# step by step guide to making a wet/dry filter



## nitrofish

first you will need to find an old aquarium that still holds water. for this prodject I used a 55 gallon because it was free.

you will need to make a chamber for the bio balls to sit just above the water line. I cut some strips of acrylic and siliconed them for support of what they call eggcrate. egg crate is what I used to support the bioballs.


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## nitrofish

next I will need to make a drip tray.this is what spreads the water all over the bioballs vrs on one spot. a drip tray is basacly a box with many holes in it and a lip all the way around it to hold the water as it flows thru the holes. once I make the trays I will need more strips of acrylic siliconed to the inside to use as a support for those trays.


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## nitrofish

:nod:


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## nitrofish

now this is ready to hold bio balls . (bioballs are a type of filter media)

next is the feed hoses. I used a square piece of acrylic and attached a fitting to the center with an elbow and short piece of pipe. this is where the water flows down into the filter from the tank. the hoses are flexible plastic, i got those at home depo too. if you heat up the end in very hot water you can make the hose soft enough to strech over the pvc pipe going to the elbow.


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## nitrofish

be sure to cut a piece of filter pad and place it over the drip tray. this will catch any small crud before it hits the filter.

next you will need to select a pump and overflow (if your tanks not already drilled)

you always want the overflow to handel more flow than the pump can push. I made the mistake of buying too large of a pump and had to switch it for a smaller one. the pump i finaly ended up with was a via aqua 3900.

for the overflow i went with a continious syphon overflow with air lift pump. these are really well made and are worth the $100 bucks they cost.


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## nitrofish

heres the filter in action


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## nitrofish




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## Atlanta Braves Baby!

This is a really good DIY project. Can we get this added to the DIY articles?


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## aqualife

Very nice info, Jeff.







Now I know who to talk to about a wet/dry filter, when I buy my 180-210gal tank. 
This should be added to the DIY articles.


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## Lonald

good thread, someone should Pin this :nod:


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## Death in #'s

dam thats frigin sweet

when are u stopping by ny house to build mne


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## ace_1808

hey nitrofish nice diy man, those pics really help a lot. One question though where does the overflow go, i have an idea of where the pump goes to return water to the tank right but im confused about the overflow i.e. where does it go on your whole setup?? Sorry just a newb. thanks for any help.


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## chiefkyle

It sits on the back of your tank (hang-on) style. It collects water from the surface of the main tank. From there the water is gravety fed to the wetdry.

Very nice DIY. I'm loving it.


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## nitrofish

Atlanta Braves Baby! said:


> This is a really good DIY project. Can we get this added to the DIY articles?










yes

and chef is right, the overflow hangs on like a hang on flter. the other way is to have a drilled tank.

how it works is once the water reaches a certain level the water overflows into the overflow box and out of the tank by a syphon. it runs out of the overflow to a set of hoses to the filter. then the pump in the filter pushes water back into the tank.


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## nitrofish

heres a better look at the overflow


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## nitrofish

heres what the filter pad above the drip tray looks like


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## nitrofish

the return was made from a piece of pvc pipe.


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## nitrofish




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## nitrofish




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## nitrofish

heres another type of overflow


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## nitrofish

I just wanted to mention that this filter was so large that I had to drop it into the stand from the top. its way more than what I need to filter a 125 gallon.


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## nitrofish

aqualife said:


> Very nice info, Jeff.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Now I know who to talk to about a wet/dry filter, when I buy my 180-210gal tank.
> This should be added to the DIY articles.


 id help you, this filter would be enough for at least a 200 gallon tank, so id just copy this design.


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## Phtstrat

Wow man gj. You've inspired me to make a smaller version.


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## 2nafury

very nice.


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## Sunman222

where did you buy the overflow from? i'm currently looking for one myself and i'm don't really like the basic ones with the U shaped siphon tube. air always get caught in there and then the flow slows down dramatically within a few days.


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## chiefkyle

That is awsome. I beleave I will be making one myself.









