Canister or Wet Dry

So I just got my hands on a used 150g setup!! ;D Came with a load of FW decorations and gravel BUT also came with a Wet/Dry Filter and external pump.

I am currently running a canister filter on my 75g. Would I be better off running the wet/Dry on the 75? Or is a Canister better.

Once garage sale season hits I want to find an old tank to make into a sump for the 75 or the 150 but its not that time yet and I have a wet/Dry now.

 

The wet/dry may be used as a sump without the wet/dry media.

 

Is this for freshwater or saltwater? If it is for freshwater, I would recommend a canister filter and a wet-dry together.

If it is for saltwater, I would recommend neither, as neither will provide useful filtration (or, at least, not without a ton of maintenance). What I mean is that both the canister and wet-dry will provide biological filtration to get rid of ammonia and nitrites, and both will produce lots of nitrates as the end-product of the bacterial metabolization. These nitrates will build up in your system, and pollute your water, likely faster than your water changes can keep up (if it is a saltwater system).

Live rock provides the same type of biological filtration, but also provides anaerobic zones to get rid of excess nitrates. A sump can house a protein skimmer, which can get rid of dissolved organics in the water before they can break down to nitrates (which mechanical media in a canister can not effectively do).

So if I were you, and if this is a saltwater system, I would set up neither a canister nor a wet-dry. If you can get a sump, that is ideal. If not, at least a hang-on skimmer. That will be, hands down, better filtration for your tank.

If it is a freshwater tank, the canister/wet-dry will still build up nitrates, but it is much easier to do large, frequent water changes to get rid of these, and so both types of filters work well in freshwater.

HTH

 

+1, exactly my thoughts.

 

I will be running the 150 as SW. I like the idea of trying to turn the Wet/dry into a sump until I manage to find something bigger. Thanks for the idea 2in10.
Thanks for the advice everyone

 

Also depends on what kind of sw you're actually going to be running.

Personally, I've got several reef systems running on wet/dry w/o any waste issues. It all depend on what your gonna stock in the aquarium. Wet/Dry do not raise your nitrates. They will get dirty if you dont run a proper mechanical filter(100m or 200m) above the bioballs and not changing the filter on a regular basis). It has the exact same effect as piling your reef full off live rock and having that same detritus pile up behind the rock. *awaits hate mail* ;p

so what kind of livestock are you planning on keeping?

 

Hmm I am going to assume that the Wet/ dry that came with the tank is rated to 150g. Might be a stupid assumption but still. I am planning to make the 150 a FOWLR, right now the 75 is also a FOWLR but I may turn the 75 into a reef tank in the future.