Filtration question again

[fishguy01]

OK.....
I know I asked about the wet/dry skimmer type of combo in last thread....However, after reading a few other threads my fear of accident overcome me again.
I know with sump or wet/dry setup there are risk of flooding of the floor due to accidents, i.e. plumbing issue...
I am going to have about 70 lbs of LR in this 72 G tank what other 'good' filtration alternative do I have beside setting up a sump or wet/dry......should I even think of using a canister...
For separate skimmer I am thinking of the Prizm..

[bradwent]

Do you have an internal overflow? You may want to consider having a sump. As long as you pre-test water levels for power outages and make sure you keep the overflow clear, you should not have problems unless some freak occurrence happens.

From reading other posts, you may want to re-think the Prizm skimmer. The going consensus is that the RSB skimmers are rated, by RSB, much higher than they can handle. I also have a 72 and a modified venturi on the RSB Classic. I think the modified Classic may work but I was less than impressed on the performance pre-modification. I would not have kept that skimmer on my 72 without the mods, and the Classic is rated by RSB as for 25-250 gallons. You could go sump-less with lots of internal water movement and buy a hang-on skimmer. I have no experience with hang-ons so maybe someone could offer a recommendation.

Unfortunately, I took the advice of a LFS and bought a wet/dry last Jan. when I set mine up. Now I have a gutted wet/dry (no bio-balls) being used as a sump which houses my skimmer, heater and return pump (and no sump mishaps yet). I have replaced all my crushed coral and added sand for a DSB. This should complete my filtration. Moral of the story is make sure you research by reading on this and other boards and get some good up-to-date books. Doing this could end up saving lots of money and grief.

[Vilas]

Well, I would advise against a wet/dry or cannister filter on a reef in general, but that's another story.
I live in an apartment on the 4th floor, and am far too paranoid to have water going into and out of my 55g reef. That and broke. :) Sumps are a handy place to keep equipment out of the way, and they're good for evaporative cooling, but I don't think they're 100% necessary. On your 72, a hang on back skimmer, lots of live rock and sand, and good care should be all you need.
If you do go for a sump, there are lots of ways of making sure it won't overflow. If it's a reef or FOWLR, however, skip the wet/dry and cannister.

[fishguy01]

What is RSB???
Thanks for the input.....

[bradwent]

RSB = Red Sea Berlin

Same maker of the Prizm skimmer