Wet/Dry (I think) Need Help

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Drewhop

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jun 24, 2008
29
0
1
Newark, Ohio
I am not familiar with any filter systems beyond HOB and my man home made Sponge filters. I just recently got a 180 gallon and need to find a way to introduce some major filtration to the tank so I can get everything all set up and running. I will include a few pictures to help clarify as well as ask questions along the way thanks for any help.

First here is a picture of the top of the tank and how the overflows are setup and routed. Shows pic of overflow. There is one in each corner of the tank.

DSC01352.jpg


This picture of inside the overflow 2 holes on each side.

DSC01353.jpg


This is a picture of what I am guessing is a wet/dry filter setup.

DSC01362.jpg


Now here are my problems.

First the bottom of the Wet/dry is shattered
DSC01366.jpg

DSC01367.jpg


Would it be worth trying to replace the bottom glass or would it just be cheaper to buy a new setup or make one myself.

My next question is I really have no idea on how to setup the plumbing and how to route it to and from whatever is below the tank and what I need to make it filter and flow correctly. I have a huge amount of plumbing that came along with everything. It was cut apart when previous owner took the setup down. So I have no idea how it goes back together or if they had two wet/dry and only one was given to me.

I can take pictures of plumbing and anything else that is needed. I just dont know were to start.
I have read just about every thread that I could on here about DIY overflow and sumps and for some reason it is just not clicking on how it works.
Thanks for any help.
 
Scrap the filter, get another tank and build a wet/dry (lots of examples on here in the DIY section).
For your overflows, search for DIY Durso standpipe. It'll explain the plumbing that needs to go into the overflow chamber.
The last pic looks like a protein skimmer. If you're going with a fresh water setup you wont need it.
 
Yep ^^^^^^

You have two holes in each overflow. One for the water to fall down into to go to the sump or wet/dry filter, the other is for the water being pumped into the tank.
 
Now that I am sure what I have how large of a wet/dry do I need for 180 Gallons and what size pump do I need. Is there a particular gph I need to shoot for.

Can the current bio-balls i have been cleaned. Since they were used for saltwater should I boil them(will they take the heat) or should I soak them in some used tank water from my other aquariums. Would it jump start them or kill off whatever is on them currently.
 
Drewhop;2851510; said:
Now that I am sure what I have how large of a wet/dry do I need for 180 Gallons and what size pump do I need. Is there a particular gph I need to shoot for.

Can the current bio-balls i have been cleaned. Since they were used for saltwater should I boil them(will they take the heat) or should I soak them in some used tank water from my other aquariums. Would it jump start them or kill off whatever is on them currently.
Click to expand...

On a wet/dry I usually aim for 3-5x system volume turnover. A 29g tank would make a nice new wet/dry. You can certainly use the old bioballs, I would just rinse them really well. If you're scared you can bleach them and then soak them in water with a very heavy dose of dechlorinator. If you want to jump start the cycle on any new tank, just clean a bunch of cycled filters into the new system. It looks nasty, but it works like a charm. Squeezing a sponge filter out into a new tank works very well for a nice boost.
 
Drewhop,
I am in the exact same predicament! Just got a 180 gallon drilled tank, previously used as a saltwater tank. Have you figured out the whole wet/dry filter thing yet? I don't know where to begin. I have some pvc pipes in the corners and that's about it :eek:
 
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