Need Advice on my Future DIY Wet/Dry

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arkmann

Piranha
MFK Member
Apr 24, 2007
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So I just picked up a brand new 30 gallon tank today for $35 from fishtankfactory (Charlie). He's a cool guy by the way. Anyways this tank will be used to DIY a wet/dry filter for my 100 gallon. The 30's dimensions are 24x12x24". It has to be that dimension because the 36 incher would not fit under my stand.

I have seen the various diy threads regarding the wet dry sump. My question is, is there a required measurement for each part of the sump? Of course I wanted to have the most room for the biological media. What are the measurement you would suggest based on the drawing below?

I will also make a diy overflow. I have no idea on what my gph should be. Based on the sump, what sized pvc would you recommend? Thanks.

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Anyone?
 
Lotsa members but no opinion....
 
there is no set requirement for the baffles in your sump. that being said, from experiance I suggest a slight change in your design. you should have a way to prefilter the water coming into the sump or else you get a lot of gunk built up on your bio, and your water wont be as polished. there are two ways you can do this, either filter socks which can get expensive or add in another baffle in the front. if you add in the baffle in the front you want the water to go under it not over, put filter pads at the bottom of the tank high enough that the water has to go threw them then up and over to the drip plate. the pads are way cheaper, you can get a course one for the top and a polishing pad for the bottom.

as for the flow rate that would depend on several factors, including stand height, length of the piping, and finally the size of the pipe used. just guessing but I would say 3/4 inch pipe would be large enough. that leaves the pump. you will want a magnetic driven pump, they seem to hold up better in my opinion. as for size all I can tell you is I have a mag drive 9.5 for my 210 gallon and that sucker flows. I have to tee it off so the current is not to strong for the angels that i'm getting ready to put in there. my old id sharks loved it though. if I had to guess I would say depending on the fish and stand height you could use a mag 6 or 7. hope this helps and sorry for the long post. ps if I missed something hopefully someone else can chime in.
 
Thanks for all the information. It was all very helpful. See new photo below. Basically, I will add a new baffle like you said wherein water flows in the bottom and a foam will be place in there as well. Please correct the drawing if I did it wrong. I am also adding another modification to the sump that is a surprise.

I have a tall stand. I think its about 36" tall and the tank is 21" tall. Should I stick with a 3/4" pipes? Which pump would you recommend? I have a Mag 12 or 24 (I have to check later) that I use for water changes that unfortunately will be continually used for water changes.

I will also try to utilize clear hose from the DIY overflow to the sump to make adjustments and moving easier.

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Basi

Dreaco;1585742; said:
there is no set requirement for the baffles in your sump. that being said, from experiance I suggest a slight change in your design. you should have a way to prefilter the water coming into the sump or else you get a lot of gunk built up on your bio, and your water wont be as polished. there are two ways you can do this, either filter socks which can get expensive or add in another baffle in the front. if you add in the baffle in the front you want the water to go under it not over, put filter pads at the bottom of the tank high enough that the water has to go threw them then up and over to the drip plate. the pads are way cheaper, you can get a course one for the top and a polishing pad for the bottom.

as for the flow rate that would depend on several factors, including stand height, length of the piping, and finally the size of the pipe used. just guessing but I would say 3/4 inch pipe would be large enough. that leaves the pump. you will want a magnetic driven pump, they seem to hold up better in my opinion. as for size all I can tell you is I have a mag drive 9.5 for my 210 gallon and that sucker flows. I have to tee it off so the current is not to strong for the angels that i'm getting ready to put in there. my old id sharks loved it though. if I had to guess I would say depending on the fish and stand height you could use a mag 6 or 7. hope this helps and sorry for the long post. ps if I missed something hopefully someone else can chime in.
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that new design looks correct. one other small change I just noticed, you might want to make the last baffle a bit taller to give your pump some extra water in case the water flow was slowed or stopped for any reason. as for the pump size you could try the pump you have now and see how well it flows, then go from there, if its too much get a smaller one, if its too little get a bigger one..lol also if you look in the diy section I think there is a sticky on the diy overflow. as far as the pipe size I can tell you for sure that anything more than an inch would likely be to much. I have a drilled tank with 2 drains that are 1 1/4 inches each and I have to close the ball valves on them partially to get them to not loose their prime. my return line is 3/4 inch, as that is the outlet size on my mag 9.5, so that is what I went with. when you buy a new pump it should come with a paper that tells you what pipe size is required for the pump.
 
i beg to differ on the overflow size, the gph you want to run will determine your overflow pipe size. what gph are you wanting to run? just to let you know on my 100g im running 1" pipe to the sump, using a quiet one 3000 pump to return the water to the tank also through 1" pipe. with head heigth the gph is roughly 500gph.

im a little confused as to why dracos overflows " loose prime" on a drilled tank, if the tank is drilled you dont have any prime to maintain.
 
What is the optimal gpd flow that I should aim for. Its quite obvious that I'm clueless about it.

I just might follow your lead though. 1" pipe all around and a quiet one 3000 pump. Will the pipe size and pump be enough for a lead height of almost 6'? Its quite a tall tank and a pain in the tookus to do maintenance on...

Thanks for all the useful information.

dmopar74;1585854; said:
i beg to differ on the overflow size, the gph you want to run will determine your overflow pipe size. what gph are you wanting to run? just to let you know on my 100g im running 1" pipe to the sump, using a quiet one 3000 pump to return the water to the tank also through 1" pipe. with head heigth the gph is roughly 500gph.

im a little confused as to why dracos overflows " loose prime" on a drilled tank, if the tank is drilled you dont have any prime to maintain.
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