wet/dry filter capacity

[guitarded]

i am in the market for a wet/dry filter for my 75gal tank. i am new to SW so this is my first SW setup.

as far as filtration goes, can i assume more is better? i can get a good deal on 150 wet/dry with skimmer and pumps. is this too much filter? will having a wet/dry twice the capacity for my tank cause any problems?

[indy]

You can't really over filter a tank, especially a saltwater tank. If you go the wet/dry route make sure you make the time to maintain it every couple days. You'll need to clean the pre-filter pad at least every couple days to keep nitrates down. You'll need to clean the bio-balls every now and then also. A canister filter will need similar maintenance. They'll both do a great job of keeping your water clean as long as you keep them up. Another alternative would be to use deep sandbed filtration. It's a little more initial work, but once it's up and running it pretty much takes care of itself.

[guitarded]

i am, as you have suggested, plannig on DSB along with my LR. researching this forum, i will not need the bio-balls... is this true? hmm... i wasn't aware that the pre-filter pad needed cleaning every couple of days. i thought those were cleaned on every water change.

btw, i am building a cabinet on the outside of my house, just outside the wall where my tank will be (tank in the house, filter and other stuff outside). i am going to place the filter there. hopefully this will make maintenance and water changes much easier.

[indy]

Right, with dsb you won't need or want bio-balls or other filter media as such. I did a few loooong posts about filtration here,

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/viewto...278&highlight=

i think its a pretty good primer, but then again I think I'm a genius

The prefilter pad is what catches a majority of the large physical waste in the tank. Anything left in the pad just rots and messes up your water. So it needs cleaned much more frequently than anything else. The bioballs will also build up physical matter, but at nowhere near the rate of the pad.

Interesting idea placing the filter outside. Kind of threw me until I saw you're in hawaii. I'd have fish-cicles if I tried that where I live. Just make sure the system is pretty well sealed so nothing can blow in from outside. Pesticides would do a pretty good number on a tank.

[guitarded]

indy, thanks for the primer!