Best Media For A Wet/dry

I'm currently researching/deciding on what media to use for setting up a wet/dry sump for my 80gal. fresh tank which currently has a canister & HOB. The two work great, but want to consolidate everything including heaters out of the tank and lower my nitrates. Currently have a wet/dry sump for my 150gal. salt, which I love, but was researching different media to use since my salt's wet/dry I had done almost 10yrs. prior. There is a lot of talk of a ceramic media called BioHome Ultra and other media on the net or should I just stay with my blue bio balls that I use in the salt's wet/dry. The BioHome's product seems to have better surface area for both aerobic & anaerobic BB compared with bioballs. What to use?

* Researched going with a fluidized sump but there's way too much conflicting info for me to digest concerning flow rates, media, pros & cons etc...

 

This a good video explaining media

Bio home has bad review from some people saying it deteriorates really quickly.

 

Thank you for the vid. though have seen it before and had found it helpful when first exploring the subject, however it fails to go into the details. For instance how anaerobic BB colonize better with certain media if proper maintenance is performed compared with bioballs which are fairly maintenance free.

 

The only media I seen people use in wet/drys is bio-balls. Can't help much don't use that type of filtration.

 

The more I research it, the more I ask myself the question, "why reinvent the wheel"? The bioballs in my salt work great though it would be nice to lower nitrates which is always a plus. BTW those fluidized can be very tricky to set up and with my current fish I have very real fear of losing some of them. I will be seeding the wet/dry with the ceramics & sponges from my canister and HOB then slowly removing them I suppose.

 

Good morning,

I've been using all types of media in my wet/dry over the years with the highest concentration of it being blue bio balls. Check out some of the photos in the link/thread below:

https://www.fishlore.com/aquariumfishforum/threads/265g-filter-upgraded-2-6-13.137148/
(see post #37 for photos)

Ken

 

Thank you aquarist48, will take a look later and take serious consideration. I plan, when I eventually get a larger appt., to get a 250gal to replace my 150 for the salt, and I WILL run a fluidized then, no question! Those very tall fluidized reactors fascinate me regarding how the upper regions of the moving bed are conducive to anaerobic activity-very, very cool. Nitrate filters too...ok, I'll stop!

I'm back, whew- that's a long thread you forwarded me to. I skimmed over the pages and it's a go the bioballs for now. you talked me into it! The trouble now is that I'm spit off into a different direction with the planted refugium concept you had discussed in the thread which changes everything. I never had any interest in plants but I guess I have no choice doing them in the sump housing -hmm..? My LFS has one set up under a discus tank so I can ask them about that. I went from a 2-1/2yr car restoration obsession back to this one again, maybe I should have taken a wife and had a kid or something?!?!

* I'll post a new thread when I get going on this planted refugium aspect to my wet/dry sump system.

 

Good morning,

Check out the video in the link/thread below. This is what made me decide to add a refugium to the wet/dry:
https://www.fishlore.com/aquariumfishforum/threads/freshwater-refugium.82323/
(video in post #1)

Ken

 

Hey great vid. aquarist48, very helpful. I'm confused though, I'm now looking into the Ecosystems deluxe models. What's shown of the vid. is the 3012 which he says is oversized for the 120gal. he's running, however the info that's provided by ecosystems says that this model is designed for a 75-95gal. tank. The 3012, shown in the vid, should be suited for my 80gal not his 120. I also, according to my experience, find that to be a very small # of bioballs for the beak down of the ammonia & nitrite and provide suitable aeration? I will contact this company for answers, but I would like your take on this too so to get an independent opinion from someone I now trust. If I do go with this product, seeing that I first understand the answers to my questions, then setting up/connecting this system and going with the miracle mud, plants and which light are easy, I guess!?!? I've put together systems like this in the past, minus the refugium aspect of course, so I'll figure it out.

 

Good morning,

As far as the amount of bio balls are concerned, I fill the bio ball areas almost to the top. I only leave about 2" of space between the bio balls and the top plate. IMO, the more surface area the better as it creates more homes for beneficial bacteria needed to sustain the tanks cycle.

I have also filled the gap under the bio balls plate with many, many, filter sponges and bio max as shown in the link in post #6 above.

I've never worked with Miracle Mud before. The plants I've added to create a refugium in my wet/dry are potted using small river rock as substrate to fill the pot. This way, I can pull them out, check them over, trim any that need trimming and I do not have the mess that mud may create.

Great to see that you are doing so much research! Keep us posted on your progress please.

