# Media for wet/dry filter & mag pumps



## jschwabe5 (Nov 26, 2011)

Today I picked up a new wet/dry sump filter off of Craigslist $160. It was sealed in orig box, never been used came with SOS Stealth overflow kit. Filter is a Marineland Tidepool 2 has a bio wheel, 3 slide out media trays and max gph is 700. Directions advise using course filter media 1st, then carbon and biostars/ceramic rings in third tray. 

What media is best if your eliminating carbon? What is correct sequence for different media? Does any know of a source for cut your own bulk filter fabrics?

I am also in need of a mag water pump for the return and looking for one that is very quiet, the tank will be located near dining room. Their are many brands available. What brand pumps have you use(d) and recommend? What brands would you stay clear of?


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

They have cut your own filter material in Petsmart, but not sure if it is the type you need or not. For the pump, I would suggest any mag pump. They are different than standard pumps. They can be rebuilt if it ever craps out on you. Be sure to match the pump to the flow rate of your filter and take into consideration the amount of lift that the pump has to push the water. That lift will take away the pumps efficiency and has to be accounted for.


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## bigcountry10 (Sep 24, 2011)

heres a good source for custom cut foam, its what i used for my sump. 
Sponge Filters for aquariums

for pumps I use Supreme Classic:mag drive pumps, I have had mine for about 4 months now and its been running just about straight through that time and works great. I'm about 6 feet away from it right now and i cant even here the motor, only hear water trickleing from my wet/dry. My only suggestion would be to maybe get a small rubber pad to go underneath to stop any vibrations coming from the pump rattling on the floor of the sump.
get it at petmountain if your going to, there usually the cheapest around.


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## WhiteGloveAquatics (Sep 3, 2009)

I use custom cut media pads(usually the blues or pinks dual layers) and bio balls(your bio wheel) and some polyfil pillow stuffing in my wet/dry's.

you might require 700gph on the filter but when you plumb it up on the pump side to go back to the tank, remember every change in water flow direction is equal to about a foot of lift. you will require a mag drive 7 at minimum and a mag drive 9.5 at maximum. basically 700gph to 950gph.
what size is your tank? for $160 bucks and only 90g capacity? I use a sealife systems wet/dry cost me $90 brand new at the salty shop and filters 175gph. I as a professional would have passed on that one the TP2 is a designed and mass produced diy project turned name brand. It is a good filter do not get me wrong but I would definetely change some things on it if it was mine. Id buy some bioballs or some eheim bio media and use that in a tray as well, use a coarse pad first or a dual layer then a very fine filter in the 2nd tray so bottom to top goes biomedia,poly fil(very fine for water polishing) then the coarse filter on top. This should give you a pristine tank without the worry of chemical media leaching back into the tank(and its messy)


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## jschwabe5 (Nov 26, 2011)

The tank I plan on using this filter on is a 40 gal hex. The Marineland website states the sump filter is for tanks up to max of 90 gallons and maximum flow is 700 gph. The stand is 34" off the floor and the tank is 28" deep. Right now the tank is running with a canister filter, a API Rena that claims it filters 250 gph. I am not happy with canister filter- it needs cleaning weekly or it has a dramatic drop in flow. Expensive consumable items to replace each cleaning -it is costing me roughly $50/month to run. I understand what you both have said about head pressure - but I'm uncertain as what gph return pump would be best. I was told at a LFS that you should aim for a filter that can turn the entire tanks volume 5-7 times per hour for freshwater, for saltwater you need to consider a minimum of 10 times per hour. I don't want to under or oversize or under. Should I max it out getting a mag 7 pump? 

Aquarium Sump | Tidepool II Wide Design fits up to 90 gallons


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## WhiteGloveAquatics (Sep 3, 2009)

too much is never enough filtration wise, with the head height it means how long the run is to the outlet, so if you came straight up and put 1 90degree elbow on there it would be your total length plus 12".

I run 2300gph on my 210 and 1050gph on my 75g both equipped with wet/drys the others are HOBs or canisters.


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