# Hiding a submersible pump



## TheGreenWizard (Jan 19, 2015)

I have a submersible pump for my wet/dry filter in my 20g Long. Thing is... It's fugly as sin and I want to hide it.

However, I don't want to limit the pump's flow nor do I want it to suck up my future fauna. In addition, I'm doing a dirt bottom with gravel cap. Curious how others have worked on a similar challenge.

I'm thinking of getting pieces of slate and building a small mountain around it, securing the slate pieces with silicone. Or making a "rubble" pile of stone around it.

Thoughts and ideas are very welcome. I'll get pics up once I feel better and I'm back at my classroom.

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## klibs (May 1, 2014)

i don't understand

you have a wet/dry filter that is not hidden / has plants in it? why is there a pump in your display tank?


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## TheGreenWizard (Jan 19, 2015)

Sorry for the poor explanation.

The wet dry filter is an AE Shop model [search eBay for it] that sits on top of the tank. I chose this because it's in my classroom and I want the students to see how the filter works as part of the chemistry and ecosystems units. The pump is necessary to push the water into the filter; the water returns through an outflow pipe in the bottom of the filter. 

The plants in the tank itself are going to be planted in a soil substrate capped with gravel. My concern - and reason for mentioning it - was the fact that I don't want soil to get sucked up into the pump by accident.

Does this help with the visual? I'll be able to post a picture tomorrow when I'm at school.

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## Bunsen Honeydew (Feb 21, 2017)

I would probably place the pump off of the substrate a bit, and maybe make a make a screen/moss wall around it. You could use a plastic mess like gutter guard and suction cups, then attach moss to it.

Edit: I also like the idea of an overhead wet dry for a classroom. It is more reliable than a HOB wet dry too.


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## ipkiss (Aug 9, 2011)

I must say, I was very intrigued upon the earlier description of this "overhead" wet/dry. It's a pretty amazing product for purposes of education. However, I'm quite surprised at someone who would actually employ this model of filtration intentionally aside from the OP. I suppose if you're pressed for space and you REALLY HAD to have a wet/dry. Hmm. I've seen something like this being set up for an algae scrubber. 

Anyway, I digress. Just a couple thoughts that I've been toying in my head with to hide my own intake. You could try to surround the pump with poret foam in a "Hamburg(er) Matten Filter" style, but that may take up more space than you intended. OR, you could go with the same idea to try to surround the pump with a custom made box made of black acrylic. Go custom enough and you can even create said box into a skimmer style one. Here's a real cheap DIY idea using what looks like the side of a bucket! Obviously, don't do the hole drilling part!  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05rdfkzKYfM

While we're having fun with this, you could probably make a water bridge to a different hidden container to put the pump. Obviously, u probably need to block the input of the bridge with some foam type material to prevent fauna from being sucked in!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yIv_Q45Hwpw


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## TheGreenWizard (Jan 19, 2015)

Bunsen Honeydew said:


> I would probably place the pump off of the substrate a bit, and maybe make a make a screen/moss wall around it. You could use a plastic mess like gutter guard and suction cups, then attach moss to it.
> 
> Edit: I also like the idea of an overhead wet dry for a classroom. It is more reliable than a HOB wet dry too.





ipkiss said:


> I must say, I was very intrigued upon the earlier description of this "overhead" wet/dry. It's a pretty amazing product for purposes of education. However, I'm quite surprised at someone who would actually employ this model of filtration intentionally aside from the OP. I suppose if you're pressed for space and you REALLY HAD to have a wet/dry. Hmm. I've seen something like this being set up for an algae scrubber.
> 
> Anyway, I digress. Just a couple thoughts that I've been toying in my head with to hide my own intake. You could try to surround the pump with poret foam in a "Hamburg(er) Matten Filter" style, but that may take up more space than you intended. OR, you could go with the same idea to try to surround the pump with a custom made box made of black acrylic. Go custom enough and you can even create said box into a skimmer style one. Here's a real cheap DIY idea using what looks like the side of a bucket! Obviously, don't do the hole drilling part!  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05rdfkzKYfM
> 
> ...


