Filters

[bicolorgod]

Ok im really getting stuck on filters.. I need a new kind, I'm thinking about wet/dry, but I dont know which one, or when I see one I like, I dont see how the water goes back to the tank, just how it gets down, through the over-flow system.
Theres a sale at my LFS for magnums 250 and 350, but I would still prefer a wet/dry, such as Amiracle's Pro-Line for 199. =)

 

[mr . salty]

Wet/dry sumps are the way to go. The water leaves the tank through an overflow and is gravity fed into the sump. there it passes over and through a couple filter medias.You can set this up pretty much however you want. Then water goes into a center area that contains your skimmer,heater,and whatever you want to get out of your tank. Then at the other end of the sump is a pump. It pushes the water(now filtered,heated,skimmed,) baaack into your tank. AS fast as the pump puts water into the tank at one end,the over flow takes it out at the other end. STEVE

 

[bicolorgod]

Yea Yea, I realize that stuff, but I want to know like what brands YOU guys have, so I can get a good one, also like, what pumps are with it, and skimmers, etc.
Thanks!

 

[bbrook]

I have a SeaLife 65 and love it. It came preloaded with everything you need except the pump which I got a Rio 2100. Everything really depends on the size of your tank. SeaLife also comes in a Pro series that has built in skimmers (for extra $$ of course.)
I looked around at all the local LFS's and 3 of 5 sold SeaLife, so I was pretty comfortable with that.

 

[the dude]

For a wet dry, i built my own. Works great. I bought a mag drive pump that pumps 1200 gph. Building it was easy. I got a 20g long, and built a tower (for bio media) and spilloevers out of acrylic and glued them in using a 100% silicone sealer. The thing i like best about building it myself is that i can customize it to my needs. Ie it hold about 3 cubic feet of biomedia. It has 3 horozontal trays for water to drip through which could contain other media such a carbon, then it has a resonably large sump area where i put the pump and skimmer and heater. Hope this helps, i know there are alot of sites that offer specs/diagrams for building your own. Also check out http://www.petwhse.com I think they have good prices and hey its worth a shot. Good luck

The Dude

 

[jimm]

I just used a rubbermaid tub (@$12) and plumbed everything through that. You can also use an old fish tank if it fits below you stand.
I have read lots of information suggesting that bio balls increase nitrate production and having done some rudimentary expetimentation, I have to agree. So, as long as you have enough rock in yur tank to provide biological filtration for you livestock I would go with out bio balls. This means that the more expensive pre made sumps (like CPR) are unnecessary. In fact, CPR just started making sumps without areas for bio media for this reason.

 

[clayton]

Build your own! They are bigger, better and cheaper.
I think the 'dry' part is most important, make it as large as possible and use a plastic ball medium. The object is to break all the water into single droplets as it passes through the media. Use a countercurrent airflow as well. Make as many chambers as you like, for varius stuff.
My current one is 7-8 cubic feet and fed by a 38 l/min pump.
I have some rough designs of mine on disc, if you want to have a look email me at claytonjohnsmith@hotmail.com

 

[mainejo1]

Steve,( Mr. Salty), good description of a wet/dry filter! best I've ever heard!

 

[broomer5]

Yep Greg !
I have the Millennium 3000 also and you are right ! All I do is rinse the cartridges in saltwater and change them way too often. I put in a wet/dry under in sump several weeks ago, and still waiting for it to become mature .. then it's gone with the Millennium !
Got my sump / wet/dry from a lfs that offers sumps and filtration systems built by local company here in town called Acrylic Creations.
Here's link and they have good pricing too.
http://www.cquarium.com/wetDry.htm
Broomer

 

[clownfish]

Why mess with a sump with all that plumbing and stuff when you can simply get a filter with the time-honored Bio-Wheel? I will set up a 55 gallon tank in a few months with an Emperor 400 filter with 2 bio-wheels.

 

[jimm]

For two main reasons:
1. aesthetics: you can hide your heater, thermometer, protien skimmer etc in the sump so you don't have to look at in in your display tank.
2. more efficient: The overflow provides great airation. You can also use a filter sock to collect floating detrius and algae which is very easy to clean. The sump also provides additional water to the system either keeping the water cleaner or allowing additional fish.
Just my thoughts on this.

 

[polka]

I am curious.....how much does a wet/dry system cost? I realize there are many variables, but I wondered roughly what they run?

 

[jimm]

Check out www.championlighting.com for the prices on different size wet/dry filters.
They usually have good prices.
They sell wet/dry filters by Creative Plastics Research. You should check out their website at www.cprusa.com. Specifically look at the new sumps without bio-media (or you could do the same thing with an old tank or rubbermaid bin).
Hope this helps.