Wet Dry Vs. Canister (fluval Or Eheim)

[Orlowski_25]

Hey all I am new to the forum, I have a 72 US gallon Fowler Tank that I am changing the filtration on. I moved this tank from North Dakota to Texas in May without loosing a single fish . Only to have most of my live stock killed by a nickle some kid put in the tank during a party while I was out of town. I had two penguin 340's on the tanke with a Sea Clone 1000 skimmer. I lost my Bluethroat Triigger, Niger Trigger, Regal Angelfish, Red Sea Sailfin Tang, Four Lyrtail Anthias. I did save however my Lunar Wrasse, Pair of Percula Clowns, who now reside in 20 gallon Nano reef tank. I know that many of you have fallen off your chair a wrasse in a reef tank! But he has been in there for two months and has been a very good fish. knock on wood. This is a temporay home untill I have stopped grieving and revamp my filtration and gather the courage to stock 72 again. The Penguins which I had on the tank were adequete, my water parameters were always spot on, but I want to beef it up before I start to re-stock the 72. I have been debating wether or not to do a wet/dry sump set up or a canister filter. Unfortunately my cabnit is rather small A mere 21*16 inches with a height of 27 which rather limits my choice of wet/drys. So I have been also considering canisters I have been debating between the fluval 304 or 404 and the Ehieim Pro II Model 2026. The other thing I am looking at is the way I get my water to the filter. Do you all feel that the Siphon Overflow is the way to go or do you prefer the intake tubbing + spraybars. Thanks for reading this I look forward to your replys

 

[superman]

Hey all I am new to the forum, I have a 72 US gallon Fowler Tank that I am changing the filtration on. I moved this tank from North Dakota to Texas in May without loosing a single fish . Only to have most of my live stock killed by a nickle some kid put in the tank during a party while I was out of town. I had two penguin 340's on the tanke with a Sea Clone 1000 skimmer. I lost my Bluethroat Triigger, Niger Trigger, Regal Angelfish, Red Sea Sailfin Tang, Four Lyrtail Anthias. I did save however my Lunar Wrasse, Pair of Percula Clowns, who now reside in 20 gallon Nano reef tank. I know that many of you have fallen off your chair a wrasse in a reef tank! But he has been in there for two months and has been a very good fish. knock on wood. This is a temporay home untill I have stopped grieving and revamp my filtration and gather the courage to stock 72 again. The Penguins which I had on the tank were adequete, my water parameters were always spot on, but I want to beef it up before I start to re-stock the 72. I have been debating wether or not to do a wet/dry sump set up or a canister filter. Unfortunately my cabnit is rather small A mere 21*16 inches with a height of 27 which rather limits my choice of wet/drys. So I have been also considering canisters I have been debating between the fluval 304 or 404 and the Ehieim Pro II Model 2026. The other thing I am looking at is the way I get my water to the filter. Do you all feel that the Siphon Overflow is the way to go or do you prefer the intake tubbing + spraybars. Thanks for reading this I look forward to your replys

A little confused, so please clarify before I respond. Is this a fish only with live rock tank, or is it a reef tank? You first mentioned that it was a "Fowler tank" but then mentioned your wrasse in a reef tank. I ask this because filtration choices between the two types of tanks can be drastically different. As far as the overflow, you menioned siphon, the other choice is drilled, I don't understand your description of "intake tubing+ spraybars" please explain in more detail, then I am sure we can figure out some great options for you, as well as an appropriate stocking list.

 

[Orlowski_25]

Sorry about that it is obvious that I didn't read through my first post. I am looking to upgrade the filtration on my 72 gal which was and is going to be a fowler tank. I used my 20 gal as an emergancy hospital where the surviors from the 72 now reside. The intake and spraybars are the tubbing I have been recomended if I go that direction. Thanks for the help and sorry about the mix up.

 

[superman]

Still a little unclear on your intake with spray bars direction, are you talking about a siphon overflow that leads to the sump then returning the water to the tank with a spray bar? OR are you talking about a drilled tank that drains to a sump then is returned using a spray bar? If this is a fish only with live rock tank then I would go with an oversized skimmer in a sump with possibly a canister filter to throw media in when needed.
What will be your inhabitant stocking list?

 

[crazyelece]

My suggestion is to do both. Siphon overflows are fine, you just need to learn how they work so you can plan accordingly. They make smaller skinnier sumps for 40-55 gal tanks that I think would work perfect for you. I guess I realy need to explain why I like both. The wet/dry sump is a great place to put the skimmer, heaters, etc. to keep your tank space as clear as possible. I like to also run a canister filter, not only as back up filtration, but to use for other purposes. For instance I use my canister to put phosphate remover and carbon in. Its harder to do this on the wet/dry. I also like running the output from the canister through a UV that I can turn on when needed.

As for which brand of canister, I like the fluval because it has the most contact time for the water to the media. It also has a handy built in flow valve so you can slow down the output to go through a uv sterilizer.