Wet/Dry Filter

[aggie_67]

Want to continually improve my discus setup. On my 55 and 30 I have set up as per recommendation; bb, AC 500, 2 hydro-sponges, aged water tank, etc. Fish are growing like weeds, growing so well I need to consider placing my 120 in service. Wondering why a wet/dry filter has not been mentioned or recommended? Would it be more suitable for my 120 or should I continue to think AC's and hydo-sponges?

[ronrca]

Personal preference! Once you get into the big tanks, you are looking at numberous AC's/Hydro's. Its not a bad thing! I prefer using a wet/dry system (or variation of) because I can hide the heaters and sponges rather than in the tank. I use this on 20G, 65G, etc. I like the ease of only cleaning 1 sponge. ;)

[Cosmo]

I have one at home someone gave me but the only thing that held me back from using it was the fear that I'd have to turn it off and restart the syphon after each WC - must be a trick, but no one at the LPS could tell me what it was.

So - I bought an Eheim enclosed cannister wet/dry and am very happy with it. The cannister alternately empties and fills exposing the media to air / water / air etc. Has a third "breathing" tube that allows for gas exchange. neat to watch too lol

Jim

[kaceyo]

most wey/dry(trickle) filters have a pre-filter to mechanicly remove particles of waist before water enters wey/dry section of filter.Generaly this is an in tank overflow setup and doesnt require a syphone or the syphone is built in and doesnt need to be restarted manualy each time the power is turned off and on.Check to see if yours has a prefilter that hangs on the tank.If so,just learn how it works and use your wet/dry.

[Harriett]

Aggie,
I have a wet/dry on my 180g tank and I love it. (I have aquaclears on my 55 + 25g tanks and in the past used cannisters on an 80g)..
The biofiltration bed you build up in a wet dry is HUGE which means the tank takes the little dips and curves that come up and still maintains great stability. As said, it's wonderful to hide the heater, CO2 reactor in if the tank's planted, etc. which leaves a sleek look in the tank; the mechanical filtration is quite good---the pre-filter foam couldn't be easier to get at and keep rinsed, thus the filter pads in the actual wet/dry stay cleaner. They are also a piece of cake to get to. With this multi level filter pad and foam design, you can rotate cleaning the pads/foam and never impinge on the bacteria in your bio bed; keeps the tank healthier.
As far as the syphon question, the prefilter is a saddle bag design, with one portion in the tank and the other hanging just on the other side. There are either 1 or 2 rigid U shaped tubes that connect the 2 parts for water to leave the tank---assume that on a pretty regular basis you would loss that syphon when you are doing maintenance and water changes but it is NO big deal to get it back. You thread a piece of airline hose into the U tube, pop it back into the prefilter and either suck the air out or use a little gizmo sold for that chore to pull the air out of the U tube and get the water flowing again. It takes 15 seconds max.
My system has been going for 2 years and I won't ever go back to cannisters, etc. for a larger tank--this is too easy and convenient. These systems are also very amenable to tweaking and making personalized changes in.
Good luck and best regards.
Harriett