[saltnut]

Ok so Iam new to the saltwater fun. And these questions my seem stupid...so here I go..
I have just purchased used a wet/dry Filter sump (amiracle) and a ultra life protein skimmer (used) also a rio 1700 pump.
I have know idea on how to plumb any of this to my tank.My thoughts originaly were to take out the bioballs and convert the wet/dry into a sump (i Have almost100 lbs of live rock) does anyone have any advice on what i should do??... Also do i need a float switch or something?...Please help I really have know idea what to do....

[Mr_X]

can you take pictures of your components and post them?
i googled "ultra life protein skimmer" and came up empty handed.
you might have to glue partitions in the wet/dry to be able to utilize an in-sump skimmer in it. wet/dry filters are made so that water trickles through bio balls which harbor bacteria.
the water line in these sumps isn't very high, and most skimmers require 10" of water to efficiently run in.

i did what you want to do once, but didn't keep it running for very long, because i found that a basic tank with some partitions glued in did a much better job.
here is the converted wet/dry-

[saltnut]

Hi Doug
thanx for your help...as it turns out I dont think that skimmer is made anymore. I couldnt find it anywhere. Also I dont think its a in sump skimmer either. So what I have done is this....took out the bio balls and screens. set up the skimmer next to sump with tubing running from a pump in sump to skimmer and a return tube running back into skimmer...seems to flow the water..(tap just testing) but what level is the water suppost to be in the skimmer? Cause the water is like a inch above the out take tube and dosnt really look like any bubbles are forming....dont really kno what to do at this point...also the "sump" fills with water and the return pump works and returns water but ...will it overflow or do i need some thing like float switch?..also is it ok that the in tube and the out tube are different sizes? Thank you so much for your help...I will post pics as soon as I have my camera (i let my friend borrow it) Thanx Again

[Mr_X]

well, you probably need a needle wheel pump, with an air line, not just a standard water pump.
can you take a few photos of the components? it might help.

you will need an overflow box for the tank, to drain water to the sump via a gravity siphon.

[map95003]

Bec, what size is your wet/dry, what size is your tank, are you trying to fit it into limited space like under a stand?

When your system is running there need to be enough room in your wet/dry/sump to collect the water that will overflow from your display tank should the power go out or when you shutdown the system for maintenance....if not, you will flood your room.

Doug is right, if you're trying to convert a wet/dry to run as a sump to house your equipment it could work with some modifications but if you have the room, I would get the bigger tank with more space.

I did the same with my wet/dry years back and after a few months got rid of it and replaced it with a 55g tank that I DIY as a sump to house my skimmer, heaters, return pump, temp probe, etc, the wet/dry was way to tight and hard to work in. On my new system, I also DIY a sump out of a 55 with a different configuration to house more equipment and a fuge.

Post pics of what you got, it's the best place to start.