Wet/dry advice

B

bigtankbigfish

Guest
just got a great deal on a sweet 125 RR tank with custom stand. Only problem is no filtration included.
Does anyone have any advice they can give me on what to look for in a wet/dry set up. Im looking at difference in bioball and biobale. How big a return pump I need, if I actually need a refugium since its not reef tank. etc. How much should i spend on this?
another Q. Most of the wet/dry complete systems im finding online only have 1 inlet tube that would hook up to an overflow box i guess. If I have 2 overflows already drilled in my tank, how can I only have 1 inlet tube?
 
nanomantis

nanomantis

Member
I'll answer your questions in order.
1) I like bioballs. Some do, some don't. You will find arguments going both directions on this one, so go with whatever is familar to you.
2) Pump: Since you have 2 overflows, I'd go with an oversized pump. 1500 gallons per hour or greater.
3) You don't need a refugium. If you medicated the tank it would likely kill everything there anyways. Instead, get a nice skimmer.
4) $$$: Plan to spend whatever you paid for the setup.
5) With the major manufacturers, larger model sumps come with more holes. Look for a larger sump!
 
beaslbob

beaslbob

Well-Known Member
Originally Posted by BigTankBigFish
http:///forum/post/3249018
just got a great deal on a sweet 125 RR tank with custom stand. Only problem is no filtration included.
Does anyone have any advice they can give me on what to look for in a wet/dry set up. Im looking at difference in bioball and biobale. How big a return pump I need, if I actually need a refugium since its not reef tank. etc. How much should i spend on this?
I use plastic storage containers for my setup. One large one almost always full for the refugium and a smaller one for the sump. For my wet/dry I use a wastebasket with the bottom replaced with a plastic window screen. That drains to the refugium and is full of crushed oyster shells for filer media.
IMHO the single most important thing in any closed eco system like our tanks is the plant life. So a refugium full of macro algaes simply trumps whatever else is being done.
another Q. Most of the wet/dry complete systems im finding online only have 1 inlet tube that would hook up to an overflow box i guess. If I have 2 overflows already drilled in my tank, how can I only have 1 inlet tube?
You setup up the two drains to go the the input for youR refugium/sump/wet dry.
my .02
 
florida joe

florida joe

Well-Known Member
2) Pump: Since you have 2 overflows, I'd go with an oversized pump. 1500 gallons per hour or greater.
This is a definite NO NO . You want to check the GHP of your overflows you never want your pump to have a greater GPH then the overflows , I am of course taking for granted that you have in the tank overflow boxes
 
mrdc

mrdc

Active Member
Originally Posted by florida joe
http:///forum/post/3253394
This is a definite NO NO . You want to check the GHP of your overflows you never want your pump to have a greater GPH then the overflows , I am of course taking for granted that you have in the tank overflow boxes
I just want this to be clear in my mind about your comments. Are you saying that you need to be careful not to pump water back into your tank faster than the water is coming though your overflow? That seems to make logical sense. I will be needing to replace my return pump soon and this will be something I will need to be aware of if this in fact what you are referring to.. Thanks.
 
florida joe

florida joe

Well-Known Member
Originally Posted by mrdc
http:///forum/post/3253478
I just want this to be clear in my mind about your comments. Are you saying that you need to be careful not to pump water back into your tank faster than the water is coming though your overflow? That seems to make logical sense. I will be needing to replace my return pump soon and this will be something I will need to be aware of if this in fact what you are referring to.. Thanks.
Let me explain. Our return pumps for the most part are constant speed they will only raise the level of water over our overflows at a content rate. Now let’s say our pump is rated for 50gph and our overflow is rated for 1000 GPH we are still only going to get feed through our overflows as the rate the pump puts water back into our tank (does this make sense?) now let’s take the opposite if we have an overflow with a rate of 100 GPH and a return pump of 150 GPH we can in fact run the sump dry, or return water into our tank if there is a blockage in our overflows so fast that it raises the level of water in our tank to the point where it overflows the top of the tank
This is why you should NEVER restrict the flow of the overflow box.
And never try to balance the overflow rate to the pump rate
 
mrdc

mrdc

Active Member
Thanks Joe. You explained it just the way I thought I understood it. However, just one more stupid question. How do you measure the rate of flow coming through your overflow so you dont overshoot it with a return pump? (with some variance)
 
