W/D to Fuge

Hello everyone, I currently have a W/D with Bio-Balls adn I am building a Refugium this Tuesday. Here's the question, can I remove the w/d and replace it new Refugium with no adverse affects to the water quality? I have heard that due so it could raise Amonia and Nitrite.

I have a 30G with a 10G W/D Sump
Nitrite 0
Amonia 0
Nitrate 15

 

The bacteria that help keep ammonia, nitrite and nitrate in check, live on all available surface area in the system. Bio balls are engineered to provide surface area, so you can be confident that a very substantial amount of your beneficial bacteria resides upon the very bio balls you plan on removing.

That doesn't have to be a problem if you remove the bioballs slowly. What I'd do in your position (if I absolutely had to replace the wet/dry with the fuge) is remove the wet/dry and replace it with the fuge, and put 100% of the bio balls in the fuge. Over how ever long it takes, remove maybe 10 balls every two days or so until they're all gone. Hopefully this will give the system ample time to replace the bacteria you're removing. The more slowly you remove the bioballs, the better.

I'm not so sure I'd replace a wet/dry with a fuge, though. :-/

 

Personally, down the road, I am going to run both. If you have an extablished W/D, I would keep it. Add to it if needed, but keep the W/D.

 

yes like John and Sparky said i run both.

 

just out of curiostiy do you have to choose between one or the other because if theres a limited amount of space available and thats why you have to choose i would say W/D unless your keeping something like a mandarin then id say fuge

 

I removed my W/D w/bio-balls and install a DIY sump for a new skimmer. The guy I bought the skimmer from said I was killing my liverock by running the bio-balls because they use the same nutrients to survive. Now I fighting with hair and cyano and I fixin to redo my sump to have a 'fuge. I'm still confused about the bio-balls though, and does it mater if they are completely submerged or have water trickled over them?

 

They need to have the trickle to work as a true wet dry but they will still offer some bio filtration when fully submerged.

 

They can be submerged and still work as a bio filter. The trickling over the bio-balls is the most optimal because this helps oxygenate the water also. On mine I have some submerged and some have the water trickling over them.

 

Could this be why I'm fighting with algea now, because I removed my W/D fitler and replaced it w/my current sump w/out slowly removing the bio-balls?