[Ascensive]

i am going to get a 36g or 46g bowfront aquarium and make it a freshwater planted. it will have a stand and a canopy. i do not want to have HOB filters because i dont want to have the tank be so far away from the wall. for filtration i originally thought of getting a small wet-dry filter. get the tank drilled, have an overflow put in, simple as that. but i read somewhere i should not have a wet-dry. what are the reasons for that? i have been doing aquarium maintenance for a few months and have come across a lot of canister filters that start leaking, they stop pushing the water back to the tank, priming it doesnt work, there has just seemed to be something wrong with them in time. if you guys have time, please tell me what type of filtration i should have for my aquarium. for the 46, the 36, id just settle for a canister, I GUESS.
thanks for the replys in advance.
jAy

 

[Gomer]

Not sure what canisters you have had (which brand model?) but neither of my Filstar XP's have given me an ounce of trouble. Great filters, great price. If you have the money, Eheim is the way to go though. Never heard a complaint about them asside from price.

 

[tsunami]

I use a classic Eheim canister filter on my 55g and an Eheim Ecco on my 20g long. I love the classic filter most out of the two. Excellent filter --clear water and absolutely no noise. They've been with me for about a year with no leaks.

The wet-dry is a poor choice for a planted aquarium simply because it causes CO2 to escape from the water.

Carlos

 

[Rex Grigg]

I have never seen a cannister leak if it was assembled properly. Can you provide more details? Such as what brands and models you have seen this happening with?

 

[cpr4cpu]

cannisters will leak if the hoses aren't secured tightly or the o-ring seals are not seated properly when the impeller assembly is put back on.

Even if it doesn't seem possible, keep trying until you get the hose clips or bands on according to the instructions and your cannister won't leak. I have used marineland, hagen, via-aqua, and eheim and only when I do something wrong will they spill more than a drop of water.

 

[MiamiAG]

I use a sump method with my tank. It is an overflow into sump and an external pump to push the water back into the tank. I like it because I use auto top-off and can have probes, etc. in the sump. Chiller is also running from the sump.

I think it was George Booth you actually did a study on whether wet/dry's really do drive off CO2, thereby making them counterproductive. He concluded that there is a small amount of CO2 driven off but that supplemental CO2 would more than compensate.

I use a modified Calcium Reactor as my CO2 reactor and biological filter. However, cannisters are an excellent choice. IME, Eheim has proven to be the quietest and most reliable.

 

[iris600]

About those wet-drys

I am setting up an aquarium and have a wonderful wet-dry that was used at one point for a reef aquarium (which was extremely healthy, the corals were even breeding, but the owner went off to grad school)... So CO2 injection would make up for the C02 loss?

 

[MiamiAG]

Yes. Very little CO2 would be driven off. Now I want to be clear that I am talking about a converted wet/dry, right. Bio balls are not used. It really just functions as a sump.