2 tanks on 1 wet/dry

[NDsuperduty]

Just wondering if anyone has tried something like this, has any suggestions on whether this would work?

Sorry its so rough looking

[J-WS6]

Re: 2 tanks on 1 wet/dry

i don't see why not. just make sure your return pump is powerful enough to not only make it up the return line, but also maintain decent flow across the top tank.
i say this because you will need to compensate for the extra water coming from the second tank, and now that you have two tanks on one wet dry, you will need twice the pump volume. you'll also need to drill a small hole on top of the plastic peice at the end of the return line. In case of a power failure, this will allow air to escape the hose which would stop the syphon and would keep your wet dry from overflowing.

what sizes are these tanks anyway? 125 and 75 I'm guessing?

[NDsuperduty]

Re: 2 tanks on 1 wet/dry

I have a 75 and a 45 sitting empty right now, that I would love to use.  The only issue is my wife does not want tanks all over the house.  Figured this is a way to get both up and running without taking a ton of space.

With them being smaller I could just do HOB filters but those are more expensive to maintain in my experience.

[J-WS6]

Re: 2 tanks on 1 wet/dry

True. Either way would work. I would go with a pump of 1200gph since you will have a total water volume (tanks) of 120 gallons + whatever the wet dry would hold. With that pump, you will have a 10x turn over rate per hour. You will however have a pretty strong flow out of the return line in the top tank.

[J-WS6]

Re: 2 tanks on 1 wet/dry

If you were to go down the HOB route, you could just buy AC500's for your tanks and not have to pay the additional 'replacement cartridge' fee every water change that most other HOB companies have.

[NDsuperduty]

Re: 2 tanks on 1 wet/dry

ya, its all just a thought.  On the same note I have a perfectly good AC110 not even being used that could run either tank by itself.  Then I could just spend 50-100 for a 2nd HOB for the other tank, instead of 200-300 for a wet/dry and pump.

[armthehomeless]

Re: 2 tanks on 1 wet/dry

Where are you going  to spend $50-100 on a HOB? You may want to consider shopping somewhere else! :wink:

[J-WS6]

Re: 2 tanks on 1 wet/dry

can you say...ebay?


or become friends with a store owner

[armthehomeless]

Re: 2 tanks on 1 wet/dry

:idea: That works!!! :idea:

[NDsuperduty]

Re: 2 tanks on 1 wet/dry

AC110 will cost in the $50 range with shiping even if its used.

[J-WS6]

Re: 2 tanks on 1 wet/dry

someone's got to have atleast one one for cheaper than $50.

[eklikewhoa]

Re: 2 tanks on 1 wet/dry

I have seen that sump setup work before.....problem with that is if one tank gets sick both do.

Also you would have to have at least a 75g sump to cover the overflow if and when the power goes out.

Also I would probably go with a bit larger return pump and split it. Maybe even split it a third smaller or valved on to add flow to the bottom tank. I have a 1200gph pump on my 125g and that's with two large canisters.

Also keep in mind that the overflows need to be able to handle the flow.

[marauder_77868]

Re: 2 tanks on 1 wet/dry

You wouldn't need double the pump volume as long as the return only goes to the top tank. The volume to the lower will be the same as the volume to the upper in that scenario.

[Zulaab]

Re: 2 tanks on 1 wet/dry

I just bought a AC50 for 24.99 at City Pets.

[mikeb144]

Re: 2 tanks on 1 wet/dry

The point that "one sick all sick" is true, but I have been running 4 stacked 80's on one W/D with a 50 gal sump for two years, in M/O this system is mush more effective than any H.O.B. filter system.   The size of the sump depends on where   you have your holes drilled or how you have your oeverflow boxes adjusted. But as everybody knows, there  is always more than one way.