Re: building a wet dry

[Thomas Barr <tcbiii at earthlink_net>]

> Can you tell us the "model" of the
> tupperware/rubbermaid stuff.  It's usually something on the
> the labels. 


All you do grab the stuff off the shelf and see if it fits together like I
have in the pics. A regular storage Tupperware bin for the main sump, a
trash can for the tower about 6-16"inches taller than the sump, a smaller
storage container for the drip tray that has a bottom that fits inside the
trash can top tightly.
    
Sump -model no# 2215 18 gallon
Trash can-  think 30 qts- 2806
Drip tray- 0439, 2 gallon or so.
Hose not sure, but it's dirt cheap at Lowe's, less than 1 dollar a ft I
think. Fits the bill, doesn't kink unless you really bend it good.
I use silicone and then with a compression clamp for the seal.

 And the make and motor of the sump pump, and
> where you got the hoses.

The brand make is a Surge 3000, 870 GPH, 60 watts. I can send you a photo of
it taken apart so you can see the internal parts.
I've seen them at LFS lately and on line so I saw before I bought one.
In certain respects they appear to match if not exceed the Eheim 1060 pump.
This one has more capacity(870 GPH vs the Ehiem's 600GPH range) so it's not
fair to match them evenly. But the construction of the impeller housing is
better IMO and the screen-prefilter sponge is also similar, as nice etc.
The Epoxy encased motor is the same in these designs so that will be
similar.
The Ehiem does have the hose clamp built into the output effluent return.
Not one on this but no need for special dia hoses, a clamp will do just
fine.

> 
> My LFS charges about $80 for the kind of hose that shows in
> your pics.  I just know you got a better deal than that.

Well they sell the real nice tough stuff there also. But it's not that
expensive.
I just got that since it fit the bill a little better and did not want to
cut some thick unwieldy hose, this stuff is cheap and flexible but holds
water.
The pvc parts are simply 1" and lock together with male/female threaded end
to form the seals and I add a rubber gasket washer.

The whole thing is very compact and cost only a few $.
Cannot crack it etc. Doesn't matter if it looks that great either, you don't
see it, and you don't need to clean it often/ever.

You can alter this design and have the outflow of the trash can come out one
large single hole and have that fall into a bag micron filter before going
to the return pump CO2 set up.
The tanks I have had don't require that though, the filter with the
prefilter part keep things very clean. You could also lay some micron felt
in the drip plate section or chemical media etc.

The modular design and large space in the drip plate is similar to the
Marineland Tide pool. But this is less than half the price and no bio wheel.
Compare the cost/features etc to that vs this when you add the pump, the
prefilter etc.

The CO2 system will also be a cheaper style and easy to DIY.
Lighting is narly for this tank. I'm going to put it up tonight.
2x 175 watt metal halides w blue line electronic ballast.
I like these things(the ballast). Pricy. But well made and well tested.
They get slightly warm, not hot. They also don't make any hum or knocking
noise when they start up etc. There's no bulb warm up either, they fire
upright away. 
They have nice coaxial quick disconnects for each wire which is kind of
odd/unusual but very nice. They need no "housing box" and look good on their
own.
From reports, they kick out about 10% more lumens than reg ballast but they
draw far less amps and bulb life is extended also.
Lumen/watt ratings are quite high for MH as it is, with some of the larger
400 watt models with reg tar ballast having 120 lumens per watt combined
with high PAR ratings. I'd expect a 130-140 lumens per watt for the larger
models, my 175 might produce 110 or so maybe a tad more I figure.
I am going to drag the micro Einstein light meter home and check to see what
these produce.
Then go see what a friend's has since he has a tar ballast and the same
bulb.

Regards, 
Tom Barr