DIY Reverse wet/dry filter

[Andrew_B]

So I wanted to add another filter to a tank of mine. Unfortunately I have no room below the tank at all. So why not make something above the tank. Have water pump out of the tank then drain through media back into it. Right now Im just using an old maxijet1200 to power it. I can probably either add a second maxijet or just give it a little bigger of a pump. It's small, but it can still hold probably 60 pot scrubbers. Since the tank has 2 penguin 350s on it too, I'm not going to worry about this wet dry having a pre-filter, it's going to be all media since the trays will be so easy to rinse out during maintenance. It's not the prettiest but I don't care about looks on this tank. Or you could hide it nicely in a canopy.

Before:


Marked holes to cut:



Finished:

[Andrew_B]

Oh and total cost for me was 8.00 and 45min of time since I had stuff laying around.
If you bought everything new:
Drawers: 8.00
Pump: 15.00 from ebay
Media: 8.00-10.00 from dollar store
Still very cheap for the quality of filtration you'll be getting

[Ballinxalex]

Hmm cool idea tho could also make a cool waterfall with that concept

[Geral]

Really nice man ,multiple uses , can be used as a carbon filter, and really tweak to any media .

[NDsuperduty]

assuming nothing gets clogged in the trickle down it seems like a cool idea.

[hungvanvo]

Very nice job and cheap, I will make one like you for my 40 Gal tank. Thank you for the idea.

[Andrew_B]

Thanks guys. I have ~300gph being pumped in, and it can probably drain over double that. The holes are thick. Also, the drawers are a little bowed, so the center holes of each drawer are untouched now, so they'll get used with a bigger pump. Not sure if it needs the bigger pump after seeing it run with media for a little while. Great thing is, it's a wetdry that you dont have to deal with siphons, and the pump is down near the sand so it can stay running during water changes! Goofy looking filter, but works!

[moganman]

I like this

[Andrew_B]

Didn't get as much media in it as I thought I would, but still a lot. Wanted to leave it a little open to play it safe from clogging. Still a nice little filter. I could see them being worked into "fish rooms" if designed right. Its like 8"x8"x10" tall so it takes up no space. Can use virtually any side unit too. Walmart has a good selection of them

[New_Cichlid11]

its cool and all but man thats gotta be an EYESORE!!

[Andrew_B]

Oh, my whole fish tank breeding wall is an eyesore, so it actually fits in nicely! I wouldn't use it on a show tank

[cu0ngsayz]

I'd cut a big hole in the bottom and put in egg crate to prevent clogging. That's just me though. I made something similar to this but I used like a small bucket I had laying around

[Andrew_B]

I was thinking that, but I don't think there would be as good spread of water over the media. The drawers aren't the best design, nothing beats a bucket full of solid media, but Id figure I would give the drawers a shot for means of convenience of cleaning and versatility. I could easily switch it over to mechanical or chemical filtration. I may rework/upgrade the side of filter and take these ideas for this tank, but heck, if I tossed this one on a 10-20g, it would be golden

[sisyphus895]

Great idea. I can see so many ways this could be adapted.