Wet/dry ????

[halfpint72]

not sure about the whole wetdry filtration.
i have a 55g reef tank that is not drilled. I was wanting to go from a canister filter to a pro series 75 gallon wet fry filter.
Will that be the right filter for me?
Does my tank have to be drilled?
oh and i know there are the bio balls but where do you put the other media like carbon?
is the wet dry and protein skimmer the only filtration i need? or should i keep the canister filter as well?
Thanks everyone.

 

[lexluethar]

Your tank does not need to be drilled - what you have to do is create a custom overflow box on the outside of the tank. THere are some posts here and on other sites that show how to do this.
The pro series you are getting looks good - if you are good at home projects i'd consider making your own - about 1/4th the price and you can make custom adjustments. You could also make it to where one of the chambers is large enough to accomodate your protien skimmer. But it looks good.
Usually setups like that have a place within one of the chambers (prior to getting to the bioballs) where you are supposed to place filter floss and carbon. Usually you will just have to place a bag/sock of carbon in the first chamber - unlike HOB filters there probably is no pre-cut filter floss with carbon insert.
I think that is definately adequate filtration for your 55 gallon (assuming your protein skimmer is decent).
You do NOT need a canister filter and a wet/dry system. Some people use both systems so that they can have the water filtered prior to getting to the wet/dry system (or sump / fuge), this isn't necessary if your wet/dry has a place to filter out the water. It really is up to you, but IMO it is overkill and not necessary, just make sure the water is being filtered through filter floss and carbon prior to going into the chambers (or second chamber) of the wet/dry.
JMO.

 

[lexluethar]

Oh, and looking at a picture of the pro series, it looks like it have a carbon/floss chamber at the top of it.

 

[acrylic51]

Agree canister filter isn't necessary if running the wet/dry filter.....I would start by removing the bio balls to keep nitrates to a min, but people have and do run them successfully with the bio balls....I guess it's a matter of maintenance your willing to give and what your planning on keeping in the system...
As far as carbon and floss, I would ditch the floss from the start, and the carbon is a good idea, but your wasting alot of the carbons potential with the water running over it, which is considered the passive mode. Carbon would be better utilized running it in a chamber something similar to a Phosban reactor. That way water is being forced down through the chamber and around it, not just merely over the top of it.....HTH

 

[princess8077]

I have a 150 wet/dry. It's sorta neat...came with an overflow box. It's a compact neat system and easy to work with (so far). I keep the filters clean (pre-filter that's in at the back of the overflow, the filter over the trickle tray and the filter covering the pump for the return) so I dont have much in the way of bad stuff from the bio balls I dont think. I have talked to the guy that was doing maint on my tank (since I was so new to it and scared to hurt anything) and he said I could take bio balls out slowly over time and put live rock in the bottom for better filtration. So far I havent done it and havent noticed ill effects from the balls. Let us know how your system works for you if the wet/dry is the way you go.

 

[halfpint72]

Thank You EVERYONE!!!
I will let you know when I make the change.

 

[fishfry101]

I just got the Tom Aquatics Rapids Pro Series PS4 Canister Filter with Auto Fill System and am extremely pleased with it. The system came complete with pumps, overflow box, hoses and has a built in protien skimmer, bio balls, carbon, filter floss, everything!! Do a search and you can find it for a great price, I got mine for 200 bucks. Also extremely easy to set up!