David R's 2000L tank build

[David R]

I guess the Poret could be cut down in height if you wanted to make the set up a bit more low-profile, or use it stacked horizontally like you are planning. If you do go down that route just make sure there is somewhere for the water to go if the foam becomes blocked and reduces the flow.

Bigger sheets means more surface area, and the water will be flowing slower through the media making it more likely to trap particles. I don't think it would be anywhere near as effective as mechanical media if it was half the size and had twice the flow going through it, it would be much easier for the small particles to be forced through.

If you've got the height, and depending on your stock levels, filter socks are another good option. I made the mistake of only using two of the smaller sized ones on my old 1400L tank and was changing them out every three days, thus going for a more low maintenance option this time. Now my tank has been running a while, I'd be curious to try running four of the longer ones and see what sort of intervals I could get out of them. If I was building a new sump I'd plan it so I could run both socks and Poret, so if I was to go away for an extended period I could just remove the socks and run only the Poret so I don't have to worry about it clogging up.

 

[David R]

I guess the Poret could be cut down in height if you wanted to make the set up a bit more low-profile, or use it stacked horizontally like you are planning. If you do go down that route just make sure there is somewhere for the water to go if the foam becomes blocked and reduces the flow.

Bigger sheets means more surface area, so the water will be flowing slower through the media making it more likely to trap particles. I don't think it would be anywhere near as effective as mechanical media if it was half the size and had twice the flow going through it, it would be much easier for the small particles to be forced through.

If you've got the height, and depending on your stock levels, filter socks are another good option. I made the mistake of only using two of the smaller sized ones on my old 1400L tank and was changing them out every three days, thus going for a more low maintenance option this time. Now my tank has been running a while, I'd be curious to try running four of the longer ones and see what sort of intervals I could get out of them. If I was building a new sump I'd plan it so I could run both socks and Poret, so if I was to go away for an extended period I could just remove the socks and run only the Poret so I don't have to worry about it clogging up.

 

[nzafi]

Get what youre saying. To fully understand I will wait for pics of your sump and how you set it up.

 

[David R]

I'll get the pics when I get my old hard drive.

Oh wait, I'm sitting in the garage right now brewing beer, the sump is right behind me and my telephone has a camera....



I had grand plans to enclose it in a wooden box but never finished it, an old winter duvet inner provides plenty of insulation, I think!

 

[nzafi]

I see what you've done. See I'd rather cut the poret and stack it into a height similar to yours. Those large pieces of poret become really heavy and a pain to clean out.

 

[David R]

They're a little heavy to lift out, but it's not really a problem with nothing above the sump and only the concrete garage floor to drip water onto. Siphoning out that compartment of the sump first might make it easier, and might also make it cleaner as I always end up siphoning it anyway as the water that drains out of the sheets is always filthy.

Cleaning them is a breeze, and I imagine cleaning four big sheets would be easier than many small pieces. I just take them outside and whack them face down on the driveway and rinse them a couple of times. I usually only clean all four every other time too.

 

[David R]

Added a group of 12 young Geophagus Sp. 'Orange Head' that a friend bred, his breeders came from the first lot of the species to be imported to NZ, AFAIK, so I'm pretty excited to have a go at keeping them! I've also got 70 Silvertip Tetras in quarantine at the moment, once they've grown a little I'll add them to the tank and make a decent video.

 

[David R]

Here's the tank with the 70 Silvertips added, they're a real PITA at the moment as they keep going over the overflow! The Lemons always seemed to learn to avoid it and after a week or two I'd no longer have to fish them out of the sump, but the Silvertips seem a lot more prone to going over. I've rigged up an extra barrier in front of the overflow and that's cut it down from 40-50 over night to 10-20, hopefully things improve as they grow.

The stock list at the moment is;
7 Uaru amphiacanthoudes (4 large, 3 small)
2 Acarichthys heckelii (Threadfin)
12 Geophagus Sp. 'Orange Head' (still tiny)
1 Geophagus altifrons (last one from my old group)
6 Pterophyllum scalare 'Peru Altum'
1 Semaprochilodus insignis (Flagtail)
29 Chromobotia macracanthus (Clown Loach)
1 Epalzeorhynchos bicolor (Redtail Shark)
8 Corydoras sterbai (I think! Don't see them out all together often)
2 Panaque nigrolineatus L190 (Royal Pleco)
1 Panaqolus Sp. L002 (Tiger pleco)
1 Peckoltia brevis (Clown Pleco)
1 Sturisoma panamense (Whiptail)
30 approx. Hyphessobrycon pulchripinnis (Lemon Tetra)
70 Hasemania nana (Silvertip Tetra)

Pretty happy with how things look now, but it may look a bit crowded in years to come and I'll reconsider things then.

 

[David R]

Time for another update, but [maybe] not a great one...

I've taken the first steps towards shutting down this tank, in getting rid of a bunch of fish and buying a smaller tank to keep the clowns and eartheaters in. We're on limited water supply at home and with the arrival of our first child (and corresponding increase in laundry!) the big tank is just consuming too much water over summer, plus I kinda need the storage space of the room its in. I've bought my old 6x2.5x2' tank back from the guy I sold it to ~6 years ago and will set that up so I'm not giving up on the hobby all together. I've enjoyed having the biggest tank I've ever owned and have learned a lot in the process, one of the key things being that while size does matter it doesn't necessarily correlate with the enjoyment I get from an aquarium. Perhaps if we had a larger selection of true "monster" fish here I would have made more of an effort to keep it, but or the fish I'm interested in [loaches and mid-sized cichlids] the ~800L-ish 6'er is enough to keep me happy.

And no, the big stump isn't going to be up for grabs!!!

 

[pacu mom]

Congratulations on your first child! You have your priorities right.