hmm is the eheim 2227/2229 wet/dry filter the basically a freshwater ecosystem, refugium type thing but in a canister? it seems to me, they do the same thing. is one better than the other?

An Ehiem 2227/2229 doesn't even come close to providing as good biological filtration as a true sump style wet/dry filtration system.

I agree the idea is the same. But then again, the bio-wheel type filters use the same idea... having an area for the beneficial bacteria to grow where they are exposed to high levels of oxygen.

An Ehiem 2229 has a filter volume of 1.9 gallons, 1.59 gallons of that space is for their EHFISUBSTRAT biological media.

My sump adds 15 gallons of water to the total volume of the tank and contains 7 gallons of bio-balls.

There is no doubt that Ehiem makes good products. But for the same amount of money as an Ehiem 2229 you can buy a true sump style wet?dry filter system that will blow the Ehiem away.

hmm ok.. haha. so sump style wet/dry it is! i was originally thinking of one of these... then i saw the price, and figured... meh. but now i want a eheim 2229, but while looking on ebay, i realized.. hmmm they're about the same price... but the sump also offers an easier way to test the water and stuff.. excellent!

change of plans now. haha. gosh... it's a good thing i didn't win the 3 eheim's i've bid on. haha...

75 gal. wet/dry sump set

hey rick... does this look like a good deal? or should i purchase the different items individually and make my own "system"?

(i'm not a very "handy" person, so although i originally thought of putting together one of my own from scratch a while ago, i dunno if that'll be a good idea.)

::edit:: i just realized that one has the "skimmer" thing going straight into the sump... no "trickle" part to it... i just got confused... does that even work for freshwater?

Nope, a protein skimmer won't do you a bit of good on a freshwater tank. The one I was talking about in my last post, that the price was equal to an Ehiem 2229 is this one.

http://www.marinedepot.com/md_viewItem.asp...roduct=CRSYS200

It has everything you'd need, including an overflow box, pump, hoses and a sump with biological media.

I'm not suggesting you buy this one, It's probably way bigger than what you need, but it will give you an idea of what to look for on E-bay.

Rick

OoOo... ok. that's a little bit different from my initial idea of a sump/ eco-system for a freshwater tank.

i know when i first thought of the idea of a sump filter, i was talking with reefman, so my idea of it was kind of like a saltwater wet/dry sump, and instead of the protein skimmer in the picture of that one i was looking at, the trickle thing was there, and in the second compartment, was i think some type of sand substrate with freshwater plants growing... like grassy stuff or something, and then it went into the third compartment which i think had the pump that pumped the water back into the aquarium. kind of like a refugium except for freshwater... so reefman called it a "eco-system" type sump instead of a refugium.

haha so is the thing i'm thinking about even possible? or would it be easier to just get a bio-media filled sump?

thanks for the help rick!

Hi Emily, what you described is definitely possible, and isn't all that difficult. But IMO... For your 72ga bow front I think a bio-media filled sump is a better option.

My reasoning behind this recommendation, is that your base is only 48 inches long and don't think you can get a big enough sump under your tank to grow enough plants to do a thorough job of filtering the water in your aquarium. There is also the cost of additional lighting to consider.

I think if you want to use plants to help remove pollutants from your aquarium water, growing them in the aquarium would be a better option.

hmm... okie doke! i shall now begin my search for a nice sump.