Pro's and Cons W/D sumpover fully summerged media

[ozzyboo]

I am wondering what the benefits are of havinga wet and dry trickle system sump over a fully submerged media sump if any.
I am building a 75 gallon sump for my new 260 the sump is,well it is an old tank at present, 54" long x18x18,so I have a bit of space as this is going to be for FW so no need for skimmer sections.
My plan was to have two inlets,herbie style,going into filter socks then through submerged media,mainly eheim and matrix as I already have some of this cycled and some spare I dont mind adding more,maybe use some scrubies as well if I can find them at a good price in the UK.then have one return split into two spary bars.How does this sound to you guys.
The sump will also have drain connected straight to the house drainage for an auto water changer via a drip system.Opinions welcome
Thanks in advance.

 

[rhodes_96]

Wet/dry is more efficient in oxygenation of the water, because it gases off the co2 as it trickles or sprays over the media which is not submerged. For non planted tank with a more than normal stocking density it is beneficial.

 

[Spiritofthesoul]

The only con I could think of for a W/D filter is the noise of the dripping water

 

[ozzyboo]

Wet/dry is more efficient in oxygenation of the water, because it gases off the co2 as it trickles or sprays over the media which is not submerged. For non planted tank with a more than normal stocking density it is beneficial.

That may be one of the problems is that this tank will be fairly heavily planted so the W/D option may not be ideal and the trickling over bioballs would certainly help to gas off additional CO2.Also I think both the replys indicate that there will be some noise associated with a W/D which is not really wanted as I am going to a fair amount of effort to make this whole system as quite as possible as it will be in the living room and my wife will pick up on any real noise.

 

[insanity0x1]

Noise wise, if you encase your stand then add sound absorbing foam, the kind from studios etc, lay the foam on all sides, and it will reduce noise by like 70-80%! tried here on MFK and was sucessed

 

[ozzyboo]

Noise wise, if you encase your stand then add sound absorbing foam, the kind from studios etc, lay the foam on all sides, and it will reduce noise by like 70-80%! tried here on MFK and was sucessed

Interesting idea may one to consider,how did the foam last in a very moist environment?

Although my original idea was to use filter socks for mechanical filtration,not sure how they could be included in a W/D system to remove all the gunge before it goes through the bioballs but that may be one to work on.

 

[nes999]

Wet/dry is more efficient in oxygenation of the water, because it gases off the co2 as it trickles or sprays over the media which is not submerged. For non planted tank with a more than normal stocking density it is beneficial.

but it also takes up alot of room. if you look at alot of japennese JDM tanks they have a over head filter with submerged media. submerged media takes alot less room.

 

[jcardona1]

I will NEVER use a wet/dry filter again. Fully submerged FTW. Here's why I prefer submerged:

- Sump/tank does not need any drip plates, baffles or dividers. Easier and much cheaper to buid, any used glass tank will work

- Much quieter setup, since you can use a Herbie pipe (or other methods) and submerge the drain pipe, giving you a silent setup.

- Can use filter socks, which gives you the most flexibility and superior mechanical filtration compared to filter pads

- Submerged ceramic media has superior amounts of surface area compared to bio balls or scrubbies

- Oxygenation is a non-issue. Just arrange your returns correctly and you will have all the oxygenation you need


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[swk]

You can use filter socks with a wet dry style sumpf. Just need to make a tall divider and have the water spill on to a drip plate after it goes through the filter socks. Done deal

 

[ozzyboo]

I will NEVER use a wet/dry filter again. Fully submerged FTW. Here's why I prefer submerged:

- Sump/tank does not need any drip plates, baffles or dividers. Easier and much cheaper to buid, any used glass tank will work

- Much quieter setup, since you can use a Herbie pipe (or other methods) and submerge the drain pipe, giving you a silent setup.

- Can use filter socks, which gives you the most flexibility and superior mechanical filtration compared to filter pads

- Submerged ceramic media has superior amounts of surface area compared to bio balls or scrubbies

- Oxygenation is a non-issue. Just arrange your returns correctly and you will have all the oxygenation you need


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Have to admit this is the way I think I will be going as the silent aspect of the set up is really important to me,and most of the other points you have covered I have thought about.As i was planning on using filter socks to remove all the gunk before it hit the bio media,reducing cleaning, and that the bio media,eheim or matrix has way more surface are than bio balls and it should give me better bio filtration and with an auto water change drip system my water paramiters should be bang on all the time which after all is the really important thing.