Sump? What?

[FlorabamaTrigger]

My personal experience has been that whenever the option is available, (meaning having room underneath), I'll ALWAYS use a wet/dry when setting up any future tanks. Also, the suggestion of 5x per hour is about the norm. I use 10x, but I am a little more on the extreme side when it comes to my feelings on over-filtration.

First thing is $600 for a we/dry system is NUTZ. I could've built one cheaper, but since it was my first, I bought mine on Ebay and had it shipped to me total $275 loaded with bio balls, 1300gph pump and a dual overflow box.

Second, if your tank isn't drilled, don't worry, an overflow box will work just fine. It's a low better than potentially cracking your tank if the glass is tempered which most are now a-days.

Third, one important thing I did learn was to take out all the bio balls, goto my local Dollar General store and buy a bunch of their scrubbies to fill the area where the bio balls were. The difference in how fast my levels came up to perfect were incredible. I had been running my setup with the bio balls for almost 3 weeks with no sign of any Nitrites or Nitrates. I yanked out the bio balls, put in the scrubbies, (they were 3 for $1. Cost me $20 for the entire thing and had a few left over), and on the second day, my levels started showing! Granted there were other factors involved probably, but that was enough for me!

Forth, go with a submerged pump rather than an external one. It will be a lot less noisy if the pump is submerged. I checked and my 1300gph pump is about $50 minus the hoses. I even bought another slower 500gph submersible pump to use for my water changes for about $30, and also in case of an emergency to use in a pinch if my big one goes out.

As far as going with PVC or rubber hoses, PVC is more stable and you'll sleep better at night not worrying about a hose coming off and dumping everything out on the floor. I still have mine setup using hoses for now, but plan on swapping them out for PVC eventually.

Looking back on it, I can say two things I'd change if I had to do it over again. First, I'd chunk the bio balls right off the bat. Second, I'd go with a bigger sump. Right now I've got a 125g tank, and the sump keeps about 15 gallons in it all times. When I shut my return pump off, it fills to about 30g total. But that isn't anything other than my personal preference.

Just my .02 worth.

 

[jcardona1]

In that picture, what are all the meters on the side? Whats that clear thing on the left?

Would having a wet/dry system with bioballs be more effective than this?

The two square things are mechanical timers, to turn my lights on and off. The digital one in the back right corner is a temperature controller for my heaters. The clear thing on the right is a check valve.

I use ceramic media which has ridiculous more amounts of surface area when compared to bio balls. 1 liter of Seachem Matrix for example, has the surface area of 170 liters of bio balls. I'll let you decide which one is more effective

 

[FlorabamaTrigger]

I use ceramic media which has ridiculous more amounts of surface area when compared to bio balls. 1 liter of Seachem Matrix for example, has the surface area of 170 liters of bio balls. I'll let you decide which one is more effective

I started to swap out the bio balls with the Seachem Matrix. But after pricing how much it would take to fill up the space with Matrix vs the scrubbies, my check book balance won that argument for me!

 

[jcardona1]

I started to swap out the bio balls with the Seachem Matrix. But after pricing how much it would take to fill up the space with Matrix vs the scrubbies, my check book balance won that argument for me!

Hahah yeah it is expensive, but if you figure, you wouldn't need that much of it to have the same effect bio balls or scrubbies have. Just think, how much space would 170 liters of bio balls fill up? And you could replace all that with just 1 liter of Matrix! Or you could get the generic ceramic rings that are sold everywhere, that's what I have.

 

[Carefree_Dude]

So rather than do all those walls and everything else, I should just use a bare 55 gallon aquarium with those ceramic things, and a sock over the input?

 

[jcardona1]

So rather than do all those walls and everything else, I should just use a bare 55 gallon aquarium with those ceramic things, and a sock over the input?

That's how I would do it. I've built the traditional wet/dry setup before, and I'll never do it again. This is so much easier to put together, and cheaper since you don't need to buy all those dividers and make a drip tray. If you want a silent setup, this would be a good time to start thinking about something like the Herbie-style overflow

 

[Carefree_Dude]

well, your easy idea is certainly attractive. So I would fill the bottom of the tank with those ceramic rings, put the pump in, and get a sock filter for the input?

By the looks of it, it looks like bio balls float. Is there any effective way to include bioballs as well? I want a really well filtered tank.

So if I buy a 1000GPH pump, will I need a 1000GPH overflow? What kind of heater would I need to put in this thing as well?


Is PVC cement aquarium safe, or do I have to use something special?

 

[jcardona1]

Yeah, ceramic rings can go in baskets, or those small laundry bags you could find at Walmart, etc. They key is you want water to pass through them easily, but also be able to lift out easily for any required maintenance. I wouldn't recommend bio balls in a submerged setup. Because of their poor surface area, they need to be exposed to air and have water dripping over them. It would really be the same as throwing some Legos in there. The bacteria will grow, but it's such a poor use of space. Ceramic is much better.

I'd recommend sizing the overflow just a bit bigger than the pump, for safety and flexibility reasons. Heater could be anything really, all depends on your tank size. Good rule of thumb is 2-4 watts per gallon.

Here's my old sump, ceramic media in laundry bags

 

[Carefree_Dude]

Ah, i see. Would a plastic tray work like in your other setup or is laundry bags better?


that pretty much leaves my plumbing question...

is PVC cement safe for use with this, or do I need to buy something special?

I've seen most overflow boxes have a 1" output to the sump, where as the pumps have a 3/4" output. Will these being different sizes matter at all?

 

[jcardona1]

basket vs bags is personal preference really. I used a basket because this was a 10g sump, and space was really limited.

PVC cement is 100% safe once it cures, just give it about 24hrs.

The return can be under pressure, that is why sometimes you'll see a smaller diameter on the return side. But for the drain line, you want to be sure the water can flow down to the sump with no issues. Because if the pipe is too small, you can flood your tank.