Questions on Wet/Drys???

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ashearier

Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Joined
May 7, 2003
Messages
48
Location
Wisconsin
I was interested in purchasing a wet/dry filter. After reading about the negatives of bioballs I unsure what to do about a filter now. It says in Drs. F&S that the protein skimmer ahead of the biological area slows the building of nitrates. This still must not be good enough. Are these things worth buying? Is there other media worth putting in this area?

What is the best thing I could do for my tank? It is a 55 gallon with a Skilter 400, 50 or a bit more live rock, and only an inch or so of crushed coral. I've had a few ideas, but just want to be sure I do the correct thing the first time. Can I get your opinions on the wet/dry or other filters. Thanks. :!:
 
wet/dry filters are excellent filters for the removal of ammonia and nitrite. If your not overly concerned with nitrate levels (ie you hvae a fish only tank) then wet/drys are good.

If you have corals then you need to keep an eye on high nitrate levels thus a wet/dry can cause issues since the nitrate consuming bactera need low oxygen levels to live vs the highly oxygen rich enviorment that exists within the bioball area of the wet/dry.

A wet/dry with no bioballs is simply a sump. You can submerse the bioballs in water or you can simply put more live rock in the sump (making sure its under water) and you will keep the benifits of the biological filtration.

I have heard from some that run wet/dry filters and have a DSB that the two benifit eachother in that the DSB helps keep the nitrates down.
 
I don' t have the DSB and really don't want to put one in right now. I'll go in that direction when I move after school in the next year or two.

So, if the bioballs are submersed you don't get the problem of the nitrate "factory" or is it just not as bad. As for more LR, I'd rather put that in my tank if I got some more.

I just like the idea of just a couple hundred dollars for a W/D and a skimmer and no DIY project for me.

BTW, this is not a FO. I have a few types of corals, anenomes, and things.

How about canister filters???
 
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