DIY Wet/Dry Filter Sumps

[dave green]

I'm planning for what to do with the 125 I'm setting up, and from what I've seen, sumps are some pretty pricey deals...

So I've started looking at the DIY route...

For a FOWLR system, it looks like this is what the filter/sump is supposed to do:

1) Drip the water through a dry chamber/bucket of bio balls or other material with a lot of surface area which aerates the water, too

2) Hold water while it is being skimmed, heated, chilled, uv-ed and pumped back into the system

3) It doesn't exactly have to have a high water level, just enough to submerge all of the equipment involved

Now if I have all of this information correct - and I could DEFINITELY be wrong about this - what is the big difference between a good ol' rubbermaid tub with a bucket of bio balls and the really acrylic ones that folks are asking a lot of coin for?

I'm not talking about the ones with all the media chambers, carbon, refugium, etc... for reef tanks... I'm talking about basics for a FOWLR system.

I've *got* to be missing something here... a DIY wet/dry can't be this simple, can it?

 

[one dumm hikk]

You can DIY a wet/dry setup but it has some things that you need to do other than just a rubbermaid tub. You can make the bioball chamber with a 5 gallon bucket. The bioballs have to be above the water level so that the water trickles over them. If the bioballs are submerged or just floating in the water, they won't work right. You need at least one divider in the sump/rubbermaid/tank so that one side stays a constant water level for the skimmer. The pump would go in a chamber by itself so that the only place where the water level fluctuates is in the return pump chamber. As far as the DIY part, its pretty simply to make one if you are creative with the approach.

Bio-ball chamber, suspend a 5 gallon bucket above the water level. Put a spraybar type pipe across the top from the drain so that the water is spread out over the bioballs. Drill some drain holes in the bottom of the bucket for the water to get out, you have the bioball chamber itself. Other than the bioball chamber, a wet/dry is nothing more than a typical sump tank.

 

[ichthyoid]

The 'dry' section will work better if you pump air through it. It does not have to be a lot, but some air movement really improves the function. The wet-dry's are not complicated, and easily built with a little imagination. It sounds like you have already given this some thought. You can also use a drilled plate with sides on it to distribute the water over the 'dry' section (sometimes called a drip plate).

Just curious, but what are you planning to do with all of the nitrate the wet-dry produces? You should consider a denitrification filter, or it will</em> build up. I realize that you are talking about a FOWLR system, but this is still a consideration. I had one for years, and ran a denitrification filter to break down the nitrate. There are several versions of these as well.

FWIW- As for creating dividers in a stock tank, I just go to Target/Wal-Mart or whatever and get cheap trash cans (small ones). I drill holes in them, install a bulkhead and you have an instant divided chamber with an overflow. I have a skimmer+heater sitting in this type set-up right now sitting in a 10 gal sump.