240 new set up advice

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
S

Sac Fury

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jul 3, 2011
35
0
0
Sacramento.Ca.
I will be stting up my new 240 acrylic in s few weeks. What is best...sump, cannister or combo? What size sump etc... Tanks is drilled for over flow in each corner.
Tank will house Silver Arrow, 2 Lima cat's and several cichlids...
Thanks!
 
I love my sump, but I do think a canister for mech and sump combo would work perfectly. The only thing that stinks about sumps is they evaporate water quickly, but if you keep up on water changes its not a big deal anyway.
 
I would go with a sump and skip the FX5 for the Eheim 2262, or 2260.
 
buckeyenut222 said:
I love my sump, but I do think a canister for mech and sump combo would work perfectly. The only thing that stinks about sumps is they evaporate water quickly, but if you keep up on water changes its not a big deal anyway.
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I agree

swk said:
sump and canister together is perfect IMO. I would run as large of a sump as you can and an eheim 2262.
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This is a perfect combination. Three of my tanks are running sump/canister filter combinations. The sump is great for bio filtration and also skimming the oils and surface dirt off the water. Canisters are great for mechanical. I plumbed my canisters to the bottom of the tank, stirring up the lower water areas and keeping the gravel clean. My sumps need almost no maintenance and they are a great place to hide heaters and plumb in a trickle system to eliminate water changes.

Sump size: Go with the largest you can fit under the tank. The more water in your system the more stable it's going to be. Search Craig’s list for something used and go with at least a 55 gallon.

Canister: I use Nu-Clear/Ocean Clear canisters only because I already had them and the canisters are specifically made for mechanical filtration and easily swapped out/replaced.
 
I just setup a new 300. My original idea was a sump and canister. In the end, I skipped the canister altogether. Seeing as it's an 8' tank I knew is need some water movement in the middle, so I added 2 koralias. 99% of all the poo makes it into the filter sock in the sump and hardly anything rests on the substrate, and if it does it goes to the back.

Not saying canisters can't be helpful, just that I found I really didn't need it. 75 gallon sump with a pair of 7x17 100 and 50 moron socks is all the mech my tank really needs
 
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