Wet Dry Filters

[bobpen]

I am thinking about changing the filters on my 75 gal tank to a wet dry filter. Are they good filters?
Can someone tell me how to keep the water from overflowing if I loose power?
I was told that I could loose all the water in my tank if the power went out because there is nothing to stop the water flow.
Any help would be appreciated.
Thank you
Penny

 

[scsinet]

Wet dry filters can be very effective if they are properly maintained. They are not as common in the saltwater world where lots of live rock is used, because live rock is a more effective form of biological filtration than wet/dry when used in the right amounts.
Generally you can't lose all the water. The overflow box that feeds a wet dry and the inflows that send water back to the tank are all located near the top of the water. Nothing can siphon down past this point if power is lost. Overflow boxes operate right at the water surface, so you don't lose water there. It's the inflows... although they are near the surface, sometimes they are a few inches down, which is enough water to overflow your sump/wet/dry. What you do to mitigate this is drill a 1/8" hole in the pipe just at the water surface. This will allow air to enter the pipe if power is lost and break the siphon.

 

[bobpen]

What in your opinion is the best kind of filter for a salt water tank? We are trying to upgrade ours. We have just the most basic parts at this point, and would like to better our system.
Thank you for your reply.

 

[jdl]

What in your opinion is the best kind of filter for a salt water tank? We are trying to upgrade ours. We have just the most basic parts at this point, and would like to better our system.
Thank you for your reply.
I think the best is live rock and the best skimmer you can afford.
but... a wet/dry can be just as good but may need some extra maintenance.

 

[salt210]

I run a wet/dry and the best thing you can do is keep up on the maintence. If you are upgrading the tank you might want to look into LS to help. CC is a pain the rear.

 

[scsinet]

Originally Posted by BobPen
http:///forum/post/3019064
What in your opinion is the best kind of filter for a salt water tank? We are trying to upgrade ours. We have just the most basic parts at this point, and would like to better our system.
Thank you for your reply.
How big is your system and how much live rock do you have?

 

[bobpen]

We have a 75 gal tank and about 75 lbs of live rock. We just have 2 filters on the tank that hang over the back. 1 of them stopped working so I thought we should upgrade. I really would like something that can go underneath so it's not such an eye sore.

 

[salt210]

you will still have to have overflows on the back of the tank, but it wont look no where near as bad. google melevs reef. if you are wanting/thinking of doing a sump then you will learn a lot from him

 

[bobpen]

I'm still fairly new at this message board thing, so I'm not sure about the abbreviations mean. LS= local shop? And I have no idea what CC means.
Thanks so much for all your help everyone. I just want whatever is best for my tank and everything that lives in it.

 

[jdl]

LS = live sand
CC = crushed coral
LFS = local fish store

 

[bobpen]

LoL makes sence. Now I feel silly /

 

[scsinet]

Frankly wtih 75lbs of Live Rock (LR

) in a 75g tank, you do not need a wet dry filter. If you want to do a filtration upgrade, consider a simple open sump (a 20g tank would do nicely) and overflow setup. You can then place a protein skimmer in the sump, along with your heaters and any other equipment.
With the amount of LR you have, a protein skimmer would be the best upgrade, not a wet/dry.