wet dry diy advice needed.

[smokymcjoe]

i am looking at running a DIY wet dry filter, built from plastic walmart drawers as many people on here have.

drawer one filter floss.
drawer two pot scrubbies.
drawer three bio balls creamic rings.

my question is, can the third chamber be partly below the water line for the sump,

for example elevated approx five or six inches from the bottom of the sump but with still approx 6 inches in the water.

will this work still or does this defeat the object and the whole wet dry system, and all three drawers must be out of the water?

as usual any help much appreciated.

 

[sjnut]

on my wet dry and every other sump iv seen some of the bio ball are wat ever media you run. some sit under the water line

 

[smokymcjoe]

thanks, thought it would be ok, just wanted a second opinion.

 

[Toby_H]

There is a dual answer...

A Wet/Dry literally means media that is not submerged but has water flowing over it. So yes, submerged media defeats the concept of a wet/dry...

But it will still work... Bacteria will grow on it submerged or above the water line.


Bio balls work better above the water line and ceramic rings work better submerged.

The bio balls allow air to easily flow into it's structure feeding oxygen to the bacteria growing on them. The ceramic rings do not allow air to flow within them thus being above the water line in a wet/dry situation doesn't feed oxygen to the interrior of the ceramic pieces... this is why bio balls are best above the water line...

In submerged conditions, water delivers oxygen to the bacteria thus open space is wasted space and increased surfce area is what increases efficiency. Ceramic rings have far more surface area than bio balls.

 

[Hasi]

There is a dual answer...

A Wet/Dry literally means media that is not submerged but has water flowing over it. So yes, submerged media defeats the concept of a wet/dry...

But it will still work... Bacteria will grow on it submerged or above the water line.


Bio balls work better above the water line and ceramic rings work better submerged.

The bio balls allow air to easily flow into it's structure feeding oxygen to the bacteria growing on them. The ceramic rings do not allow air to flow within them thus being above the water line in a wet/dry situation doesn't feed oxygen to the interrior of the ceramic pieces... this is why bio balls are best above the water line...

In submerged conditions, water delivers oxygen to the bacteria thus open space is wasted space and increased surfce area is what increases efficiency. Ceramic rings have far more surface area than bio balls.

Agree with nc_nutcase - some good advice here

 

[KaiserSousay]

Just something to consider.
If all the drawers are the same size, interchangeable, take the bottom drawer out.
Leave that bottom space empty and all your media would be above, or at the sumps waterline.
You could use the “spare drawer” as your mechanical media holder`s spare.
All set up with clean media so at service time, all you need do is swap drawers.
Most all systems have more bio media then they really need.
I know that is contrary to what most say, but it is the truth.
The majority of us use way more media than our tanks need. I know on mine, I pulled half the media out with no effect on ammonia levels.

 

[smokymcjoe]

thanks for the advice,. really appreciated.