tha Bait Shack

[CHOMPERS]

Here is the sump filter. The first chamber is empty, allowing for water to drop in from above from both the tank plumbing and from the wet/dry filter. Next is the filter media. The green stuff is poly fiber-fill, followed by large open cell foam sheating for air-conditioners, then re-usable air-conditioning filter material, and lastly small open cell foam.
The last chamber houses the pump for the wet/dry. The plumbing fittings in the side is for a sump overflow. I placed it here instead of in the first chamber because when the filter is dirty (neglected dirty), having it in front will drain the entire system. Dirty water is better than no water. In the back, water will flow over the filter media to the back chamber without draining any water. The foam bulkhead is there because I have my drip emitter in the same chamber as the pump. The foam acts as a barrier to keep the drops from riding a current out of the overflow.

 

[CHOMPERS]

For a cheap way around the cost of bulkhead fittings, see this link.
http://z4.invisionfree.com/bichir_world/index.php?showtopic=136
The green tub should look familiar...

 

[CHOMPERS]

Here are two pictures of the inside of my wet/dry. The plastic crates are from walmart and were two dollars each. I decided the poly cloth was too redundant and not helping. I removed it and added more Bio-Balls. The Bio-Wheels are to seed the new media.

 

[CHOMPERS]

and here is a pointless picture but I thought it was pretty neat to see in operation. This is part of the upper loop going into the black barrel. I was not getting good flow out of the sump filter...so I thought... I cut a 1" hole in the 1 1/2" pipe for a vent and view port, and found that I had a full flow in there. I was just putting too much water into the sump filter. I moved the pump bypass to the black barrel and that solved the water flow problem. Additionally I cut a pipe with a 2" hole saw as a temp. stand pipe. I ended up replumbing this with a tee.

 

[skinless]

thanks for sharing this. very detailed info, good pics to illustrate.

 

[Thomascl]

sweet job mate

 

[LoTech]

Nice!

So what do you use to glue the 1/2 inch ID to the 1/2 inch OD tubing? That could be really helpful at times...

 

[str8dum]

where did you buy the large sheets of small and large open celled foam? I bought 2 large squares from bigals, but there has to be something cheaper and larger like you have.

Thanks!!

 

[CHOMPERS]

Nice!

So what do you use to glue the 1/2 inch ID to the 1/2 inch OD tubing? That could be really helpful at times...

just regular PVC glue. You have to use cleaner on the PVC and tube to get a good bond. Sometimes the tube is a loose fit and you then need to give it a coating of glue, let it dry thoroughly, and then glue them together.

 

[CHOMPERS]

where did you buy the large sheets of small and large open celled foam? I bought 2 large squares from bigals, but there has to be something cheaper and larger like you have.

Thanks!!

The large cell foam came from Lowes. It is for window airconditioners. Home Depot, Menards, etc. should have it too. I got the small cell foam from the fabric dept. at Walmart. Check there first. You can restock the entire sump from their foam and poly-fill shelf.