Here is a good skimmer. http://www.bigalsonline.com/catalog/produc...1729&pcid1=2885


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## nitrofish

Sunman222 said:


> where did you buy the overflow from? i'm currently looking for one myself and i'm don't really like the basic ones with the U shaped siphon tube. air always get caught in there and then the flow slows down dramatically within a few days.


 I bought a continuious syphon overflow with air lifter pump. the pump constantly removes the air. its probly the best overflow on the market


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## Xenon

whoa awesome article!!!


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## Xenon

dont you need a hole or something on the return to prevent reverse syphoning?


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## nitrofish

Xenon said:


> dont you need a hole or something on the return to prevent reverse syphoning?


 yes, right at the water line I put a little hole in the return so that when the pump is off the water dosent flood the wet/dry


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## Judazzz

Added to ther DIY section of the PFury Info Center








See here: http://www.piranha-fury.com/information/de....php?id=wet-dry

Nitro, if there are things you'd like to see changed, added or whatnot (text, pictures), shoot me a PM, and I'll take care of it








Thanks a lot for your contribution: it's an awesome addition


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## MR.FREEZ

this is a really nice article, and i like the over flow detail , cause i have everything but

the over flow, for some reason im just slow to understand it









but i cant wait till i can get my sump hooked up and running


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## ace_1808

Hey nitrofish where did you buy your overflowbox? thanks.


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## TheGreatHoe

wow man awesome diy!!!! wish i had seen it b4 i got my diy tank finished and i bought a fluidised bed but a kick ass design none the less!!!

might use some of your design though because i need to make a sump as i have very little mechanical filtration at the moment...thanks for sharein!!!


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## Novato

Wow that is awsome. You read my mind. I was just starting to look for a DIY filter. Thanks.


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## Soldat

Could someone help me figure out a DIY overflow. Is it to late to drill holes in the tank. That is the only step I haven't thoroughly figured out. Could I just have a hose in the water about an inch leading down to the sump. Like baically a gravel filter tube that is still siphoning? Please help..Kevin


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## Soldat

Sorry for the repost, but I figured it out. I feel like a moron now. Hope to have mine setup by next week. Thanks for the info..KEv


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## nitrofish

ace_1808 said:


> Hey nitrofish where did you buy your overflowbox? thanks.


 http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod...04+22778+113565


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## nitrofish

Judazzz said:


> Added to ther DIY section of the PFury Info Center
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> See here: http://www.piranha-fury.com/information/de....php?id=wet-dry
> 
> Nitro, if there are things you'd like to see changed, added or whatnot (text, pictures), shoot me a PM, and I'll take care of it
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Thanks a lot for your contribution: it's an awesome addition


please feel free to edit and re-word any of this, because im not as good of a writer as I would like to be. and if theres any part you would like me to explain how I made, ill be happy to go into more detail.

a couple people asked me how I made the drip tray, basicly I cut a square out of acrylic that would fit snugly into the chamber, in this case I made 2 chambers. after I cut the tray I drilled a hole an inch apart all over the bottom. then I took some strips of acrylic (1.5" wide) and formed a box and glued it in place with plastic epoxy. the drip tray looks foggy in the picture because I sanded it with a fine sand paper.

heres another drip tray


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## nitrofish

also by putting your heater in the wet/dry filter it hides the extra equipment and helps spread the heat out better than in the tank


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## AlienPunk

awesome writeup!!

I was just trying to figure out how to make one...

The question is, I have a 10 gal tank..that I want to make into a sump for a saltwater tank...how would I go about doing that? Do you put liverock instead of bioballs in it? Ahh, Maybe I will wonder my happy ass over to the "saltwater" forum


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## nitrofish

AlienPunk said:


> awesome writeup!!
> 
> I was just trying to figure out how to make one...
> 
> The question is, I have a 10 gal tank..that I want to make into a sump for a saltwater tank...how would I go about doing that? Do you put liverock instead of bioballs in it? Ahh, Maybe I will wonder my happy ass over to the "saltwater" forum


 thats what i did, but depending on the type of saltwater tnd you are running you may want to make a refugium


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## AlienPunk

that is exactly what I am looking to do. Then I would be able to attach a protein skimmer and heater to it somehow, in the sump. What do you mean by refugium? I am considering the possibility of corals and other fun things in there as well...


