Refuge vs. wet/dry

[slemaster36]

Need some advice on whether to use refuge or wet/dry. I currently have a 135 that I am making a sump for and can't decide whether to do a wet/dry or refuge. To me the refuge seems a lot more complicated and harder to take care of. I guess maybe this is because all I have ever had on my 75gal. is a wet/dry. Any advice anyone can give is greatly appreciated. Wet/dry just seems easier to take care of I guess. THanks is advance for the help.

[calbert0]

Wet/dry filters are nitrate factories that require much more time and maintenance than a refugium. All you need to do with a fuge is make a deep sand bed, through some sand sifters in there and harvest your macro algae every few weeks.

In a wet dry you have to continually clean your bio-balls and other filter media (socks or screens) or your nitrate levels will sky rocket.

go with the fuge. Much easier to maintain and much more efficient at doing its job. IMO

[trasler]

You never clean your bio-balls in a wet dry! The filter media yes. In my experiance with a wet/dry...my opnion only, it is easy! All I do is clean my filter media once a month everytime I do a water change and thats it ...My levels ammonia 0 phosphate 0 Nitrite 0 nitrate 0 ph 8.2 calcium 440 , 100 gallon tank with seahorses, occellaris clown pair, goby's lots of snails hermit crabs, black cucumber, sand sifting starfish, noby starfish, cleaner shrimp, red fire shrimp, blue tang, naso tang, lots of soft coral and favia, gorganian, and 60 lbs sand and 100 lbs. live rock and 20 lbs base rock.