Ken

 

I will look into the substrate you use since it makes ALOT of sense to me. Concerning the bioballs, if you look at the system I may want to go, (in the video they use the ecosystem) it can only hold 1/4 of the amount of bioballs than a straight wet/dry system that a proflex model, (for example) will hold which is the right size for my tank. This concerns me and I would like to understand why that is? I like that this all inclusive system in that it slows down the flow rate significantly within the refugium but the system as a whole can have a generous GPH.

 

Good morning,

Keep in mind that you can really set up the system to your liking as far as filter media is concerned. If you can and want and have the space, add more bio balls than what comes with the set up.

I have blue bio balls in my wet/dry that are 15 years old and they've never been cleaned, however, they have been moved from 1 set up to another during a filter upgrade.

IMO...Wet/Dry, Sumps, Refugiums do not fall into the regular guide lines of Gallons Per Hour (GPH) as canister and hang on back (hob) type filters due to the fact they are so much more efficient. Your GPH can be lower than 8 to 10 x the tank volume when using these 3 set ups. Select the size set up designed for your size tank and everything should be fine.

I always try and not make things any harder than they need to be when it comes to this hobby.

Ken

 

On my 150gal. the flow rate is an estimated 1800 GPH which I know is high but the fish are not blown around the tank and considering the size of the bioball compartment I find that the contact time is appropriate. I get the maximizing the space for most media/surface area for BB approach from my experience with HOB's however the amount of room that's provided in the wet/dry compartment of the Ecosystems system is quite limited where as I could not fit the amount of bioballs in there to quell my concern, according to my experience, for adequate biofiltration of ammonia/nitrite. If I'm wrong, which I hope I am, I would like to understand why I was wrong. For instance does the refugium compartment do enough additional biofiltration, aside from nitrate filtration, for ammonia/nitrite reduction to render a large wet/dry compartment unnecessary etc..? Thank's again.

Alright, I now reread your post and decided that indeed this is becoming a space shuttle build- I get it. Ecosystems Deluxe 3012 is rated by them for 75-95gal ., so I'll get the 3612 rated for 100-135gal. for my 80gal. freshwater. I'll speak to the manufacturer tomorrow and bother them, in a diplomatic way of course, with my fine tooth comb questions and e-mail them too. The larger model will look nicer too seeing that I will be displaying this through a cut out with plexi-glass in my stand which I know will not jeopardize the structural rigidity. Good, now that this seems to be the case I can soon move on to reading more about potted plants and all that fun stuff to put in there. Thank you aquarist48 for keeping me on track.

 

Good morning,

Even though the system you speak of may not contain as many bio balls that you may assume it should have, keep in mind that the beneficial bacteria needed to sustain the tanks cycle is attached to all surface areas of the aquarium with the highest concentration of it being in your filter and then your substrate.

IMO, the more surface area the better and this means more surface area for beneficial bacteria, however, you are only going to have as much ammonia as your fish can produce or ammonia that is produced from food waste. Adding more filter media doesn't mean that even more beneficial bacteria is going to be produced.

Glad to help anytime. Please keep us posted on your progress.

Ken

 

Thanks, your right about the added surface area of the wet/dry refugium and what will be in it. I am aware of the BB needing adequate food, (ammonia & nitite) to continue to colonize. The bioload will increase seeing that my fish and lobster are still growing plus I plan on having critters in the planted refugium so I want to be prepared. I talked with Ecosystems today and for the most part my concerns were quelled by them rather quickly. I've decided to go with their set up and already placed the order with all necessary hardware, pumps etc... They told me that they recommend the miracle mud because it better supports more aggressive types of plants with the extra nutrients they'll need, but those concerns will wait for later and I left that out of the order for now. I'll run the system for a while to check for possible leaks and get the flow rate correct then transport the well cultivated ceramic media from the AC70 and canister to the wet/dry-slowly switching over to bioballs I suppose to make the transition. The substrate and plants I'll start researching tonight. thanks again.

 

While waiting for the wet/dry-refugium sump, lighting,supplies and return pump I began to get to work on a CPRaquatics overflow box and down tube which is pretty straight forward. My concerns however are in regards to the return-to-tank concepts. I saw online, tanks having the returns going to an under gravel filter type of set up to blow water up through the gravel rather than visa/versa negating me having to disrupt the tank with gravel vacuuming during water changes which I know will still be necessary. Any advice on this style of set up would greatly appreciated-thank you.

* Yes, I will have installed a quality ball style check valve in place for the return line.