Setting up Sump

[Hooked0nPhonics]

Hey guys, maybe a unique question.. maybe a common practice. So I'm setting up my wet/dry filter and it's running under my tank now. I have my established hanging filter running on the side, but I need to take it down for the lid. Would I be able to pull the filter pads out of the hanging filter and put them into the sump with the bio balls? Would this help boost the bacteria boom in the sump while maintaining the present colony in the pads?

 

[thegrun]

Yes you can do that but be aware that very few of us run wet dry filtration on saltwater tanks because the wet/dry filter does too good a job converting waste into nitrates. They nearly always lead to elevated nitratesvin your tank. Most reefers who start with wet/dry filtration end up having to remove them to lower their nitrates. The same thing happens with mechanical filtration, if you don't clean the pads every 3-4 days they raise your nitrates.

 

[Hooked0nPhonics]

So should I consider scrapping the wet/dry and convert it into a standard sump?


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[thegrun]

That would be my recommendation

 

[banthonyb71]

You dont need artificial bio filtration in a saltwater reef system.

Your live rock and sand is your bio filtration. get rid of wet/dry filter and the hang on filter. or use the hang on filter for mechanical or chemical filtration only.

 

[Hooked0nPhonics]

Understandable. I plan on ditching it in the long run. I'm only using it at this point to establish the tank. Right now, only about 25% of my rock is live


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[ReefEco]

Just make sure that when you do in fact remove it, you remove maybe 25% of the bioballs from your wet dry a week (or even slower), to allow your other filtration to adjust. If you were to remove your wet dry completely at one time, it could adversely effect your ability to filter the water. Even though it is less efficient than other filtration, it will still represent a chunk of your bacteria surface area, so remove it slowly.