Wet/dry for a turtle/fish tank?

[TT_Vert]

Hello, I'm a bit over my head on this one. I currently have two turtles w/ African cichlids in two separate tanks. However they are outgrowing their tanks and want to get a 200ish gallon tank. Thinking of either a 72x24x31 or a 72x24x25 rectangular tank. I really like the idea of a wet/dry just because I can hide all tubing/heater and I can have the tank all the way against the wall to save a bit of space. I will probably have 3 3" cichlids in the tank w/ my two turtles. Both turtles are aquatic and only one requires basking. She will have a basking area above the tank in the custom canopy I'm going to have made. I've been reading about head height with these types of filters and I Just don't understand them. From my understanding You want the return head high enough that in the event of a power outage you don't over flow the bottom tank. In your opinions do you feel a wet dry will be the best way for me to go to achieve my goals? Can you educate me on head height and perhaps even recommend a good wet/dry brand to research? I 've found so many different ones out there It makes my head spin.

Thanks much.

Dave

[LostInFish]

I would not invest in a turtle fish tank because the turtles will eat the fish and you will not need all that filtration with no fish. I prefer a canister filter over wetdry filter just because it seems to remove more debri and will be easier to clean then a wetdry

[TT_Vert]

I have had these turtles/fish together for about 5 years, the turtles have never bothered the fish.

Dave

[TT_Vert]

Also why do you feel wet/dry are harder to maintain? I've heard the opposite actually. Are there many canister filters that support over 200 gallons?

Dave

[LostInFish]

Not really just the fluval fx series. The wetdry filter just don't seem to stay cycled when you clean the bio balls and stuff it seems to just be a pain compared to just opening a canister and cleaning the sponges with no issues just my opinion though

[TT_Vert]

Thanks!

[TT_Vert]

Thanks!!

[TT_Vert]

Thanks!

[TT_Vert]

Thanks!!

[TT_Vert]

Thanks!

[TT_Vert]

Thanks!!

[TT_Vert]

Thanks!

[Fresh2o]

If space is tight and you have the nugget for this, then a canister would be a good option. Lots of media options and flow rates.
You can save money with DIY with the wet/dry. There are numerous examples on the web on how to build one. Depending on the space available under the tank, you could use a decent sized tank as the sump. In the first section you can load it with various media for mechanical filtration. This will help keep the biological media free of debris (should not need to clean the biomedia).
As for the return, if the end of the return line is below the water level, then it could siphon water out of the display tank and into the sump when the pump is off. You can counter this by drilling a small (1/8"-1/4") hole in the return just above the water line. Water will dribble/shoot out of it depending on the flow rate so you should angle the hole downward. When the pump is off, air will enter the return the return line and break any siphon from forming.
If you do go with a wet/dry, then you need to decide if you are going to drill the tank or use an HOB or PVC style overflow to transport water to the sump.


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[TT_Vert]

I ended up going w/ an Eshoppes WD-300CS Hope it works well. I currently have canisters in my two smaller tanks (Fluval 205 and 305) and I like them but I don't know they have enough capacity for what I'm going w/ this 220g tank. I did go w/ a drilled tank btw.
ESHOPPS | WD-300CS

[Fresh2o]

Nice. That's a lot of media in there. I still have a LifeReef L3 wet/dry filter I bought in 1990. It is sitting in my attic now. Have not used it since 2002 when I had a 55g community tank.


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