock is neutral - it won't change your hardness or ph.

And it's got tons of surface area :thumbsup:

I use it for the wet/dry on my piranha tank.

best of all it's cheap

Glad to notice you marked the GFI (Ground Fault Interupt) on your diagram.

Yeah I don't use GFI's on everything but that setup has a 10amp pump running the wet/dry , a 2,000 watt heater and around 1,400 watts worth of lighting. 40 amps worth of outlets going directly to about 1,500 gallons of water So it has GFI outlets and breakers. The extra few $ is worth not burning down the house or getting electricuted.
The pump - is also grounded to the ground via a grounding rod.
The ballists are also grounded to the house.
To much electricity to chance getting zapped.

Good Lord!!

You almost need a subpanel just for your fish.

That's what, 3 - 15 amp circuits just for fish?

All 110/120 I'm assuming.

I highly recomend the GFI's on anything around water, might save a life the next time an O's does in the water heater, and someone doesn't notice it, damp floor, live tank, even if the device does not draw much current, the potential is still there in the circuit, which can deliver a load .(ie 1800 wattsin a standard plug). Nice to see you protect it properly.

That's what, 3 - 15 amp circuits just for fish?

In total - my fish room(s) run 5 - 15 amp circuits and 2 -20 amp GFI circuits. Gives me some room to expand and before I went with the central filter I needed a LOT of plugs.Prior to this summer I had over 150 things pluged in (filters and heaters mostly)

Then my exhaust fan and dehumidifier share another 15 amp that was already in my basement.Luckily this house had a 200amp panel box installed a few days before I moved here

I highly recomend the GFI's on anything around water

:thumbsup: yeah they can be a life saver - if they were cheaper and I owned my house I'd use them for everything.

I still use surge protecter outlets with built in breakers on everything else


Lucky I don't have to worry about unnoticed damp floors - concrete floors,show any and all water :thumbsup:

I finally got a price I could live with on the glass. With any luck should have my new tank built before christmas. I am gona try the three draw sump idea. Thanks for the post on it stilllearning.