lewisjameel

is one better than the other or are the basically the same thing and with the wet drys i see a lot of different ones is there really a difference

aquarist48

Hello. In my 155 gallon bow front tank I use what is called a trickle down filter with a 950 mag drive pump. I've also heard it referred to as a wet dry system. My tank has been running 24 hours a day for the past 8 years and I've only had to replace the mag drive one time. My aquarium has a built in over flow system (and I love it because nothing hangs on the outside of my tank at all. (other than wires for the heaters. I've also heard it referred to as a sump type system) It has a huge box that sits under the aquarium with filter floss then blue bio balls a big yellow sponge and then the pump itself. Lots of room for more surface area in the filter box as well. The mag drive has a pre-filter sponge to keep out of the impeller...on top of the sponge I rest my Black Diamond carbon and white diamond also. I highly recommend the trickle down/wet dry system. I've been a fish keeper since I was 12 and now 48. If your aquarium doesn't have the built in system you can also find the hang on box for the wet dry system. Hope this helps some.

lewisjameel

thanks i am going from a 55g to a 110g with the built in over flow i see alot of different wetdrys how to determine which one is better

aquarist48

I'm sure things have changed since I bought mine 8 years ago....but I highly recommend the Sea Life over flow with the mag drive 950 pump. A bit pricey but worth the money and your fish will love you for it. teehee I get all of my supplies from Dr.s Foster and Smith and some from Thatfishplace.com The mag drives at both stores are much cheaper than buying them in a fish store.

aquarist48

Too, going from a 55g to a 110g tank you may want to consider purchasing a Vortex D1 or XL Diatom filter in addition to your over flow system. I use my Diatom during every water change (every 10 days I remove 22 gallons to keep my chemistry in tact) for 4 or 5 hours and the water is crystal clear. No ICK and no Algae blooms. The Diatom will filter both. It uses what is called Diatomaceous Earth and will filter the water down to the micron. To my knowledge no other filter does this.

cerianthus

Although Diatom Filter works well as explained, I dont see a need to use too often, IMO.
Dont know if this is reef or not, but Diatom Filter may remove microbes needed in Reef. As far as W/D/Sump, take bioballs (BB) out of WD then you got sump. You can just place 20 G tank under the tank which will be cheaper than buying WD. Google for info on DIY Sump/Refuge. Easily made with few plexi partitions and little knowledge of hydrodynamics w/o spending mega bucks. Besides once LR was avail, took out BB and been sitting in Garage somewhere.

lewisjameel

if i use the water from my 55g do i have to cycle the tank all over again if so where can i store the fish

cerianthus

If you can aged the water (new s/w circulating with heater, match the temp) in new tank (about 50-70 G) along with new substrate, then fill with water from 55G. If possible reuse the substrate by rinsing them in few inches of its own water then move them to new tank. With this method, you can move the fish into buckets with water from 55 (make sure that temp dont drop in bucket/holding container). Reuse any deco/LR from 55G 9no cleaning no matter how dirty/filthy it may be, could do that once tank is well established), you can always take them out if you wish once tank is well stablized. Once the transfer is complete, start acclimating fish to new tank water. Make sure to RUN the filters from 55g w/o any cleaning/changing. If need to top off, just prep new s/w to do so.
Once fish are in new tank, monitor the water closely as may go thru NH3, NO2 spike.
If see spike, control it by small water changes and cutting down food. If you have enough LR in 55 G , very unlikely that you will experience such spike.