Upgrading Filtration II

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
i used a wet/dry for filtration for my shoal i seem to be the only one other than frontosablkrhom who is using one for piranhas. And personaly i love it, not too noisy vastly superior biological filtration (more oxygen in air than could ever be dissolved in water) and gives me a place to grow some bamboo with its top out of the water for nitrate removal


Also someone said on P fury in that thread of yours JP that anaerobic bacteria exist in all filters which is not the case.


While anaerobic bacteria and very beneficial in saltwater (they remove nitrates). They arn't so much in freshwater simply becuase a by-product of their waste is hydrogen sulfide and this reacts with water to form sulfuric acid which would cause a huge pH crash in freshwater (ever wonder why saltwater has to have so many buffers? this is it).

the only bacteria you want/need in freshwater filters is aerobic bacteria, water changes take care of our nitrates lol.


You'd need about a 50 gallon sump for your 180 JP this is mainly to prevent flood issues when the power shuts down (the overflow will drain until it cannot drain anymore (which is usualy about the top 2 inches of water) and your sump has to be able to accomodate this without causing a flood) altohugh you could go smaller if you plan it right
a wet/dry sump does not need to be a tank though it would easily be a rubbermaid container with a plastic drawer unit


overall i like wet/drys becuase for the price of 2 fx5s with media (enough to filter a heavily stocked 180-240) i could DIY a wet/dry( or series of wet/drys) capable of filtering a heavily stocked 600 gallon tank. i set up my 40 gallon wet/dry for about 200 bucks with media and it could filter a 300 gallon heavily stocked tank if the overflow was set up to not cause a flood in the event of a power outage

and about wet/dry flow rates its a myth any flow rate a canister can maintain without being detrimental to the bacteria a wet/dry can do as well


i am so sorry for an off topic and such a long winded post(but the topic came up hehe) and i apologise for any nervous breakdowns, insanity diagnosises, or strokes this post may have caused (my brain feels like its going to explode)
 
Zander, that's some good information to know, thanks for posting here.
was your tank drilled or you are using overflow boxes? If I every have to break down my tank (when I need to do basement remodeling) I might set up my 180g with a wet/dry.
how's the noise from your wet/dry? the last thing I want in the basement is the sound of a waterfall.
 
Zander_The_RBP;3869890; said:
i used a wet/dry for filtration for my shoal i seem to be the only one other than frontosablkrhom who is using one for piranhas. And personaly i love it, not too noisy vastly superior biological filtration (more oxygen in air than could ever be dissolved in water) and gives me a place to grow some bamboo with its top out of the water for nitrate removal


Also someone said on P fury in that thread of yours JP that anaerobic bacteria exist in all filters which is not the case.


While anaerobic bacteria and very beneficial in saltwater (they remove nitrates). They arn't so much in freshwater simply becuase a by-product of their waste is hydrogen sulfide and this reacts with water to form sulfuric acid which would cause a huge pH crash in freshwater (ever wonder why saltwater has to have so many buffers? this is it).

the only bacteria you want/need in freshwater filters is aerobic bacteria, water changes take care of our nitrates lol.


You'd need about a 50 gallon sump for your 180 JP this is mainly to prevent flood issues when the power shuts down (the overflow will drain until it cannot drain anymore (which is usualy about the top 2 inches of water) and your sump has to be able to accomodate this without causing a flood) altohugh you could go smaller if you plan it right
a wet/dry sump does not need to be a tank though it would easily be a rubbermaid container with a plastic drawer unit


overall i like wet/drys becuase for the price of 2 fx5s with media (enough to filter a heavily stocked 180-240) i could DIY a wet/dry( or series of wet/drys) capable of filtering a heavily stocked 600 gallon tank. i set up my 40 gallon wet/dry for about 200 bucks with media and it could filter a 300 gallon heavily stocked tank if the overflow was set up to not cause a flood in the event of a power outage

and about wet/dry flow rates its a myth any flow rate a canister can maintain without being detrimental to the bacteria a wet/dry can do as well


i am so sorry for an off topic and such a long winded post(but the topic came up hehe) and i apologise for any nervous breakdowns, insanity diagnosises, or strokes this post may have caused (my brain feels like its going to explode)
what jp said!
 
jp80911;3870090; said:
Zander, that's some good information to know, thanks for posting here.
was your tank drilled or you are using overflow boxes? If I every have to break down my tank (when I need to do basement remodeling) I might set up my 180g with a wet/dry.
how's the noise from your wet/dry? the last thing I want in the basement is the sound of a waterfall.
i am using a DIY overflow you can find out how to make one here
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=219465

just as good a a commericaly bought one (if designed right) and can be made to accomidate any flow rate with no drilling required ! There is a slight flooding risk associated with its use(or any overflows use as you may loose syphon (i have never lost syphon perosnaly but it can happen) theoretically you should never loose syphon if its properly designed but if you wnata little extra insurance look into an aqaulifter (a small air and water pump that will constanly remove air and a small amount of water from your overflow and put it back in the tank of in the sump)



if you want absolutly no risk of flooding then get the tank drilled but the chance of a properly deisgned overflow flooding is next to 0 as well so it's your choice


as far as noise is concerned it really depends on the way the sump is set up if the drain goes straight into the sump and is submerged in a small amount of water it will be alot quieter than if the water ends up free falling into the sump personaly my pump makes more noise than the wet/dry and if you have a cabinet in your stand and you close it, it should be virtualy silent
 
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