wet/dry vs sump
- Thread starter amv123
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A full on sump which generally uses a filter sock for mech filtration essentially has no biological media in it. It is meant to be used with protien skimmers and reactors and as space for heaters and other gizmos you don't want in your tank. All these are typically saltwater applications. Some sumps even have wet/dry sections to them.
A wet/dry drains water over some pads for mech filtration and then trickles it over a biological media source like bio balls, pot scrubbies, or bio bale which colonize with bacteria that process wastes into nitrates. The trickle effect keeps the bio media highly oxygenated for a large colony of bacteria. Thats a typical wet/dry setup you can of course add whatever devices to this setup but generally the only thing you'd add is heaters or possibly some ceramic media under the water level. Wet/dry s are generally used in freshwater applications since you generally only need the mech/bio filtration provided without the extra space a sump would have for gadgets.
A wet/dry drains water over some pads for mech filtration and then trickles it over a biological media source like bio balls, pot scrubbies, or bio bale which colonize with bacteria that process wastes into nitrates. The trickle effect keeps the bio media highly oxygenated for a large colony of bacteria. Thats a typical wet/dry setup you can of course add whatever devices to this setup but generally the only thing you'd add is heaters or possibly some ceramic media under the water level. Wet/dry s are generally used in freshwater applications since you generally only need the mech/bio filtration provided without the extra space a sump would have for gadgets.
A "Sump" is an open top (meaning not pressurized like a canister) external container that holds media... One could rationalize that an an HOB is a "sump" though wording it as such will unnecessarily cause confusion.
"Wet/Dry" is a biological filtration approach which uses biological media above the water line and trickles water over it...
When using a "Wet/Dry" the container that holds the media is still called a "Sump"...
There are no hard and fast rules about how mechanical filtration is used for something to qualify as a sump... Some sumps have very elaborate mechanical filtration while others have little or even none...
Many sumps use fully submerged 'biological media', which does not qualify as a Wet/Dry, but still works.
"Wet/Dry" is a biological filtration approach which uses biological media above the water line and trickles water over it...
When using a "Wet/Dry" the container that holds the media is still called a "Sump"...
There are no hard and fast rules about how mechanical filtration is used for something to qualify as a sump... Some sumps have very elaborate mechanical filtration while others have little or even none...
Many sumps use fully submerged 'biological media', which does not qualify as a Wet/Dry, but still works.
Some what off topic but I want to throw this out.
I used to run wet/dry sumps, now I run only wet sumps. While the wet dry allowed for faster BB growth IMHO, it added more problems then a wet sump. I now use DIY filter socks and a mix of ceramic and lava rocks as my only source of filtration. As far as clarity the water is just as clear as it was when using both a canister and a wet dry sump; and my levels are A 0 Ri 0 Ra 40ish.
So while the filtration didn't change, running the wet sump made for less noise, less humidity, and much easier clean up.
I used to run wet/dry sumps, now I run only wet sumps. While the wet dry allowed for faster BB growth IMHO, it added more problems then a wet sump. I now use DIY filter socks and a mix of ceramic and lava rocks as my only source of filtration. As far as clarity the water is just as clear as it was when using both a canister and a wet dry sump; and my levels are A 0 Ri 0 Ra 40ish.
So while the filtration didn't change, running the wet sump made for less noise, less humidity, and much easier clean up.
I run a canister and am a little confused about a "Wet Sump". Is there a chance you could post a picture or two of your setup ?nfored;3829285;3829285 said:
I think he means his bio-media is now submerged. My bio is completely submerged now, too. I had it in a 3-drawer system, but now the drawers are all mechanical media & the biomedia is in baskets below the waterline under the mech. I've had no issues so far, but I also dont have a huge bioload on that one...