why a skimmer box

[Rwhite8278]

Why cant I use a piece of PVC instead of the skimmer box? Cleaning the top of the tank is not a concern for me

[SayersWeb]

Are you talking for a wet/dry system?

One thing nice about the skimmer is that if the pump in the wet/dry fails or you have a power outage your aquarium water will not empty into your room.

[Rwhite8278]

the pvc could not drain it if it were only an inch or two below the surface

[SayersWeb]

How would you start the syphon on such a setup? You would want a strainer also, right? An inch of water could still be a fair amount of water on your floor unless your wet/dry is a big container. Even if that's the case, your bio system would be ruined if it filled with water for any amount of time. The skimmer does not require you to start a syphon which is an advantage.

There is one other thing you could try and it is what we did 15 years ago when building custom wet/dry systems. We would hang a plastic box on the back of the aquarium that had a PVC pipe coming through the bottom. The top of the PVC pipe was at water level and still acting as a skimmer. But a syphon tube from the tank fed into the plastic box. This allowed us to have a skimmer without drilling or taking up space in the tank.

[Rwhite8278]

In regards to the "how to start it"--Just suck on the hose like doing a water change.

I am not opposed to the idea of the skimmer box. It would obviously be much easier. I am merely opposed to the $60 price tag for one at my lps. I dont know too much about working with the acrylic, so building one is out of the question. Do you have any suggestions on where to get one used?

What exactly did you mean by hanging a box over the back. Are those any cheaper or are they something you have to make?

My tank is 55g. It has several large (and getting larger) cichlids in it. My reason for the wet dry is to improve the declining water quality.

I was going to use a 10 or 20 gal tank as the sump. Preferably the 20. I think either would suffice. Do you agree?

[Rwhite8278]

:confused: :confused: :confused: :confused: :confused: :confused:

just trying to keep the tread alive...

[Slappy*McFish]

This question might do better in the equipment/DIY forum

[Rwhite8278]

how do i move it?

[blitzen25bm]

i just have holes drilled into the back of the tank and its pvc plumbed to the wet dry. i dont like how the skimmer/overflow boxes are set up. if you do it right it wont spill all over mine did a few times but thats because i like to overfill my tank, solved that by putting a spout on my sump and it just overflows into an empty 10 gallon.

[Rwhite8278]

I dont think I can drill tempered glass.:(

[blitzen25bm]

yea thats right. thats why i went acrylic.

[DIYMatt]

Rwhite- i am by know means an expert on wet dry but just putting pvc over the side of the tank sounds a little dangerous to me. If any thing were to clog the intake tube, or break the siphon, or just slow down the flow, your return pump would overfill the tank and burn itself out. Also, you would have to find a way to match flow rates of the return pump, and siphon tube, or the tank or sump would overfill. Any type of debris would change the flow somewhere. It might work, but it sounds like too much of a risk to me. I would just do more frequent water changes until you can save up the extra $60 for the over the side skimmer box. Look on the web you can probably find it cheaper somewhere. In fact, water change schedule might be the reason for your declining water quality anyways.;)

Is the back of your tank actually tempered? I have seen tanks with tempered bottoms, but not sides. if the back is not tempered you could have it drilled on the back. Still not cheap but safer IMO than using a siphon.

Second, just from the shear physical space needed for a sump to operate safely, I think 20 gallons would be the smallest I would use in any system. In my 55g I lose about 1 gallon a day in the summer, about 2 in the winter due to evaporation. The water level would be dropping in your sump since the tank water level would be set by the overflow. So, if the sump is say 2/3 full for safety, that would be a 7 or 14 gallon capacity respectively. 1 gallon a day loss is a large percentage drop in either, but especially the 10 gallon.

If I wanted a wet/dry I would search the web for DIY wet/dry systems that others have used successfully and copy theirs. I always beleive in profitting from other peoples experiences(mistakes) rather than my own. Good Luck!;)

[blitzen25bm]

good point matt, that happened to me before when i tried to get creative for my 60 gallon. it took me forever to match the siphons outflow to the pumps inflow. then the power went out and it ook me forever to get it started so i tossed it and put in an emperor 400.

[slipknottin]

Originally posted by Rwhite8278
I dont think I can drill tempered glass.:(

I can almost gurantee the back of your tank is NOT tempered. It is extremely rare for tempered glass to be used for anything but the bottom.