Wet/Dry filter help

[Micah00]

I bought an aquarium out of the paper today and it has a hang on wet/dry filter. It is made by Summit Aquatics. On the left side it has a Hagen 802 attached to a 1/2" pvc. In the middle it has a place for bio balls or what ever. The next chamber it has a 1/2" flex hose mounted near the top drilled through the filter. Then it has a space for media on the end. It also had a clear pvc like pipe shaped like a U with it, and it has a small box that sits inside the tank. Question is how do I get this thing to work? The lady I bought it from had no idea ( her husband set it up and is out of town) I have fooled with this thing all day any help would be appreciated.

 

[hooper]

Hello!! Lets see if i can help,i would set overflow just below water level,then install siphon tube/j-tube into overflow/skimmer box,then fill inner box were siphon tube sits with water,make sure both ends of the j-tube are under water,take a peice of air tubing about 18" and insert it into the j-tube, a little more than halfway, just after the bend.Now start by slowly sucking the air out of j-tube and slowly pulling out the air tubing.It may take a few tries,but this should work, have a bucket make up water ready incase the level in aquarium if it falls bellow the skimmer.Once the sump of the wet/dry has enough water in it turn your pump on and watch tank level. It's a little tricky but you do it once you will be an old prne more thing after filter has been running for a few minutes shut off pump and check to see if j-tube will loose it's prime, if it doe's ,you may want to lower skimmer box or add more water to aquarium.The reason for this is if you loose power and your prime you will burn up your 802 powerhead.Well without seeing what you have thats the best i can do good luck!!

 

[Anonymous]

Hope you didn't spend too much moey on it, wet/dry filters are a waste.

 

[Mogo]

Wet dry filters are questionable as primary filters for sw tanks as they become nitrate factories (bad). Many of us use these types of filters as supplementary filters for temporary carbon etc. So you may not have totally wasted your money.

 

[Anonymous]

This is something of a myth, as there will always only be as much nitrate produced as there is ammonia, and nitrite with which to feed the appropriate bacteria. GL seems to not like any form of filtration in the discussions s/he's participated in.

Here's my take on it; the biggest problem w/wet-dry is that it has no capability to address nitrates. Of course, we should remember that is not what it was designed to do. If we use DSB/refugium methodologies, then we are best addressing the issue of nitrates (and other nutrient export issues via refugia). Utilize sufficient live rock and/or DSB-refugia, and the nitrate factory statement becomes moot.

Without actually seeing the beast, we may be a bit hard-pressed to help you put it together! (Though hooper did a pretty good job.)

 

[Micah00]

Yes,he helped me very much I spent most the day yesterday fooling with it and never got it running. I had cleaned the powerhead for it and didn't pay attention to it being set for foward or reverse I fooled with in reverse for a while and then put it in foward and before I could do anything I had a floor full of water;hadn't got a GFI yet got a nice shock and gave up. As of now I am simulating a power outage to make sure it holds a prime. There is a hose hooked to the second chamber it's about 2 ft long I have no idea what it is for. Also say no one home and it does loose it's prime is there anything I can do to keep it from overflowing the tank? And to answer the comment about hoping I didn't pay much for it I got a 40 gal tank w/oak stand and canopy about 80-100# of live rock some coral including a hammer w/ 10 branches, a mated pair of gold stripe maroons and the filter for $350. I plan on using it for a refugium it is as long as the tank and holds between 10-15 gal.
BTW, Thanks for the help I would not have figured that out in a year!!!!

 

[Anonymous]

A little more complicated than that SM. I don't disagree with all filtration, I just don't know why you would waste your money on something not necessary. People are only sold these things because they get bad advice in the first place. Please explain to me why on earth you would want to put one of these filters on your tank?