Bio-wheels w/ sump

[TNfish]

Is it a good or bad idea to use bio wheels with carbon filtration in a planted tank? I have a 125 gal. with a Pro Clear Model 175 wet/dry filter. I also have two Emperor bio-wheels that I can run. Is that good, overkill, or just plain wrong? What about the bio-wheels' splashing? Does that counteract the CO2 infusion? Should I use only the wet/dry?

Tom

 

[Purrbox]

Bio Wheels are excellant at gassing off excess CO2. If you are injecting CO2 then you are best of not using them, however if you are not injecting CO2 then they are perfectly fine to use.

 

[TNfish]

If you are injecting CO2 then you are best of not using them,

I am injecting CO2, which is why I wondered. I used them in a 55 gal. non-planted and liked their ability to trap particles and maintain good water quality. However, after buying a $250 sump it seems to me I shouldn't have to run additional filtration. I guess I was just being overly cautious and hence thought about running them, and the carbon and splashing issues made me question their usefulness in my new setup.

Thanks for the help.

 

[czcz]

FYI, a decent wet/dry will probably gas off way more CO2 than a Biowheel. Ways around this are to seal/cover the sump, submerge the biomedia and avoid surface turbulation, or using brute force to inject CO2 faster than it's outgassed (perhaps possible with pressurized).

A great way to make your sump more useful is to add some light and plants You could breed inverts or grow out fry and plants or something in there.

 

[TNfish]

Thanks guys. Raising fry in the sump would be great... until they got into the powerhead and shot into the tank! 8O

 

[czcz]

Use a sponge/foam prefilter.