DIY plastic sump (wet-dry)?

[RodInCALIFORNIA]

REPLY

1ST the pump you have already is way to powerful for the tank you want to use the wet dry filter set up on just keep that pump you have for when you have a bigger tank later on you will already have a pump for when you build a new filter/sump. the combo kit link i gave you listed on ebay will be fine for what you want to do. hes a great seller i have bought many items from him.

2nd when you get to target look at all the plastice drawers they carry i know they carry the same selection walmart does i use the 3 drawer up right style like the example in the pic you posted someone made a wet dry out of they work great.

3rd yes bio balls will work, plastic pot scrubbies also are good, just about anything you want.
Top drawer i use foam pad middle drawer i use 100% polyester batting (NOT the fire proof kind they have 2 types make sure you get the untreated) you can get at any sewing store like jo anns comes in a roll i get the big roll so i always have some on hand and bottom drawer i have bio balls and plastic scrubbies about 1/2 full.

4th when you go to the hardware store like home depot to get your vinyl rubing you can get a bulkhead to put thru the top of the drawers to connect your over flow box to drain into the drawers. i just drilled the bottom of each drawer to allow water to drip down from the top drawer all the way down and out the bottom of the last drawer back into the sump. these are very easy wet dry filters to build and really look good for a homemade DIY filter.

 

[kenyi]

1ST the pump you have already is way to powerful for the tank you want to use the wet dry filter set up on just keep that pump you have for when you have a bigger tank later on you will already have a pump for when you build a new filter/sump. the combo kit link i gave you listed on ebay will be fine for what you want to do. hes a great seller i have bought many items from him.

2nd when you get to target look at all the plastice drawers they carry i know they carry the same selection walmart does i use the 3 drawer up right style like the example in the pic you posted someone made a wet dry out of they work great.

3rd yes bio balls will work, plastic pot scrubbies also are good, just about anything you want.
Top drawer i use foam pad middle drawer i use 100% polyester batting (NOT the fire proof kind they have 2 types make sure you get the untreated) you can get at any sewing store like jo anns comes in a roll i get the big roll so i always have some on hand and bottom drawer i have bio balls and plastic scrubbies about 1/2 full.

4th when you go to the hardware store like home depot to get your vinyl rubing you can get a bulkhead to put thru the top of the drawers to connect your over flow box to drain into the drawers. i just drilled the bottom of each drawer to allow water to drip down from the top drawer all the way down and out the bottom of the last drawer back into the sump. these are very easy wet dry filters to build and really look good for a homemade DIY filter.

Ok, thanks! I'll try that! I have a ton of scrubblies so I might just use those, I also have a spare block of poret foam too that I'll use as well. And with the bulkheads, would that mean that I just have one hole per level? Or should I take a drill and drill say 100 tiny holes in each level to maintain a "trickle"? I like the idea of a bulkhead though.

Sounds like a good idea to use the drawers. and Rod gave you a nice link! i would suggest getting it.

Off Topic: did you ever setup those other breeding tanks you were talking about a little while ago?

Well, I actually did set up the other breeding tanks, and the 29gal that I said I set up with HMFs and all I think I'm going to put a wet-dry on. The tank, I feel will have around 3 batches of juviniles in it at a time (around 70 fish) so I feel like I need to stock up on bio-load. Here are a few pics of the 29 and the 10 I also set up:


A pic of my 10 gallon breeder


my 29 gallon (the tank that I'm building this for)- the powerfilters are temporary


A pic of my 3 week old fry


A pic of what's behind the HMF (a bag of carbon)

Sorry I didn't upload these earlier!

Thanks to all!

 

[WeedCali]

Those HMFs should provide plenty of filtration because of their massive surface area but hey, the more the merrier right? lol

 

[RodInCALIFORNIA]

the bulkhead you just need 1 goes thru the top of the drawers where your overflow drain will connect so the water can drain thru to the first drawer then just drill alot of small holes so the water can trickle down thru all the other drawers and out the last drawer into the sump. yes you drill holes in the bottom of all the drawers.

 

[kenyi]

Those HMFs should provide plenty of filtration because of their massive surface area but hey, the more the merrier right? lol

LOL yeah, thought about that. With around 20 kenyis (16 female) I'm about to put in my 55 I feel like I'm gonna have fry central here- I put a female back in the tank after already just having a batch and always within 2 weeks she's holding agian with another 25 fry, so I feel like with all of these kenyis I'l going to have I'm gonna be having probably 3-5 holding females at once with just a 10 and a 29 gallon tank- ( that's around 100 fry) not ideal at all, so I'm just doing this for security. Hopefully it will work out, I just have to have a ton of breeder boxes and tank dividers for this.

the bulkhead you just need 1 goes thru the top of the drawers where your overflow drain will connect so the water can drain thru to the first drawer then just drill alot of small holes so the water can trickle down thru all the other drawers and out the last drawer into the sump. yes you drill holes in the bottom of all the drawers.

Got it. It looks like I might not be able to get down to Target today, but I hope to get there this week, and I'll try to buy that ebay item ASAP, it looks great (hopefully by the end of today I'll have it). I have a tub, so all I need are drawers, bulkheads, tubing, and the overflow/pump and some media. I'm also just going to build a DIY cabinet for this just out of 2x4 and plywood (which I have in my garage) after it's all done. Can't wait to start, thanks so much for all the help!

 

[RodInCALIFORNIA]

 

[thebrandon]

with some egg crate your design would be so easy to make, and provide some great filtration. I say try it out!

 

[kenyi]

with some egg crate your design would be so easy to make, and provide some great filtration. I say try it out!

Where do I get those? And like this?

Also, I just ordered the overflow/pump you reccomended on ebay. Can't wait until it arrives!

Also made a list of the materials I'll need to buy:

-Overflow/pump (bought)
-First course sponge (got a block of poret so I'm good there)
-polyester batting
-Cabinets (hopefully soon)
-bulkhead
-plastic tubing (BTW, do you recommend the plastic flexible stuff over the PVC, could I hook up a ball valve to this, or do I really not need a ball valve?)
-pot scrubbers
-big, plastic tub (which I have, I think it's 56 quarts)

And I'll just make a simple little "cover" out of wood for it and just paint it black out of plywood and 2x4s so it looks fine.

Thanks so much for all the help! I'll keep updating this.

 

[RodInCALIFORNIA]

i use flexible vinyl tubing. you dont really need egg crate but if you do home depot sells it in the light section its called light diffuser.

 

[kenyi]

i use flexible vinyl tubing. you dont really need egg crate but if you do home depot sells it in the light section its called light diffuser.

OK, well I may or may not get it then, and I'll just use the flexible vinyl tuning. Should I buy I ball valve to go along with it, and what size/length of tubing/bulkhead do you recommend? I know that the pump will have a specific tubing it will need, should I hold off on the tubing until I have the overflow/pump or is there a way to tell now? I googled the pump and it says it has a 3/4 inch male PVC fitting, so should I get 3/4 inch tubing with around 1ft of slack?

Overflow box/ pump shipped, so I'll just be waiting that arrival. Might have time to go shopping for supplies tonight at target and home depot, so I'll update if I do.

Thanks!! (sorry for the ongoing questions)