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## nitrofish

AlienPunk said:


> that is exactly what I am looking to do. Then I would be able to attach a protein skimmer and heater to it somehow, in the sump. What do you mean by refugium? I am considering the possibility of corals and other fun things in there as well...


 normal filters convert amminia to nitrates, but a refugium uses micro alge to accually consume the nitrate .


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## Dr. Giggles

What did you use to top off the drip trays and connect the elbow to ??? Thanx...Jerry


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## nitrofish

jerry_plakyda said:


> What did you use to top off the drip trays and connect the elbow to ??? Thanx...Jerry


 I used a regular square piece of acrylic with an elbow on one side and a screw in fitting on the other to hold it in place. the drip trays sit a 1/4" below the top so the top tray sits right on top and dosen't move.


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## alexm

Thought you might be interested in my attempt (following Nitrofish's example







)

The only difference is that mine only has one drain hole in the tank, so I have used a single drip tray!

The donor tank was a cheap (£60) off-the-shelf job 4ft x 1.5ft high x 1ft










1st Job was to remove the existing supports in the tank (i.e. smash the central support and then hack at the silicon with a stanley knife!!!)

Here are the remains and the tank minus braces!



















Next I started some serious acrylic cutting! The original scoring and snapping idea turned out to be a nightmare, it was impossible to score in a straight line, even against a guide, especially since I was using 7mm thick sheets so I gave up on that.

A jigsaw with a fine tooth blade worked much better, but it is very slow going. Too quick and you end up melting the acrylic!









Once I had some acrylic cut I set to siliconing it in place. Here are the lower supports in place together with the first piece of "egg crate" on which the bioballs will sit!










And here is the second eggcrate in place together with the end plate! Taking shape!!!



















Because the original tank braces have been removed I thought I better add a centre brace to stop the glass sides of the tank flexing too much!

Notice the top supports for the drip tray have also been added!










And here is the almost finished product complete with drip tray (with 340 holes!!!) on top. Water will fill the drip tray and be sprinkled over the bioballs where it will trickle to the bottom and be pumped back up into the tank.

The plate you see behind with the protective film still on is the lid. When I find out what size hole the tank has I will drill the same size in the centre of the lid and fit a tank connecter on where the filter will be plumbed in.

The open area at the left hand end of the tank is where the return pump will sit to pump the water back into the tank. I can lift up the eggcrates beneath the bioballs to lie a heater in there aswell if I wish.










The finished product (minus lid) filled with 4,000 bioballs! 










The only worry I have is about the size of the holes in the tray. I opted for 3mm and I have no way of knowing whether they will be too big or too small until I get a flow of water onto them to see if the water spreads out or if it all disappears though the centre holes only. Some tuning may be required here!

Anyway, thanks to Nitrofish for the inspiration!


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## chiefkyle

Great job AlexM!!


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## nitrofish

great job!

I like the idea of a single large driptray. the best thing about making your own wet/dry is you get to be as creative as you want.

what size overflow and pump are you thinking about getting?


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## thoroughbred

looks really good notro and the other guy but im crappy at building crap although it looks easier than i thought and i could use it i need a wet dry for my 180 and building it would be cheaper the aquarium stuff i get but the overflow and siphoning and getting the water back into the tank and vice versa along wiht the overflow has me scratching mmy head


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## alexm

nitrofish said:


> great job!
> 
> I like the idea of a single large driptray. the best thing about making your own wet/dry is you get to be as creative as you want.
> 
> what size overflow and pump are you thinking about getting?


 The overflow pipe is going to be either 1.5" or 2" I think. The pump will be about 900 ukgal per hour.

I tested the tray with 3mm holes under the tap and unless I have niagra falls coming out of the tank the holes are going to be too big unfortunately! All the water comes out the centre of the tray and none makes it to the edge.