If this was my personal aquarium, I would *never* use this over-the-tank filter for this size of a tank - but it's for the kids, so why not? :nerd:

The black acrylic box/moss wall idea sounds awesome and exactly what I would do, but I'm a bit tight for time and don't want to sew on moss. I'm considering using the bucket Idea, but use a quarter of the bucket and the bottom to create the wall. Then, I could drill holes halfway up and have the teeth at the top... My only problem is how do I know how many teeth to create? I'm using the Homasy 400GPH submersible pump 25 Watts. Thoughts?

The HMEF is an intriguing set up - I really do like the fact that the sponge would act as a "pre-filter" of sorts for the wet-dry, however, I don't like how I'd have to take out the sponge in order to clean out the residue. I only have 40 minutes to clean the tank, and I'd like my students to also help out (which, naturally, means they take 80 to 120 minutes to do it haha).


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## Bunsen Honeydew (Feb 21, 2017)

TheGreenWizard said:


> If this was my personal aquarium, I would *never* use this over-the-tank filter for this size of a tank - but it's for the kids, so why not? :nerd:
> 
> The black acrylic box/moss wall idea sounds awesome and exactly what I would do, but I'm a bit tight for time and don't want to sew on moss. I'm considering using the bucket Idea, but use a quarter of the bucket and the bottom to create the wall. Then, I could drill holes halfway up and have the teeth at the top... My only problem is how do I know how many teeth to create? I'm using the Homasy 400GPH submersible pump 25 Watts. Thoughts?
> 
> The HMEF is an intriguing set up - I really do like the fact that the sponge would act as a "pre-filter" of sorts for the wet-dry, however, I don't like how I'd have to take out the sponge in order to clean out the residue. I only have 40 minutes to clean the tank, and I'd like my students to also help out (which, naturally, means they take 80 to 120 minutes to do it haha).


Why would you need to cut teeth in the top of a bucket setup? You just need to hide the pump and and provide adequate space for water to feed the pump. You could just stick it in a small flower pot even. Unless you are looking for surface skimming I suppose.

Mattenfilters do not need to be be serviced very frequently, if constructed correctly. That is one of their primary benefits. I am sure that you could probably find the 5-10 minutes to service it once or twice a year.


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## TheGreenWizard (Jan 19, 2015)

Thought about it some more, and I think I'm going to construct a weir for it, with a sponge behind the teeth to prevent fish from going in.

The STEM teacher just got a laser cutter thanks to a grant she wrote and is allowing me to use it. She needed a sketch and design, so... Attached you'll find pics of the paper version and measurements. I don't know if I should go with 1" deep or 1.5" deep. Thoughts are appreciated.

Regarding the setup itself, I'll upload those pics in a moment.























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## TheGreenWizard (Jan 19, 2015)

Here's the set up, as well as the pump with ruler for size comparison.






























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## TheGreenWizard (Jan 19, 2015)

Bunsen Honeydew said:


> Why would you need to cut teeth in the top of a bucket setup? You just need to hide the pump and and provide adequate space for water to feed the pump. You could just stick it in a small flower pot even. Unless you are looking for surface skimming I suppose.
> 
> Mattenfilters do not need to be be serviced very frequently, if constructed correctly. That is one of their primary benefits. I am sure that you could probably find the 5-10 minutes to service it once or twice a year.


I could do that... But I don't like the aesthetics of a flower pot in there (yes, I know it's ironic considering what the filter looks like). All I know is that I want to densely plant it, and a flower pot will take up too much room.

Also, 5-10 minutes to clean the sponge of the HMEF seems too optimistic IMHO. 

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## Bunsen Honeydew (Feb 21, 2017)

TheGreenWizard said:


> I could do that... But I don't like the aesthetics of a flower pot in there (yes, I know it's ironic considering what the filter looks like). All I know is that I want to densely plant it, and a flower pot will take up too much room.
> 
> Also, 5-10 minutes to clean the sponge of the HMEF seems too optimistic IMHO.
> 
> Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk


Have you ever used poret foam? It really doesn't take all that long, though it feels like longer. You just rinse, squeeze, rinse, smack it on something, rinse, repeat as necessary. I spend less than 10 minutes on mine each time, though they aren't HMFs, but each of them are larger than what you'd need.

It doesn't have to be a flower pot, it could be anything really. Or is could be a flower pot that you "decorate". I have seen a bit of DIY fish caves that were clay pots that were covered in silicone, then rolled in either sand or gravel.


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