Wet/dry or sump?

[Iminit]

I’m setting up a new tank and I’m thinking of using a wet/dry system. I used these in the 80s with great success. What is the benifits of a sump.? Seems to me you have to add a lot of expensive media to sumps. Just wondering if this is more of the hype for bio$home and matrix? The tank is a 120 and I’m planning or an Aqua-link 150 wet/dry. I now have an fx6 on a 120 and it works fine. So just wondering what’s the pros and cons of these systems. It will be a discus tank. So with a sump can I reduce water changes?

[SpeedDiscus]

I run various sumps on all of my large tanks, I find it to be the best solution.

The advantages of sumps are many; larger water volume to reduce fluctuations in water parameters (some people do less water changes), ability to use a larger volume of biological media, extra space to hide accessories from sight (heater, CO2 injectors etc), greater mechanical filtering capacity because of the additional space for filter media.

I am going to be using a wet/dry sump on my 75 gallon cube for my discus.

I build all of my own sumps out of cheap and easy to find plastic bins (range from 10 gallons up to 35 gallons from Home depot) to great success. I see the super pretty glass or acrylic sumps out there but for me the sump is always hidden away under the stand, so I don't spend all that extra money making it look like a second show piece.

[Iminit]

Thanks for answering! But before you this thread was dead . I went with the wet/dry. I’ve used them before .

[coralbandit]

What type of media are you using Tom ?
I like sponges .I use some poret but managed with aquaclear replacement sponges for years and years .
No need for expensive media when you have space for sponge and good water turnover .
I missed this thread since working 6 days a week the last 3 weeks ..[ Time flies ....]

[Iminit]

Funny been working too. Thought I ordered the filter but all I did was put it in a cart. Ordered the pump. Today I will order the filter. Its an aqua-link 150 wet/dry. It comes with the bio-ball pit a sponge a prefilter with a sponge and an input system. Will be breaking down 2 other tanks when this is up and running. So all the media (bio-home and matrix) will go into the sump area of this filter. I had a wet/dry 20yrs ago and had the cleanest water ever with it and it wasn't that big. It was for a 100g but I extended the ball tower and used it on a 200. With nothing in the sump and just a return sponge before the sump and the sponge in the prefilter.
I’m running an fx6 on my main discus tank so this should give me an idea which is better. I bought another acrylic 125. It’s used so I polished it and it looks better. Has some crazing which I will keep an eye on. Had it outside filled for a month and it looked good. Previous owner was only supporting from the side edges like it was glass. I think that’s why it crazed. So I rebuilt the stand. Just have a little finishing and it should be ready. Hoping to get it up and running in a week or 2.

Got a lot going on. 3 tanks of discus. 1 tank where I’ve added my hero Hans fish to 4 of Kenny’s a little over a week ago. Need to get the 2 smaller tank of fish into the bigger tank.

[SpeedDiscus]

nice @iminit

i will take a picture of my wet/dry sump tonight and post them up. How many liter/gallons of bio balls does it hold? Mine is holding 6 liters of bio balls and about 2 liters of ceramic media mixed in.

Are the FX6 really worth the money? I see them around and I am not really impressed by them for the amount they charge.

[Iminit]

I bought the fx6 last year around black fri. Think it was $200. I like it. Runs well and is easy to clean.

Not sure how much bio-balls it holds. It came with bailing. Not sure how good the bailing is. The center looks like floss and may need to be replaced. Just asked the seller how many bio-ball I would need. Here’s a picD899A2A9-1973-4898-AC26-29FED4EB9D53.jpg

[coralbandit]

Nice !
That stuff is DLS [Double Layer Spiral]
You could unwind it and use the filter floss in your tray and still use the black spiral material as a bio media .
I would just place a couple sponges in the tower area with the black spiral material and say good !

[Willie]

...So with a sump can I reduce water changes?

Sumps, wet/drys, sponges, etc., all work by converting ammonia to nitrate. Water changes remove nitrates. The size of the sump is unrelated to the need for water changes.

Willie

[Iminit]

Lol yeah I was just throwing that out there. My real question is what does a sump actually do? Is it better than a wet/dry? If so how?

[JamesW]

A sump can have a wet/dry component built in. I think a sump gives hobbyists creativity and variety vs prefabricated filters. In my opinion one thing that might be different is the potential to generate anaerobic denitrating bacteria/areas that a highly oxygenated wet/dry only filter can't. Whether or not it is actually active/effective/impactful I have no idea. My sump is whisper quiet, the air stones make the most noise in my setup, is cascading water in a wet/dry system noisy?

[Iminit]

Lol I don’t remember and I’m waiting for the pump for this one. Will let you know.

[Contrarian]

I run a sump and an FX6 I purchased on black friday last year. They're great but I'll never use one again. They tend to have belching issues and collect air. I'm sticking with an oversized sump full of filtering sponges, silicon bio home media and a refugium with miracle mud. FYI- my sump is very quiet as I use filter socks.