My DIY Wet/Dry filter

[jigsaw1982]

Here is an image of the 3 drawer Tupperware container that I want to turn into a DIY Wet/Dry filter. As you can see there are only 3 drawers. The bottom drawer is going to be completely taken up by the pump which leaves me with only 2 drawers for media. What does everyone suggest for filter media? I was thinking of putting filter floss in the top drawer, bio-balls in the middle drawer & the pump of course in the bottom drawer. Does anyone suggest putting some other type of media?

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[rdnelson]

My concern would be the wieght of the water. Those things are not the sturdiest. Be curious to see how it comes together.

 

[jigsaw1982]

rdnelson99;796423 wrote: My concern would be the wieght of the water. Those things are not the sturdiest. Be curious to see how it comes together.

Well it won't sway from left to right because I plan on putting it under my tank and the top of the wet/dry device would be higher than the sides of the outside wood of the stand of the tank(where it hangs down from the top at where the tank is)

 

[picoreefguy]

bioballs are a waste of space go with something like the marine pure ceramic block or balls or seachem matrix they both have very high porosity which = lots of surface area plus the surface is rough on them vs the bioballs have a very smooth surface since they are molded plastic and no pores at all.

 

[ripped tide]

Are you going to sit that down in a sump? If not, better have a good shop vac around! That bottom drawer doesn't have a large holding volume. The water level required for the pump to run will be pretty high.... If the power goes out, you'll be shop vac-ing water!

 

[jigsaw1982]

Ripped Tide;796522 wrote: Are you going to sit that down in a sump? If not, better have a good shop vac around! That bottom drawer doesn't have a large holding volume. The water level required for the pump to run will be pretty high.... If the power goes out, you'll be shop vac-ing water!

Yeah, I do plan on getting a 10 gallon tank before I start

 

[jigsaw1982]

AtlantaMFR;796591 wrote: I saw this type of filter here: http://www.seasave.net/Inventions.html">http://www.seasave.net/Inventions.html</a>

Not sure if this is where your idea came from but this might help you in your build.[/QUOTE]

Nice +1 on the link

 

[ichthyoid]

Bio balls are a fine option to use, WITH one major caveat. You will need to manage the nitrate produced by the bacterial biofilm on them.

There are several options, including:
-dilution, which is too much work, IMO
-low population/bio load, which is too little fun, also IMO
-denitrification, which works great if you understand it, and it is well designed.

I have tried all 3 and the last one worked great for me.

Cudo's for the DIY filter idea too. I also built something similar years ago, which worked well.

You can zip tie (&lt; nonmetallic) eggcrate to the bottoms of the drawers by drilling holes in the bottoms of the drawers. This will reinforce them and prevent drooping.

I also superglued plexiglass to eggcrate and drilled holes in the bottom of each 'cell' for a sprinkler system. This helped distribute the water over the media evenly. Use filter floss over the 'sprinkler' to prevent clogging.

Good luck and keep posting updates!

 

[jigsaw1982]

ichthyoid;799328 wrote:
-denitrification, which works great if you understand it, and it is well designed.

Cudo's for the DIY filter idea too. I also built something similar years ago, which worked well.

You can zip tie (&lt; nonmetallic) eggcrate to the bottoms of the drawers by drilling holes in the bottoms of the drawers. This will reinforce them and prevent drooping.

Good luck and keep posting updates!

Can you give an example of what you mean by the above(denitrification)...do you mean something like the media reactor in the following link:

 

[ichthyoid]

The best one's need to be 'fed' using organic carbon (alcohol, vinegar, etc.)

There is also a sulfur based one, that is easy, though I have not used them.

You may want to just start carbon dosing, if you have 'hoss' of a skimmer.

That's what I do now.

Do a search on here for 'carbon dosing'.

Ralph (mysterybox) and I have posted articles several times.

 

[jigsaw1982]

ichthyoid;799370 wrote: The best one's need to be 'fed' using organic carbon (alcohol, vinegar, etc.)

There is also a sulfur based one, that is easy, though I have not used them.

You may want to just start carbon dosing, if you have 'hoss' of a skimmer.

That's what I do now.

Do a search on here for 'carbon dosing'.

Ralph (mysterybox) and I have posted articles several times.

ok thanks