Diy Wet Dry

[bitteraspects]

in regards to the wet/dry design, there are many ways to go about setting it up.

the most basic would be to create a dry holding area for your bio media on one side of the tank. this is usually done with eggcrate, plexiglass, or a combination of both. over the top of the bio chamber you would make a drip tray (using drilled plexiglass, or plastic pegboard from the craft store) and place a coarse filter pad or filter floss over the top of the drip tray yo catch the floating particles removed from the tank.
you would make a spraybar at the end of the overflow to distribute the water over the drip tray, and run your return plumbing from a submersible pump set in the opposite side of the tank.

heres a quick sketch of the design.

there are also cheap and easy DIY solutions to the bio chamber using plastic storage bins and such.

 

[mini_matt]

thanks for that, bit of conformation always gives you a bit more confidence, that last pic from the 1gal tank thread is where I got the idea to use those draw things, i'm on the lookout in the freebies to find a smaller tank but if not then a plastic box will do, there are a lot of really simple wet dry filters and I love how simple they are thanks again for the replys

 

[bitteraspects]

to be honest I can see the faults with a pvc overflow and would rather have a hole drilled in the back of the tank as I can see it being far more reliable, it's a lot simpler idea so there is less to go wrong IMO the tank I am getting i'm only paying £20 for so if it all goes pear shaped I haven't lost much. the only thing I'm still not 100% on is what sort of pump I should get? and need to find someone to drill the tank i'm picking it up today

absolutely. if you have the means to do it yourself, or are willing to pay someone to do it for you, drilling offers a much more "reliable" overflow. its not hard to do yourself, and a glass hole saw can be purchased for relatively cheap. its just that, many people are not comfortable with drilling the tank themselves, or do not have acess to the equipment.

for those who dont have the means to drill their tank, or have tempered glass tanks (which CAN NOT be driled), a properly built PVC overflow offers a cheap and reliable overflow. i have spoken to people who have been using the same over flow for decades without fail.

your pump size will be determined by the size of the hole drilled in the tank (actually the ID of the bulkhead fitting), as well as the design of your return set up. every vertical foot and 90 degree elbow adds 1' of pump head.
first you will have to determine how much flow your bulkhead fitting can handle, then size your pump accordingly (factoring in the pump head)

 

[mini_matt]

the tank is 30us gallons and I'm trying to get a decent stand thats around coffe table hight so under 2 ft so it will be pumping aprox 3ft and I will use some flexy pipe rather than pvc pipe to cut down on elbows, I should be looking at what 6x turnover?

would you be able to tell me what size hole I would need?

 

[bitteraspects]

the tank is 30us gallons and I'm trying to get a decent stand thats around coffe table hight so under 2 ft so it will be pumping aprox 3ft and I will use some flexy pipe rather than pvc pipe to cut down on elbows, I should be looking at what 6x turnover?

would you be able to tell me what size hole I would need?

you can make the hole any size you like. as long as your pump pushes less water than the max flow of the overflow, you will have no problems.

you should be looking at anywhere between 5x and 10x turnover, depending on your stock list. more is better, as long as your fish can handle the current. too high, and you can easily stress your fish to death.
it all really comes down to your specific set up. there is no "universal" answer.