# Newbie making first wet dry DIY



## Jwest (Nov 15, 2010)

Making my first wet dry filter for my 100gallon. can i restrict the flow of a 1000gph with a ball valve?


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## james7139 (Jul 10, 2010)

you should be able to,just get the correct size.


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## Jwest (Nov 15, 2010)

alright. thanks alot. any advice on making a 1.5" siphon?


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## bearwithfish (Sep 29, 2009)

1st when choking back a pump be sure to have a T off that goes back to the other side of the wet/dry this is where the ball valve will go and you regulate flow there if you dont use this the pump will burn out rather fast (about 1/2 its normal life if not faster)
2nd are you looking to make a PVC overflow or a box type? if you Google it or search youtube you will find a lot of great step by step vids... but be careful as some of those need modifications that they did not show... for example the PVC overflows need a check valve installed at the top of the bend over the wall i neglected this step in mine (before changing designs) and it kept failing


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## Jwest (Nov 15, 2010)

is a check valve just an air line at the top? Is a 1.5" siphon sufficent for a 100 gallon or do i need bigger?


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## bearwithfish (Sep 29, 2009)

a check valve is sold as a part for an airline .. it alows flow in one direction if set up properly this will alow trapped air to escape and the siphon will not break.. 1.5 inches is more than enough


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## Jwest (Nov 15, 2010)

so i just need to drill a hole on the top of the siphon and place the check valve in it?


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## bearwithfish (Sep 29, 2009)

it needs to be sealed in but yes .. again search youtube and look at designs that incorporate this and you will see how its done....


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## Jwest (Nov 15, 2010)

I got the check valve. should i place it directly to the pvc or should i run an air line then connect it?


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## bearwithfish (Sep 29, 2009)

what i have seen (again i do not use this so any one with experience please jump in here) drill a hole to fit the valve and ten super glue it in adding some silicone for added barrier... be sure that it is set to flow away from the PVC to let air out... not let air in or you will be sure to have issues


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## SinCrisis (Aug 7, 2008)

bearwithfish said:


> what i have seen (again i do not use this so any one with experience please jump in here) drill a hole to fit the valve and ten super glue it in adding some silicone for added barrier... be sure that it is set to flow away from the PVC to let air out... not let air in or you will be sure to have issues


I have not done this type of project before, but it seems that this solution is very.. permanent? Supergluing would cause you to have to replace the entire valve along with the PVC that its glued to, which would be a lot of work if im not mistaken...


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## bearwithfish (Sep 29, 2009)

not so while superglue is a great bonding agent it is not permanent on PVC.. interestingly on PVC it will hold until a certain amount of pressure is applied then is will cleanly snap off... very odd but has worked on other PVC projects i have used it for...


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## Jwest (Nov 15, 2010)

i think my siphon sucks. i have have a piece of 3 inch abs that acts as an over flow. in side of in there is a 1.5 inch pvc that goes outside of the tank with two 90 elbows and goes straight down to the sump. I haven't filled the tank completely up so maybe there isn't enough water in the over flow to create a suction... i have an air line on top of the 90 elbows to prime it. i decided against the check valve. probably be a mistake but time will tell. the air lone is long enough i'll put it in the sater to keep the pressure.


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## bearwithfish (Sep 29, 2009)

is your design similar to this?? just asking to get a clear picture of the issue


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## Jwest (Nov 15, 2010)

it's at like1:50 in this movie..






i think i need something on the other end with water in it so balance the pressure


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## bearwithfish (Sep 29, 2009)

ok i see a few issues with this design 
1st you would need to be sure that the siphon lines run into the over flow box and are actually under the water.. the movement of the water will draw off any air trapped up in the pipe itself... now that said with out a clear pipe on top its a lot of guess work to be sure te whole pipe is full 
2nd (and the reason i would be most worried) as i watched that section the overflow in side the tank was creating a great deal of splash this brings a lot of air (bubbles) so you will likely have a lot of traffic in those air lines up top..

its workable but needs to be tweeked a a bit... perhaps drilling into the lower part of the over the wall pipes and inserting the air line there would creat enough drag to keep things flowing? hmmmm thoughts?


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## Jwest (Nov 15, 2010)

do i need that second over flow box? maybe i should go with a simpler design...


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## bearwithfish (Sep 29, 2009)

for that design i would say yes but we are dealing with a somewhat different set up.... i think its workable .. is there any way to contact the maker of the vid to ask for either more details or even a vid on how to make it? 
other wise either google DIY overflow plans or you can youtube for that also to see some great builds and even get written plans free


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## Jwest (Nov 15, 2010)

i like the one on the video you showed me. it seems simple enough.


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## bearwithfish (Sep 29, 2009)

it is but needs a little tweeking to get it right . i never took the time and switched out to a traditional HOB overflow made from specimen containers...


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## Jwest (Nov 15, 2010)

the splash from the sump is really loud. any ideas how to make it quite so noisy?


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## bearwithfish (Sep 29, 2009)

a photo would be more helpful here as i am not sure what the setup looks like


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## Jwest (Nov 15, 2010)

how do i put up pics?


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## Jwest (Nov 15, 2010)

http://www.tropicalfishkeeping.com/members/22225/album/progress-1453/hpim1250-9726.jpg

that spray is whats causing the noise..


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## bearwithfish (Sep 29, 2009)

easy fix remove the small piece of PVC and add a longer one until it gets below the water line no issue at all...


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