DO YOU USE A WET DRY OR NOT?

[beerbaron]

I WAS THINKING ABOUT REMOVING MY WET DRY, I HAVE A 75 W/75 LBS OF LR ONLY 2 FISH AND ABOUT 5 CORALS. I HAVE A REFUGIUM W/CAULERPA. WHAT DO YA THINK?
DO YOU USE ONE IS MY REAL QUESTION.

 

[ColdZero1]

I'd leave the wet dry in place but remove the bioballs. I left my wet dry in place and replaced the bioballs with some live rock rubble so that water would drip over it and not make too much noise. I just use it as a sump now where I can drain my skimmer and have the float switch for my autotopoff system.

 

[Anonymous]

I don't use one. Aren't they notorious for being nitrate factories?

My take is that they are yesterday's technology and have largely been supplanted by the Berlin approach, DSB's and refugiums. In your case with the live rock and refugium I don't see the need for a wet/dry, if you have an adequate flow rate.

If I am off base here someone jump in and contradict me - not that that is ever a problem.

 

[SPC]

You done real good Brian :wink: .
Steve

 

[gr_reefer]

i just set up a new 125 about 3 months ago and i went with a custom 25 gal refugium, but i also have a sump with just filterpads and no bioballs. i use the sump mainly as a means of plumbing all of the extras into the system, such as skimmer, refugium, reactor, heaters, etc. the main reason is that i have about 10X turnover thru the sump and the refugium water moves alot slower at a rate of maybe 100 gal an hr. this was the main reason for keeping the two seperate.
j

 

[Anonymous]

No wet/dry. Only through lack of understanding did they ever have a place in the reef keeping hobby. Now we know better.
Jim

 

[Anemone]

Nope - had one when I started (a SeaClear System II copmes with a built-in wet/dry), but got rid of it after a few years (replace the bioballs with live sand and lit the area to create a refugium). The three tanks I've set up since then don't have wet/dry filtration, and never have.

Kevin

 

[danmhippo]

Not anymore, in the early years, Wet/Dry is a hot concept and everbody jumped on that boat. The last time I ever use bioballs is at least 6-7 years ago. The tank I had at the time is seaclear system II that comes with W/D built-in. Used the W/D for approx. a year and I gradually removed bio-media, replaced with LR.

 

[beerbaron]

wow thanks for all the posts. i new that some people did and some didn't but from what you guys say i guess ill join the crew. one thing im worried about is that the water coming from the overflow isnt going to have anything to sloww it down before it hits the water in the sump. what does everyone do about this? do you have the hose submerged or above the sump water level? or do you use some sort of baffel or something?

thanks again
wes

 

[Anonymous]

Nope.

 

[CaptiveReef]

:roll: Again the topic of using a wetdry with reef, I have used wetdry's for years with all my reef setup's. Yes they do produce Nitrate, and they do it quite well, that is their job. The breakdown of Ammonia and Nitrite to Nitrate, here is where the DSB or (deep sand bed) comes into play.
The Nitrate if used properly, will benefit corals and clams, the symbiotic algae in corals and clams use the Nitrate as fertilizer, this is when you get explosive growth. By using the DSB to keep the Nitrate levels low, but at a constant supply you are always feeding the corals and clams.
Clams need a constant supply of organic Nitrogen, due to the number of symbiotic algae in their mantle (10 times the algae than corals).
A research study done by Carmen Belda show the dramatic growth of clams that were given elevated Nitrate/Nitrogen. This is in Daniel Knops book on Giant Clams. With my systems I use wetdry, protein skimming, Hydro Carbon and DSB,and never ran into any problems using the bio media in the filter.
To have a successful reef tank you need to cover many factors, the wetdry filter should not be frowned on because of Nitrate production. Nitrate production that is maintained at low levels benefits the entire reef setup. CaptiveReef

 

[md14fish]

If your tank is plumbed already keep it as a sump. But get rid of the bio balls. If your tank is not drilled and your using one of those skimmers get rid of the whole thing. Keep it simple.