wet dry or trickle filter



the wet dry sump filter is one of the best system around for the filtration of harmful toxin like ammonia and nitrites. this is due to the large area used for biological media and the aeration of the water before it comes into contact with said media.the design is simple and quite easy to make for the do it yourself enthusiast.

to begin with you need to decide how much biological media is needed and how large of a sump area you want for your tank.since most tanks sit on stands you might be restricted in sump size by what can fit under your aquarium stand however a 20 gal sump is suitable for most oscar tanks(of course the bigger the sump the more water it can hold the better).

the bio media, as a rule of thumb, follows a simple formula of 1 gallon of media for every 30-40 galllons of aquarium.

the general gist of it...

the idea is to have the water enter the sump and have to pass through the drip tray. this allows the water to become oxygenated before it get to the bio media thus producing a healthier bacterial culture

the basic sump design...









supplies needed

-20 gallons aquarium
-eggcrate(cover for flourescent lights)
-plexiglass(acrylic)1/4"
-aquarium safe silicone
-drill and bits
-jigsaw



to begin cut plexi pieces to form the two dividers for the inside of the tank

(on this first piece i cut a hole 2" from the bottom and place a foam from an aquatech 110 filter in it to keep floating articles from entering the pump area)

starting on the left silicone the first divider into place making sure it sits on the bottom of the tank leaving enough room for the pump to fit in.

( the second piece i glued two ledges to support the eggcrate on the bottom and the drip tray about 2" from the top)

next silicone the next piece into the tank leaving 2" of space on the bottom of the tank

cut the eggcrate to size and place it on the bottom ledge

next place the drip tray on the top ledge

now your done the sump.


the drip tray



This starts with a piece of acrylic, cut to fit the bio-ball compartment. It will rest on the shelves at the top of the bio-ball compartment. You should give it a little room, to make it easier to get it in and out of the sump. Then cut four strips to make up the "walls" of the drip tray. You want water to collect in the tray, and be forced to go down thru the holes in the drip tray. Cut the four walls, and attach them using acrylic adhesive. At this point, the tray should be water tight. Then drill holes (1/16&quot spaced 1" apart, over most of the drip tray. Leave the center section of the tray un-drilled. This will force water to spread out, giving a more even distribution of water over the tray. After you might find you need to enlarge the drip holes, but if you make them too big initially, all the water will go down thru very few holes

when completed it should look somethng like this









overflow designs to follow



these images come from various web sites i did not draw them myself

I would advise any Oscar keeper who is thinking about getting a wet dry filter not to go for the commercial canister type wet dry filters. In my opinion, and based on experience, these filters are not suitable for fish that produce lots of waste. The mechanism slows up considerably after only a week. The reason being is the water trickles through the media, once that media becomes a little dirty, the water trickling through the media is slowed up because of the dirt. These type of filters need regular maintenance if you use them with Oscars. On the other hand, if you use a normal canister filter, you don't need to clean them for several weeks depending on how big your tank is and how many fish you've got.

The diagram on this thread is a good example of a wet dry sump filter, in fact it's very similar to the one I use.. at the moment, mine isn't performing as a wet dry because the large chamber that contains the pumps, is very full of water.

I've come to the conclusion that wet dry isn't really necessary when you are keeping tropical fish, especially if you are using large sump filters with lots of biological media. If you are keeping Oscars, you are better off utilising the sump to use as much water as possible in your system.

nice post necromancer4