A word of warning for anyone running a wet/dry filter, or possibly any
external filter.

On my wet/dry, I use the large 1" diameter "swimming pool" tubing to
run from my overflow box down to the sump. This seems to be the
standard hose used in that situation. It's the ribbed tubing, in my
case the stuff was blue. Last night I noticed a wet spot on the
carpet next to the tank. I didn't see anything obvious, so I assumed
I just spilled a little bit when doing the water change. This
morning, it was a much bigger wet spot. Turns out that the tubing
had deteriorated, and had a rather large crack in it. There was a
slow but steady drip of water coming from it. When I took the
hose off to inspect it, the tube literally ripped apart in my hands.
If I bent it even a little bit, it would split right open. I
estimate I lost about 10 gallons water. Luckily, it's in the
basement. Unluckily, the basement floor has wall to wall carpet.

The tubing is about 3 years old, so I guess it's just a matter of
checking or changing the tubing every few years.

I'd suggest anyone with any type of external filter carefully inspect
the hoses next time you clean.

Chuck Gadd
http://www.csd.net/~cgadd/aqua