# DIY Dual Wet Dry overflow Issue - Loses Suction



## zachaos (Nov 14, 2013)

Okay, I know I am new and I have just set up a new tank i got for free (55 Gallon) for my African Cichlids they are currently in a 30 gallon. I have searched the forums and I was unable to find someone with the same issue but if you find the link please send it on my way. Here is my issue: I have tried to build my own DIY filter and everything seemed to be set up well, water is flowing in the tank and they seem to work for about five minutes then lose suction and I have to turn the return water off or the tank will over flow. My setup is a bit different then some people, I used an example I found from a guy on youtube just because it looked a bit neater. However I have ran into this issue and I am not sure what I should do to fix it. Sometimes I am able to get one to continue to run for about 15 minutes but again looses suction. I am wondering if Maybe I drilled to many holes in my 1 1/2 inch pipe (Black) end caps. Maybe too much air is getting in the tube? I have made a example of how my setup works.

Here is an image:









Also here is the Youtube video I followed for my tanks set up.






Here are additional pictures of my actual setup. (Just so this post won't be obnoxiously long I have them all uploaded in a folder here:

http://ge.tt/4eUuYBz?c


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## lilscoots (Mar 13, 2012)

Short answer is - You built it wrong. The T that goes to the sump should not be in the bottom U. It should be fairly high up the upright tube "after" the bottom U from the overflow. your system is just losing it's siphon because there's nothing keeping the pipes outside the tank full of water.


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## zachaos (Nov 14, 2013)

lilscoots said:


> Short answer is - You built it wrong. The T that goes to the sump should not be in the bottom U. It should be fairly high up the upright tube "after" the bottom U from the overflow. your system is just losing it's siphon because there's nothing keeping the pipes outside the tank full of water.


Thank you for responding! Just to make sure I have this right.. My setup should be like the version on the right?










or maybe even higher?


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## lilscoots (Mar 13, 2012)

Yes, either of those would work, I would choose higher if it were me. You just have to make sure that the T is well above the lowest point of the tube pulling water from the tank.


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## zachaos (Nov 14, 2013)

lilscoots said:


> Yes, either of those would work, I would choose higher if it were me. You just have to make sure that the T is well above the lowest point of the tube pulling water from the tank.


 Awesome! Thanks so much. I'll post how my results are working later on in the week. :dancing:


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## joescaper1 (Feb 14, 2013)

Where you say "maybe even higher", yes. When the water flows into the overflow, it wants to remain at the level of the tee. The waterfall effect will put air into the system. The higher the tee the less air from aggitation. I also found that the one way valve is not very reliable, so I replaced it with a small brass needle valve.

Joe


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## sirdavidofdiscus (Dec 8, 2006)

so the hose to the sump is going up over the lip of the tank then to the sump? If so I want to try this today on my 125"s


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