wet/dry vs. sump

[deejeff442]

i am running a wet/dry under my 150 gallon right now.i barely fit the pump and octo skimmer in it.do you think i should switch to a sump?i have a 45 gallon tank sitting in the attic.i have read good and bad thing about wet/dry systems.my tank has 110 lbs of live rock and i am adding 50 lbs more in a couple weeks.should i leave it or switch to the sump.i know more water volume will allow me to add a few more fish and makes it easier to maintain the water but will i be losing too much filter ?

[Michael]

definately yes add a sump if its possible, its the way to go, plenty of room to hide your bits and bobs and a good move imo

[gilweb]

Do you have a anything else to export nutrients?? (fuge?) (remote DSB?)

Your live rock should take the place of a wet\dry filter.

FWIW I would ditch the wet\dry and setup the sump.

[deejeff442]

i figured the wet/dry is old school to a refugium.
but i am not exactly sure what a refugium is or does
can i put my pump,skimmer and heaters in it?
how hard is it to maintain?
what goes in it?
i have had saltwer systems for over 15 years and havnt had much problems but i would like to add more delicate fish and corals and figured i would take advantage of more modern tech.

[DetectiveTofu]

A refugium is a place where you grow macro-algae (amongst other things if you want) such as chaeto in order to facilitate in nutrient export. Water slowly passes through a chamber filled with your macro-algae, and as the water passes through, the macro-algae will pull PO4's and NO3's out of the water. A refugium also stands as a great place for pod cultivation.

I would definitely go with a sump. Especially if it is a 45g you plan on using. You can put all your hardware in there - your skimmer, return pump, any reactors you have have, and heater(s). And it is easy enough to incorporate a refugium into the plans. Shouldn't be too hard to do - considering you do have a wet/dry going - and if you can manage that, managing a sump shouldn't be much different.

I wouldn't say a sump is a modern technology, but it is different than a wet/dry filter. Also comparing a wet/dry and a refugium are two different types of filtration, with two different purposes, so I wouldn't compare the two.

The reason we have get rid of the wet/dry is because bio-balls tend to produce large amounts of nitrates (which is their job). But in a reef tank, normally we want to keep NO3 as low as possible. By using live rock in the place of bio balls, you still get that biological filtration, but you also get denitrification in the anaerobic parts deep in the rock.
HTH
Happy reefing!

[loosecannon]

Just take the balls out!

[deejeff442]

if a wet/dry makes nitrates something we dont want why are they used?i just bought it because the lfs said too.
that was 6 or 7 years ago.
seems that a refugium is simple eneough to set up and the 40 gallons of extra water would be nice to have.

[kblack3]

to help out bio balls are great for fish only. 7 years ago things were quite different in the hobby (a ton of inovation has occured in the past 3 years). Bio balls are too efficient at processing ammonia into nitrite and nitrate due to the massive surface area and the arobic properties of the bacterias that live on them. For a reef tank you should modify your current sump by putting all of your mechanical and chemical filters in the first chamber and utilize the empty chamber to produce a refugium with an algae scrub. Refugiums produce planktons (ie copepods) which are invaluable to your environment. If you light the refugium and place macro algaes down there you will have an algae scrub which will use light and dissolved organics (NO3, PO4) to grow algae and reduce your nitrates and others at the same time. If you filter after the refugium you will remove a lot of the positive benigits you gain from it. If you are going to use one or the other stick to the skimmer, micron filter, O3 because to have an effective refugium with algae scrub it would have to be large enough to grow plant matter as quickly as your animals produce waste (very un-cost effective). Pm me if you have other questions Im glad to help

[seagirl]

sump all the way

[EvMiBo]

Originally posted by seagirl
sump all the way

+1

[deejeff442]

thanks kblack ,and everyone .i will get the 45 gallon out of the attic now i still have no clue as the what goes where .do i have to get some plexiglass and fit some chambers in the tank ?return water starting on the left -pass through the macro algea put a seperator plexi? then the skimmer and return pump?i am truly lost.i am in construction and read blueprints all the time.maybe i need a pic or drawing to help.anywhere i could get one?also i see they need a light what kinda wattage does it need?

[deejeff442]

i measured the 45 gallon and it is 2 ft tall too tall to fit the skimmer .is there a way i can put the skimmer in a 10 gallon tank next to the 45 and connect them .will that work it would also increase the size of the refugium