Hello I am new here and so far I really think this site is awesome and full of info. Most of you guys and gals are very knowledgeable and give great advice to us newbies. I just recently bought a 75 gal that came with a wet dry filter system from a friend that I have not set up yet; I will be setting it up in about 2 months. I was wondering if that is the only filter I need and also what is the difference between a wet dry filter and a canister filter and which one is better. The friend I bought the tank and wet dry filter off of just used the wet dry as his only filtration system and the tank looked great.
Wet Dry Filter VS Canister
- Thread starter sportsman0806
- Start date
both of my large tanks i have bought used. both came with a wet dry system. the 75gallon had a wet/dry, i also added a power head with a sponge and an emperor 400 hang on back filter. for christmas i got a rena xp2 and did away with the wet/dry filter. the water in that tank stays crystal clear and perfect. the 125gallon that i bought has a 55gallon wet/dry system, i also have a powerhead and two penguin 330 hang on the backs also. also do you know if the guy that you bought the tank/setup from was using it for saltwater, because i believe that the wet/dry filtration systems are more common to be the sole filtration unit(think that wet/drys are more efficient for saltwater) in a saltwater tank. the 125gallon tank i bought from a buddy was being used as a saltwater tank by him with just the 55 gallon wet/dry. in my opinion i really do not like the daily maintanence of the wet/drys(constantly maintaining the water level inside the sump tank, if the filter media cloggs up with fish crap then the flow of the wet dry is drastically affected) as soon as i have the money i am going to get a fluval fx5 or similar cannister for my 125. hope this helps
I actually think an appropriately sized and maintained wet/dry is easier to keep up than a canister. I only have to clean my canisters (3 XP3s and 1 Fluval) once a month, but it SUCKS! It always makes a mess no matter how careful I am. With a wet/dry. I walk up to it, take the pre filter off, and put a new one on all while it's running.
Additionally, you can get away with lower flow with a wet/dry rates because they have more biological media (typically). You have the ability to hide a lot of equipment in it as well (heaters, UV, extra bio media to seed other filters, etc). I have a wet/dry that will filter 2-3 tanks by itself, and a couple of other tanks with nothing but a wet/dry.
Canisters are good, but I like wet/dry better.
Additionally, you can get away with lower flow with a wet/dry rates because they have more biological media (typically). You have the ability to hide a lot of equipment in it as well (heaters, UV, extra bio media to seed other filters, etc). I have a wet/dry that will filter 2-3 tanks by itself, and a couple of other tanks with nothing but a wet/dry.
Canisters are good, but I like wet/dry better.
I agree about Wet/Dry systems working better for me. I buy my tanks pre-drilled with a wet/dry system below. They are excellent biological filters and have enough room to add other chemical or charcoal filtration in a pinch.
Maintenance on the filter itself is almost nothing. I clean the prefilter pad in my water change bucket once a month. You can also place your heater in the wet/dry so your tank looks cleaner. Not to mention if a pump were to fail in a wet/dry, you could swap it out that day with no worries.
Regarding clarity, my water is crystal clear except during feeding.
Maintenance on the filter itself is almost nothing. I clean the prefilter pad in my water change bucket once a month. You can also place your heater in the wet/dry so your tank looks cleaner. Not to mention if a pump were to fail in a wet/dry, you could swap it out that day with no worries.
Regarding clarity, my water is crystal clear except during feeding.
Thanks everyone for the input and quick replies. So would you recommend adding another filter as well to work in conjunction with the wet/dry such as a hang on the back filter? This is for a freshwater tank.
It would help with mechanical filtration, but it's not totally necessary. It's always good to have redundancy, so if you don't have 2 pumps in the wet/dry then I would add another filter.
Off topic, but what part of IN are you from? and welcome
Off topic, but what part of IN are you from? and welcome
I messed my post up a bit and just did an edit.
I understand what rally is saying, but I put one good filter on a tank. I don't like a cluttered look. At the most I'll hang an airstone in a tank to keep the water circulating or oxygenated until I get home if a filter has failed.
One wet dry properly sized and with a pre filter for particles is all the tank needs. If a filter fails, the fish are in trouble in the short term do to Oxygen depletion, not water quality. If you check your tanks in the morning and night...you should be fine.
The bacteria in a filter will only populate to the extent that your bio-load will support it. To me, having 3 filters on a tank means your main filter is undersized and the other two are not fully populated with bacteria and providing mechanical filtration...which you could get with one proper filter.
I understand what rally is saying, but I put one good filter on a tank. I don't like a cluttered look. At the most I'll hang an airstone in a tank to keep the water circulating or oxygenated until I get home if a filter has failed.
One wet dry properly sized and with a pre filter for particles is all the tank needs. If a filter fails, the fish are in trouble in the short term do to Oxygen depletion, not water quality. If you check your tanks in the morning and night...you should be fine.
The bacteria in a filter will only populate to the extent that your bio-load will support it. To me, having 3 filters on a tank means your main filter is undersized and the other two are not fully populated with bacteria and providing mechanical filtration...which you could get with one proper filter.
my first and only W/D ive got i built myself. it works better, was cheaper, and is much easier to clean than any can or hob. plus i can hide my heaters in the sump for a really clean look in the tank. im planning on making more W/D's for the rest of my tanks.
After making my first wet/dry, I've found that it's probably one of the easiest, most basic forms of a complete filter. I don't see the need for any additional filtration, unless you need a touch more waterpolishing.