[ua hua]

Has anyone had any experience with an ADHI wet/dry filter or sump?

I'm looking to upgrade my current wet/dry filter on my 90 gal. and after talking to a couple of custom sump builders I don't know if I can justify the cost after shipping that I have been quoted. So for now the custom route may not be an option until I hear back from another builder and see what their prices are. It would be nice to be able to design it the way I want but for the price difference it's not that important to spend that much more for a custom built one. The ADHI one I'm looking at looks to be well built but I don't know of anyone that has used one. I have used an Eshopps and am currently using Amiracle now. The CPR filters don't have the volume that I want and the Proflex, while look nice have some design aspects that worry me a little. This is the model of ADHI that I'm looking at.

http://www.aquacave.com/ADHI-Wet-Dry-BIO-30-Trickle-Filter-by-Aquatic-Design-Habitats-P996.aspx

If anyone has any other recommendations of a good quality pre-built wet/dry or sump I'm all ears.

This is another model that I was considering since I plan to put an ATO in this new setup so I don't need to worry about the filter running low when I go out of town for a few days. The price is a little steep but it looks very well built.

http://advancedacrylics.com/collections/sumps/products/sump-w-attached-ato

 

[ua hua]

Nobody has used this filter or have a friend of a friend that has used an ADHI filter?

If not what other pre built sumps do you use and what would you recommend. I need some more suggestions to take a look at.

 

[ua hua]

Why don't you want to go the diy route? You would save lots of money and would be able to customize it as you want.

Sent from my SGH-I747M using Tapatalk

+1. Acrylic isn't that hard to work with or you can do a glass one for even less. If you go glass then most glass shops will do all the cuts for you and it's very reasonable. In the DFW area you can get glass for ~$5/sq ft including cuts.

I have two young kids and run a business so my free time is valuable to me. This time of year is my busy time and don't want to wait until I have the free time to attempt a build. Its not that I don't think I could build one for cheaper myself but I would rather just buy a pre built one.

 

[ua hua]

I want to bump this up for the morning crowd to see what other people use for pre built wer/dry filters or sumps. Like I said earlier I have experience with Eshopps and Amiracle brands but would like to hear what others use and what you like and don't like.

 

[ua hua]

I don't think you need anything so complicated unless you want to do something like run sock filters, etc...

Check out the CPR line of wet / dry filters. They're a nice basic setup for our purposes and a lot cheaper than the one you linked.

I don't want to use sock filters at all because I have no desire to have to change them out every couple of days.

I know I don't need anything complicated but the thing I really want is one with more volume than what I currently have. Not only for more filter media but also room for my pumps since I have two of them in my current wet/dry. One is a needle wheel pump for my co2 and another for my return pump. I also want room to be able to put my probe holder and make them easy to get to when the need arises. The way my wet/dry is now everything is really crammed in there and when i have to do any maintenance its a pain to work in. The CPR is very similar to what an Eshopps or Amiracle is and want something different than those.

 

[ua hua]

Why not have one custom built for you then?

That was my plan until I got a few quotes back. The prices after shipping were just too much to justify. If I can find a pre-built one that satisfies my needs then that will be great I just haven't decided on what brand or model yet and was hoping to hear from some others that have pre-built ones. I was almost shocked when I got the quotes back. I knew that shipping would probably be the deal breaker but for $600 I would just go with the one I linked that has a built in ATO chamber. I don't need anything that fancy but I do like the dimensions of that one. I have plenty of time to figure it out but thought I would hear what others opinions were before I went forward.

Aaron, do you use a sump on any of your tanks?

 

[ua hua]

Yes, I have a cheapo ProClear or something or other I found on Craigslist that came with a CPR90 overflow box. I like a lot of things about running a sump, but not how much CO2 I go through. The overflow box also makes me nervous, but then again so does the thought of drilling my ADA tank.

There's no perfect solution. There are still a lot of nice things about running canister filters too.

I go through the co2 also but I love the ease of maintaining a sump compared to a canister filter.

I love my eshopps. I agree with ovoiding the sock. I made that mistake. I loaded mine up with submerged matrix and have the sponge block where the wall separates the pump compartment and it works like a charm. It is a pain when I clean the sponge as removing it tends to really release a ton of crud into the sump. Still deciding how to address that. Mechanical filtration is the most troublesome part of sump filtration in my experience. I would pay particular attention to that.

I liked my Eshopps also when I had it but want more volume in the sump and a little different design. After doing some more brainstorming and measuring the ADHI filter is a little too tall for my stand. I want something that will be easy to service and maintain. So the search continues for the perfect sump. I found a Trigger systems sump that has the dimensions that I want and it's only $214. I'm not a very impulsive shopper so I will continue to search until the right one is found.