wet dry vs refugium

[delta1190]

ok some opinions on wet dry vs refugium or converting a wet dry to one ,here is your chance to share vast knowledge with me the newbie

[Travis8896]

Refugiums are very important to reef tanks because they do two major things they suck up excess nutrients so you don't have as much algae in the main tank and they also act as a breeding spot for pods an important food source for many reef fish.

[Tony]

refugium is far better than a wet/dry.  not only will the bio balls in the wet dry get caked up with calcium over time, and you will either want to shoot yourself in the face cleaning them, or buy new ones, but they don't have the same kind of room that you would get with a refugium, leading to less filtration.  You don't have the macro algae or any other plants you decide to put in there.  You don't get the pods reproducing and feeding your tank(the drip tray in a wet dry will actually kill any of them off that make it into your overflow), you have far more room for rock, plus your sand bed in a refugium, where a wet dry, you could put rock, but they are typically always smaller.  Wet/dry's are great for freshwater, but when it comes to saltwater, you can't beat the refugium.  A wet/dry would still work, but not nearly as effectively

[delta1190]

so if i come across a wet dry how do i convert it

[Tony]

Honestly, I would just pick up a tank and convert it into a refugium.  Not only is a standard tank probably going to cost less than a wet/dry, but you will get more room with the tank.  A wet/dry could be converted into a sump, but often times it will not have the room for the actual compartment that makes a refugium what it is.  It would be far easier to just pick up a tank you can throw under your current one, and use silicone and plexi or plastic to compartmentalize it.  It will be cheaper, easier, and give you more room than a converted wet/dry.

[Amstar]

+1 buy a used tank.. doesnt even have to be pretty.  then design it how you want it to work as well as what is best for the equipment that you want to put into it.

[PlayeroPuertoRico]

Refugiums work great with proper maintenance as with other systems. I personaly just use a sump system with heavy protein skimmer, filter media such as a sock or filter floss, and there I keep all the probes and dosing outlets nice and neat, also I water vacuum it once a month.
Only problem I would say with refugiums and wet dry is that over time they tend to build up detritus and and lead to gradual fouling of the tank water, if not maintained carefully.

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[Neogenesis]

I agree with PuertoRico here, get a sump with skimmer setup first.......if you have enough room build a fuge into into it.  How large of a tank are you working with?  Also...is it setup already or are you building the system now?

[Tony]

Yeah, I was going under the assumption that he already planned on using a skimmer.  Most people who are setting up a refugium already have one in place, and just want those extra nutrients sucked up.  That's why I was leaning so heavy away from the wet/dry.  You want a sump that is big enough to fit both your equipment, and refugium in if you are looking into it.  You really have to maintain anything you set up for almost any aquarium though.  There are very few instances where you can set something up and not expect to have to do any maintenance on it without it causing problems or ceasing to work.

[delta1190]

haven't started yet looking into a tank and set up has wet dry not decided yet

[Neogenesis]

Perfect then....you can set it up right from the start.  My recommendation is scrap the wet/dry unless your going fish only, and put the largest tank you can in the stand.