SUMP and Wet/Dry Filters

[OCCFan023]

What does a sump do? is it a filter?

and a Wet Dry filter, how do they work? as opposed to like a canister filter?

 

[S.Reef]

Basically a sump is a container under the tank where the water drains down to. A return pump pumps it back into the aquarium. Equipment like heaters, protein skimmers can be placed here. A Wet/dry filter is a tower that contains biological media (bioballs, DT pads). They come in a variety of sizes and arent all meant for sump use. Some canister filters are bsacically wet/drys.

 

[OCCFan023]

If you had a sump, would you need a filter or no? and what does sump stand for doesnt it have a meaning?

 

[Kyle]

Most of the time you put filter media into the sump. I think that might also make it a combination of sump and wet/dry but not for sure. They might have other names for it.

Sump just stands for sump.

 

[1979camaro]

actually...a lot of sumps don't contain filter media at all anymore...the majority of people use live rock for their biological filtration and use the sump as a place to add either more LR, a DSB, or simply as a place for equipment. my sump, for instance, is simply for my heater, skimmer, and thermometer...and to add an additional 20g of volume to the system

sump just means a big hole to put liquid in...its an old term adopted for aquarium use...mines use them for liquid runoff to prevent cave-ins...your cars oil pan is also a sump, and it actually works very much along the same principles but for different purposes

 

[1979camaro]

i get the feeling you are looking into setting up a SW setup...i would do some searched through the past topics and look at wayne's sticky as well as get some of the books reccomended in phantomfe3's post...people aren't too likely to want to talk you through all that information because there is just a lot of it

 

[OCCFan023]

yea thast rue, Im not going to set up a SW tan too soon, I just really wanna learn as much as I can before i set it up, im gonna go in the range of a 150-200 gallon one when i get out of college, I just want to learn as much as I possibly can between now and then, can you guys recomend some good salt water books, so I can start reading up?

 

[1979camaro]

sure thing

the best book book on the market right now, imo, is Palleta's New Marine Aquarium...but Fenner's Consciencious Marine Aquarist is definitely worth reading b/c it covers a lot of environmental impact issues which I think are really important...the technology/techniques do change somewhat rapidly, but as of now the palleta book is very current

i think you are taking the right approach...learn learn learn before kill kill kill

online sources are quasi-good. there is a lot of good information, but just because one guy has 12 anemones and 4 different tangs in his 30 gallon doesnt mean it will work regularly, if ever again, so that is one thing to keep an eye on

when will you be done with school?

 

[S.Reef]

I would have to say Palleta's book is pretty good but, his outline of fish is kinda skimpy. Fenner's book however covers a broad range of topics. If you have any questions, wetwebmedia is awesome because bob actually answers your question personally.