Wet/Dry conversion idea

[mandown123]

I've been thinking about this issue for a while. Ziggy told me, and i've heard elsewhere, bioballs arent really that great and are pretty much outdated technology. heres the idea.

in the bioball chamber, which sits under a drip plate, I want to just swap out the bio balls for some cured LR rubble sitting around at the LFS. then I would throw a piece of chaeto in there as well, so basically the LR rubble would sit on eggcrate with a piece of macro above it and the drip plate would drip through onto it.

looking into also adding a 10-20G tank as a fuge right next to the wet/dry sump.

what do you think about the phase 1 of this idea?

[melosu58]

The only thing I`m thinking is that I think the LR rubble has to be submerged to work as biological filtration. If I`m wrong someone let me know but it seems like I heard that somewhere down the road.

[mandown123]

Oh. mel... i would also raise the water volume of the sump to the max possible accounting for all pumps off and overflowing issues... the rock would be submerged.

one of the things i was a little worried about is right after the balls/rubble chamber is the skimmer right there, so would like little pieces of rock or pods or whatever may/may not leak off the rock interfere with my pumps or the skimmer?

[cmor1701d]

I did this with my wet/dry before I went to a real sump. Do you have a raised chamber holding the bioballs?
The LR rubble needs to under water. You will want to extend your drain line below water level in the sump to eliminate most of the noise. The LR rubble is not small enough to cause any problems and the pods are too small to cause any problems. You could also add a piece of eggcrate to section off the LR rubble from the skimmer area.

How would you go about raising the water level in the sump?

[mandown123]

here is a ghetto diagram of what i have.

i would raise the water level by simply adding a few more gallons to the system. the chamber is raised. most of my noise comes from the drain and i dont think i can lower it due to the design.

another question. does anyone know where to get 1" hose drain lines that are smaller... mine is too long for the height of the setup and it coils back on itself and makes noise and i imagine blocks 100% efficient flowdown.

is the LR rubble a improvement over bioballs?

only bad thing is with this i still need a fuge cause i cant put any sand for DSB in there the way its setup and its too tight with the skimmer in there for any modifications involving additional acrylic walls

[ccCapt]

From the looks of that diagram, the water level drops as evaporation occurs in the section of the sump where the skimmer is located. This isn't good for a skimmer. They need to be in a section or area where the water level doesn't change.
You can pick up a 10g tank from Walmart for a few $ and construct your own sump.

[mandown123]

yeah but space wont allow for it. I will have just enough room for i think a 10 gallon tank as a fuge, or a 20 tall if im lucky i can fit it.

any other easy fixes? i do top off every day... and the skimmer is fnally working decently well as of when i got home from work.

[Innovator]

Just for those who question, bioballs are far from outdated technology and I do not know of a commercial application where they are not used in some fashion. The problem lies in most people not knowing how to utilize them correctly. They are wonderful for aquariums who need NH3 converted quickly, i.e. large predator displays. Most reefs do not need such an application since the live rock can handle such biological implications.

Did I miss something or does the drip plate not come apart (most wet/dry systems have a removal plate)? Why not just removed the plate, add a filter sock, and leave the live rock rubble at the bottom? A dsb isn't necessary and just serves as a long-term waste management system (the skimmer and any macroalgae can help there). What type of skimmer do you have? Any possibility it can be hooked up outside the tank (enough room)?

[cmor1701d]

Originally Posted by mandown123

i would raise the water level by simply adding a few more gallons to the system. the chamber is raised. most of my noise comes from the drain and i dont think i can lower it due to the design.

another question. does anyone know where to get 1" hose drain lines that are smaller... mine is too long for the height of the setup and it coils back on itself and makes noise and i imagine blocks 100% efficient flowdown.

The raised chamber is a problem for the LR rubble. You want it under water at all times. Adding a few more gallons won't leave much headroom for when the pumps are off and you will probably have a minor flood.

Does the drain come in through the side? The drip palte should lift out. I concocted an extension by using pvc to barbed to a piece of flexible tubing to get below the water line.

You can cut your 1" flex drain line to make it shorter. I'm assuming it connects to a barbed fitting.

[Ziggy953]

How much room do you have under your stand? Can you take a pic of it?

PM me about this I have a solution for you. Innovator is correct about the bio-balls but for most of our applications (reef tanks) they just don't do the job that's what the LR is for.

[ccCapt]

Originally Posted by Ziggy953

PM me about this I have a solution for you.

Is this something that can't be shared? There may be others watching this thread and it may help them too.

[Ziggy953]

It is certainly something that can be shared. I just happen to know his setup and have some ideas that are specific to his system.

My solution is always the same. If you are using a Wet/Dry and don't want to get rid of it add a bulkhead to and a 10g tank from walmart and you have a space for your return pump and a fuge.

[mandown123]

yeah, thats true. I could move over the skimmer and return into a 10 and make the whole wet/dry the fuge. Is that how the order of things should go.. Tank flowing into fuge into sump/return/skimmer?

what is the logical flow of things? This is actually maybe even a beter idea than the 20 fuge because of the amount of space i have to work with.

[ccCapt]

Originally Posted by Ziggy953

My solution is always the same. If you are using a Wet/Dry and don't want to get rid of it add a bulkhead to and a 10g tank from walmart and you have a space for your return pump and a fuge.

That's a good idea. Now I remember seeing some pics you posted of that kind of setup.

Good ole Yankee engineering. Wait......you're south of the Mason/Dixon line....you ain't no Yankee!

[Ziggy953]

LOL...I'm no Yankee....Born in Tennessee and have been all over the country but have been in VA the longest of anywhere.

When money and space are limited you have to get creative with solutions.

[mandown123]

i got a 10 gallon from my friend. now i am wondering what the best way to plumb from the wet/dry (fuge to be) into the 10 gallon. the 10 will strictly house the return and skimmer. the 10 will go where the box of misc. goodies is now.

[ryshark]

As far as Bio-Balls go, I removed them slowly from my wet/dry and it made a big difference on my Nitrates. With bio-balls I couldnt get nitrate lower than 30ppm. Since replacing the bio-balls with LR rubble and doing a few pwc my nitrates have been 0.

[mandown123]

yeah that is my plan... what do you think i should do as far as a plumbing setup.. im pretty dumb when it comes to that stuff... should i just buy an overflow box? it seems like i have to worry about overflowing issues now with the new setup... im not sure what to do lol.

[Ziggy953]

What I would do is drill the current sump. The end where the pump is and put a bulkhead in and let it flow into the 10g. Drill the hole kind of high to get the maximum amount of water volume from the wet/dry. You will have to make a return compartment in the 10g for your pump. You may also need to raise your skimmer so it isn't in too much water.

[mandown123]

thanks zig i will look into this bulkhead thing. not really sure what it is but i will google it.