Filtration - Wet/dry

[fishyfreak]

I've heard a lot of good things about the wet/dry systems, I have one coming with my new tank, It'll be housing cichlids. Because it works on gravity and is not pressurized it can only really trap larger particles but an inline canister filter can be added to the return line. Just wondered what your opinions of them are, it's a 200 gallon tank and I plan on keeping it well stocked (but not overstocked...oh look, there another inch over there!).

 

[andywg]

Wet dry with a sump allows for a greater amount of bacteria as the bacteria have access to something like 800 times as much oxygen by being open to the air.

Get the circulation right and have some sponges over the drip plate and you will find the wet/dry is far more efficient than many canisters at pulling physical waste out of the water.

The main down side to a wet/dry is the effect it has on CO2 levels for planted tanks. All my FW tanks run on wet/dry, and once I get a dedicated SW pred system up and running, that too will have a wet/dry.

 

[fishyfreak]

So I've been running it for a week and a half now and I couldn't believe how quickly it cleared the water just overnight. One question though, it's a home-made job so my filter media consists of 1 half inch square of yellow foam (same foam you would use to line a couch ) seems to work great, and under this are the bio-balls. Is there anything I should add like charcoal or something to that effect?

 

[cheesy feet]

Some filter floss for the top and more bioballs depending on how many you have.Any chance of seeing the set-up, sounds pretty cool.