florida joe

florida joe

Well-Known Member
Originally Posted by mrdc
http:///forum/post/3253559
Thanks Joe. You explained it just the way I thought I understood it. However, just one more stupid question. How do you measure the rate of flow coming through your overflow so you dont overshoot it with a return pump? (with some variance)
Well the easiest way I guess would be to contact the manufacturer of the tank if it came with overflow boxes installed. If not and you know the maker of the overflow box you may be able to contact them. If this fails IMO and mine only you can do this. Since the flow rate is really predicated on the diameter of the PVC feeding the sump from the overflow for the most part give this a try. Block the pvc feeding the sump in the overflow box take some water that will fill the box knowing the amount you just added you can now unplug the pvc and see how long it takes for the overflow box to empty. Now do the math and you should be able to come up with GPH (by filling up the box you will get a faster reading then normal do to the water pressure but not much and it will make the math easier)
 
mrdc

mrdc

Active Member
Originally Posted by florida joe
http:///forum/post/3253852
Well the easiest way I guess would be to contact the manufacturer of the tank if it came with overflow boxes installed. If not and you know the maker of the overflow box you may be able to contact them. If this fails IMO and mine only you can do this. Since the flow rate is really predicated on the diameter of the PVC feeding the sump from the overflow for the most part give this a try. Block the pvc feeding the sump in the overflow box take some water that will fill the box knowing the amount you just added you can now unplug the pvc and see how long it takes for the overflow box to empty. Now do the math and you should be able to come up with GPH (by filling up the box you will get a faster reading then normal do to the water pressure but not much and it will make the math easier)
Thanks. I bookmarked this so I can come back to it when I gt ready to buy a new return pump. I don't know what GPH my current pump is pushing since it was installed by the LFS when I first go the tank setup. Well I can't find the brand of my pump anywhere so I don't know if the company that makes them is still around. So I will have to find a return pump that is readily available. Not sure what brand I will go with but it has to be able to attach to 3/4" tubing. And of course I need to figure out what GPH to go with.
 
florida joe

florida joe

Well-Known Member
finding the gph of your return pump is easy take it out of your sump. put it in a five gallon bucket filled with water take another 5 g bucket pump one into another and time it. now you have approximately the time frame for 5 gallons do the math and you get a close number of gph
 
mrdc

mrdc

Active Member
That is very true. My pump is going on 7 years so it may have lost some of it's efficiency but your check would give me a good approxiation.
The thing I need to figure out first is where these small particles of something is coming from. I thought maybe the polyfill is breaking down in my wet/dry and flowing into the DT but I took everything out of the wet/dry for a few days and that did nothing. I cleaned the tubing to the Fluval last night so I don’t know yet if that what the cause. It’s really frustrating …
My other problem is with the new RO/DI unit I recently got. It’s a 6 stage unit and it came with a pressure device which is reading 35psi. The directions state that I need at least 40psi to pressurize the unit so right now I am not getting any waste water and the water is just speeding through all 6 chambers and is not producing any clean water. My old unit worked fine with my water pressure so I don’t know why this one isn’t working. Now my old unit had a holding tank that had to be at a certain pressure which you could add pressure to but hooking up a tire pump and pressurize it to what you need. I assume this tank might be the reason my old RO unit worked with my water pressure. I did hook up the tank to my new unit and pressurized the tank to 45psi but I still wasn’t getting waste water. I was thinking that maybe the tank just wasn’t meant for my current unit which is why it didn’t work.
Well sorry to get away from the wet/dry conversation but these two other headaches are on my mind.
 
mrdc

mrdc

Active Member
I like Eheim products too. I got it off the big auction site from Filterdirect. Here is what they say:
Filter Direct Co. is the master distributor of WaterGeneral Manufacturing Co., and the preferred partner of Honeywell Inc. on water products.
I'm emailing you the link to show you the exact one I bought.
 
florida joe

florida joe

Well-Known Member
Originally Posted by mrdc
http:///forum/post/3255629
I like Eheim products too. I got it off the big auction site from Filterdirect. Here is what they say:
Filter Direct Co. is the master distributor of WaterGeneral Manufacturing Co., and the preferred partner of Honeywell Inc. on water products.
I'm emailing you the link to show you the exact one I bought.
sorry i could not open it try sending it to my e-mail address
naplesfl101@aol.com
 
mrdc

mrdc

Active Member
Well I got the RO unit working last night. The unit came preassembled and I found that two of the hoses were installed wrong. I'm still getting 4 on the TDS meter so I hope it goes down after more use. I tested for chlorine and chloramines and none was showing.
 
mrdc

mrdc

Active Member
I will check tonight. I beleive it's in the 80s but I will check for sure and post my results. I would like to get a reading of 0 after filter but will take 4 if I have too. It would be better than continuing with tap water use. Anyway, I will let you know later.
Just curious why you want to know what the reading is before filter. Are you wanting to see how much the unit is trying to filter out?
 
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