So... I have just finished making another tray with 1.5mm holes which I will test again when the glue is dry and then I can drill the holes out if need be! Lesson learnt!


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## chiefkyle

thoroughbred said:


> ..............but the overflow and siphoning and getting the water back into the tank and vice versa along wiht the overflow has me scratching mmy head


Had me wondering at first as well. I use to wonder, "How does the overflow tube (in the over flow box) keep water in it if the overflow is rated high and the pump is to slow?".

Now that I have a wetdry, I understand it completely. Although it is hard to explain, here is a quote from Vafishfreek.com.



> Hang on overflows require a siphon to get the water from the tank up and over the side of the tank and then down into the back portion of the unit. This is achieved with the help of a "U" or "J" tube. This is because of the shape. The tank side of the overflow has "fingers" that strain the water (very coarse items only), these fingers also are adjustable so you can set the water level you want the tank to maintain. Once the siphon is created the water will be pulled up and over the side of the tank via the "U/J" tube. If the water level is above the two ends of this tube then the siphon will start back up should a power outage occur. If air gets in this tube then you will have to start the siphon back up with the help of some airline tubing.


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## MissionHockey

I'm in the middle of building my wet/dry filter and I have a question. The barrier that separates the bio balls from the empty side of the tank, does that barrier go from the bottom of the tank to the top of the tank? Thanks.


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## deezdrama

nice article!


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## deezdrama

im going to build one for my 240g eventually.


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## MissionHockey

Which overflow should I go with? My tank is about 60 gallons.


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## B. Rodgers

More Pics!!! And Please Include How You Attach The Pump To The Wet/Dry And Which Pump Your Using And How The Whole Thing Operates!


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## ESPMike

I want to try this, but I have NO experience with Wet/Dry filters so this is very new to me. I think I have the way it works figured out, and Im trying to see how to put it all together.

As far as the overflow goes, if you had an old HOB filter sitting around, could you rig that by drilling a hole in the bottom of the box that holds the media and connect a hose down to the wet/dry? Could the pump for the filter work as the siphon?


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## bobme

ESPMike said:


> I want to try this, but I have NO experience with Wet/Dry filters so this is very new to me. I think I have the way it works figured out, and Im trying to see how to put it all together.
> 
> As far as the overflow goes, if you had an old HOB filter sitting around, could you rig that by drilling a hole in the bottom of the box that holds the media and connect a hose down to the wet/dry? Could the pump for the filter work as the siphon?


no. buy the overflow box.


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## 2PiRaNhA~2FuRrY

that is big wet/dry filter.


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## divine

This needed to be pinned. Great job

Maybe add some info on pump selection and flow rate/turn over so people will ask less.


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## kigrind

I'm going to build one of these for my 55 gallon tank, do you think a 10 gallon tank will be enough of a filter power for it? Already got one and the stand will hold it. I've worked with acrlic and such, dosn't seem like it would be too hard for me. Hardest part is getting the right pump and making sure the overflow works.

I've actually got an old pond filter I dont use. The output was shot out by a pump to a sprinkler but the flow is adjustable. I think I'll try to use it and some of the bio balls I cleaned out of out 180 gallon reef tank with sump filtration.

I'd use the sump from out 180 gallon tank, but its larger then the 55 gallon tank itself!


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## SAFETYpin

KiGrind said:


> I'm going to build one of these for my 55 gallon tank, do you think a 10 gallon tank will be enough of a filter power for it? Already got one and the stand will hold it. I've worked with acrlic and such, dosn't seem like it would be too hard for me. Hardest part is getting the right pump and making sure the overflow works.
> 
> I've actually got an old pond filter I dont use. The output was shot out by a pump to a sprinkler but the flow is adjustable. I think I'll try to use it and some of the bio balls I cleaned out of out 180 gallon reef tank with sump filtration.
> 
> I'd use the sump from out 180 gallon tank, but its larger then the 55 gallon tank itself!


Stop digging up ancient threads. If you have some questions start your own post.


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