New to Wet/Dry set up....

sprieto

sprieto

Member
I would like to do a 135g tank (72x18x24).....
I want to set it up with a Wet/Dry system (but it will be my first).
I previously have done canisters, power filters, and skimmers.
I want to do a wet/dry (with a overflow, not pre-drilled) so I can house the heater and skimmer in there.
I really don't want to do a refug. (or sump).
No DIY, something simple.
ANY SUGGESTIONS ON A GOOD WET DRY SYSTEM?
I was looking at:

Eshopps Wet-Dry Filters - WD300
WD300 SC (1200gph) - $280
OR
ProFlex Sumps
Model 3 (1650gph) - $280
Both are about the same price (but the Eshopps comes with the overflow and return line).
The Proflex I would have to still buy the overflow and return line separate.
I would still have to buy pump for both (I was thinking a Mag Drive MD12, 1200gph).
The skimmer I would buy might depend on the Wet/Dry system I choose.
Opinions please!!!
 
mr. limpid

mr. limpid

Active Member
If you are going fish only then I say your ok with wet dry system (I assume bio-balls) as long as you rinse them every so often. Then tend to hold nitrates. If you are doing reef tank I would go with sump, with live rock. I personal had a problem with my Mag Drive now I have a Quite One no problems so far.
 
sprieto

sprieto

Member
I definetly was going to remove the bioballs, not sure if I wanted to use live rock through.....
Could I convert a standard wet/dry to a sump by removing the bioballs and adding Live Rock?
Thanks for you reply....
 
S

saxman

Guest
I'd go with LR or LR rubble before I'd go with bioballs for sure. The LR is optional, esp. if you plan on housing equipment in the sump. The thing to do is be sure you have room for the equipment, and if you have more room, you can always toss in some LR to bump up your biofiltration.
A sump is pretty much just a wet-dry without the bioballs, so you're already in "sump-land".
IME, the larger Mags (9 and 12) tend to run a little warm, and may heat your water up a couple of degrees, but they've always been good, solid pumps. QO's are nice, and tend to run a bit cooler if you compare power usage (Watts) vs. flow rate. We have both in service on some systems, but I tend to prefer external pumps since they give you more room in the sump.
HTH
 
sprieto

sprieto

Member
Thanks! Another question, flow rate for W/D should be x10 per gallon?
I.e. 120g =1200 gph wet dry (or overflow)?
And if I cant find a water pump to match gph exactly should or can the pump be a little stronger?
Thanks again...
 
deejeff442

deejeff442

Active Member
a wet/dry will use an overflow box anyway.if you take out the bioballs is is just a sump at that point like said above.when i had my 90 fowlr going all i did was fill the sump tank with rock rubble and let the water flow through the sump.simple and worked great.it gives your dt more fish room by putting the lr in the sump.
as for a pump you need to make sure the pump pushes less water than the overflow box takes.so if you have a 1200 gph box i would get a pump that pushes 1000 gph at the head .remember the pumps are rated where the water comes out of the pump.if you have a 6 foot return line to the tank it losses alot of flow.mag pumps will tell you the rate .like at 4 foot its 800 gph ,at 6 foot its 600 gph and so on.pretty simple to figure it out.the most popular and pretty quite and cheap reliable pumps are the mags.i run one on my tank.
 
acrylic51

acrylic51

Active Member
You need to match your overflow to your return pump..... Meaning you wouldn't necessarily want/need a 3000gph pump on a 1200gph over flow. Typically the norm or recommended flow rate through your sump is 3x - 5x your tank volume. Tour additional flow should come by other means not through the sump being PH's, wavemakers, etc....
 
S

saxman

Guest
Flow rate is totally dependent on your setup, what you're keeping, and how clever you are at designing your flow into the system. I know a guy who has 60x turnover in a SH tank, and the SH do very well, but he spent a LOT of time tweaking that to make it work.
Reefers generally can't get enuff flow, which is why they always add PH's and contraptions of that sort.
FOWLR's typically don't require as much flow.
Whenever I design a tank from the get-go, I usually design a CL system to supplement the "regular" sump return because it works better and I don't have to see ugly PH's in my tanks.
One thing you DON'T want to do is exceed the volume of your O/F with your return pump, as the O/F won't be able to keep up with the pump's demand, your sump will run dry, and your pump will likely burn up eventually. There's an EZ fix for this that bleeds some of the flow back to the sump if necessary, and it will also help "tune" the tank for max quiet:

This configuration allows your pump to run wide open (less stress on the pump) and still be "tuneable" to match your O/F and your S/P. This is something I have on all of our sump-based systems.
You can "underpump" a O/F (have a LOWER volume pump than your O/F rating) with no trouble as your rate of flow is governed by the return pump.
 
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