Wet/Dry Filters ?

[RyLord]

?

[RyLord]

As i heard wet/dry filters containing foam and bioballs are a thing of the past. What can I do with my current ES HOPPS Wet/dry box? I purchased a Protein skimmer should arrive today what would be the typical placement for such items..



Thanks

Shawn G

[mikewise1]

well my understanding is that wet/dry filters are still very popular and useful for filtration. the main disadvantage of of a wet/dry vs. live rock and live sand is excess production of nitrates.

A protein skimmer performs a somewhat different function, helping to pull wastes out of your water before they decompose. skimmers are useful for highly stocked systems or with animals that produce a big bioload (carnivores for example).

some skimmers are designed to sit in a sump, and others hang on the side of your tank.

i'm still a beginner at this fine hobby too though. hopefully someone with more expertise will step in to correct any oversights ive made.

hope that helps!

[RyLord]

Okay, good deal -- I am wondering if it advisable to use one or the other or both ?

That sucks, this lady who owns a store up the street when i got this sold me this saying " it make tank very bombay " .... well sh.....


Shawn

[Burbs]

if you have live rock in your tank and ur using the wet/dry with bioballs you can take the bioballs out. The bioballs are the cause f the high nitrates in a system with live rock and sand

[Ryeseedboy]

Yes, it is true if you have Live Rock in the tank you do not need the bio balls, use the wet/dry basically as a sump. Do use the protien skimmer if you have already ordered it also. If it is an in-sump only you may a problem with positioning it in the wet/dry though. Read up on sump's if you are using Live rock and Sand.

[Radioheadx14]

? what kind of question is that?

[Avi]

Your question seems to be asking something....So, let's take a stab at it.

I have to suppose that it's a reef you're interested in and you have some experience with freshwater tanks and you're at a loss as to what kind of "filtration" to use for it. Well, wet/dry filters most likely are not what you want to use. Instead, to be very brief...use a good compliment of live rock...about 150-pounds for your 92-gallon tank.

Since your info says your tank is "marine" I'm guessing that it's "reef ready" that it, drilled with an overflow. So, use those assets for connecting to a sump which would most likely be below your reef. Even better....put a light over the sump and grow some macro-algae, like Chaeto, in it to consume excess nutrients so as to discourage unwanted micro-algae from growing in your reef.

Oh...and get yourself a very good protein skimmer that you an place in your sump....or...plumb it so it's outside the tankstand.

You ought to do some reading, too, if you don't mind my saying so....Start out here:

http://www.reefcentral.com/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=1

...and you can also take a good look at this fine and helpful website:

www.melevsreef.com

I hope I set you in the right direction...enjoy the experience, man.

P.S. I see that there are faster typists than I am that already have given you some good info before I was able to hit "submit" .

[RyLord]

Yes it's an all-glass brand.. overflow is in the back surrounded by black plastic with vent like openings on top and in the middle and very few on bottom.....

Okay, good information.. -- i'll take a stab at reading b4 i post questions as i was reading previous threads that where actually quite funny how everyone replied due to the question being a somewhat repeadly asked question...hehe.. anyways, I have had this take about 3 weeks. I added saltwater only with the filter and uv light i have in line with plumbing for the first week...2nd week. I went to the LFS here in whittier, and purchased only 40 pds of live rock as they where out.. at the same time i purchased figi ? live sand in bags with water in it... 4 bags to be exact pink figi.... I used all RO water ... No DI yet... 3rd week I put in 8 little/cheap fish to help the eco system of the tank..at the same time i purchased a Coralife Aqualight Pro system lighting and hung it from my ceiling.... everything appears just fine. One moderator on here said my temp was low (73f) so i fired up the heater i bought for it and now its 76 and rising.. i guess 78-80 is a good temp...

Live rock is doing well, marine fish are doing great (getting big already) and colorful for small guys.... rock is showing signs of brown on top near the light, also if you look closely you can see little arms coming out of the rock i just noticed that today and some are round in shape and have very small what appears to be living.... clear in color... and then go to moonlight status... all water properties are on the nose.

I want to perfect the filtering.... I have done some reading and if i would have known that this type of filter system is not recommened damn, the lady charged quite a bit for it.. claimed it makes everything bomb-bay, hah... maybe i can turn it into a box to grow alge and stuff like that ? Refugium ?

Thank you very much for all input

Shawn

[Avi]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11033119#post11033119 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by RyLord
maybe i can turn it into a box to grow alge and stuff like that ? Refugium ?

Thank you very much for all input

Shawn

Right....get rid of the bio-medium and free up space to grow Chaeto. A bulb in the 6500K range is best and make sure it's close enough to where Chaeto will be and you'll be fine.

[RyLord]

Okay so i just purchased a protein skimmer, it's a ASM protein skimmer.. Now do I need to add any type of medium to this to make it work, or do i just plug it in and let it go. It also has a small clear tube going ouf of it connected to nothing on the top does anything go there ? It had no instructions what-so-ever so im confused on how it operates.


Currently my plumbing goes from the sump to the uv light out to the tank.. Do i place the skimmer before or after the light ? and do ihave it go out of the same return line to the tank or put a t connector or whatever and have it just return that way ?


Thanks again

Shawn

[Avi]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11044929#post11044929 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by RyLord
Okay so i just purchased a protein skimmer, it's a ASM protein skimmer.. Now do I need to add any type of medium to this to make it work, or do i just plug it in and let it go. It also has a small clear tube going ouf of it connected to nothing on the top does anything go there ? It had no instructions what-so-ever so im confused on how it operates.

If no one can give you the instructions, email ASM at:

http://www.asmskimmer.com/

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11044929#post11044929 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by RyLord
Currently my plumbing goes from the sump to the uv light out to the tank.. Do i place the skimmer before or after the light ? and do ihave it go out of the same return line to the tank or put a t connector or whatever and have it just return that way?

First of all...you seem to be doing things in a way that shows you may not have a full understanding of it...Don't take offense...but, I just want to be sure you understand the importance of having the correct flow rate on the UV sterilizer. It's critical that it have the correct "dwell time," so that the water would be exposed to the UV lightbulb for a sufficient amount of time to be able to kill the organisms that you are trying to kill with the use of the sterilizer. So, make sure that the pump that you're using for it provides a flow rate that's within the range recommended by the manufacturer of your UV sterilizer.

Okay...because of what I just mentioned, I think you ought to use a seperate water pump for your protein skimmer. To use both would make it very difficult to be certain that you're flow rate is optimum for your UV sterilizer.


[/B][/QUOTE]

[wooden_reefer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11032778#post11032778 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by mikewise1
well my understanding is that wet/dry filters are still very popular and useful for filtration. the main disadvantage of of a wet/dry vs. live rock and live sand is excess production of nitrates.



Wet-dry does not produce any more nitrate than any nitrification.

If a system has nothing but wet-dry as filtration than nitrate tends to be high. This is not the same as wet-dry producing more nitrate. The nitrate produced is not removed if the environment is too uniformly aerobic. Nitrogen must exist in one way or another, or removed. There is a simple stoichometric relation.

Wet-dry also does not cause nitrogen bearing wastes to accumulate, if set up correctly. Certainly no more so than live rock.