Questions From A Stranger

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lukefang

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jan 28, 2008
67
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singapore
Please pardon my unfamiliarity and ignorance in the husbandry of fish keeping, and as such, I would like to seek your opinions in some matters regarding the setup of my new tank.

I would like to set up a 5x2x2 tank and was thinking of running 2 large external canisters/filters for filtration. Basically I'm looking at either Fluval or Eheim. Which one would you choose? and why?
factors that would affect my decision would be:

1. the volume of medias it can hold
2. the noise level
3. the flowrate

I know this depends hugely on the fish stock. What I have in mind -

An Asian Arowana - Panda Gold
An endlicheri endlicheri
A Datnoid, either a NTT, or ST.
and if I have the spare cash, a Stingray.

So, will the 2 large canisters be able to handle the bioload well enough to give me crystal clear pristine water conditions? and of course I'll be doing 30-50% water changes weekly.

or will a SUMP filtration be better? if so, how large would the SUMP tank need to be?

Lastly, I would like to thank you for taking time off to entertain a mere stranger and I sincerely appreciate it.
 
Fluval FX5 x 2

Able to hold a large amount of media

Almost completely silent

500 GPH + flow rate

Available on E-bay for $200 (free freight)
 
Potts050;2542846; said:
:ROFL: ^

A more serious answer though...

My advice would be consider a sump filtration setup and size your pump to do three water changes per hour. Those are going to be big fish and since you want pristeen water...go big or go home!
Click to expand...

:iagree: Id go with this option..
well im slightly biast in terms of cannisters vs sumps..
but i would use a sump filtration whenever its possible instead of a cannister, especially when housing big expensive fish..
 
I also side with the sump suggestion, as well as the 3 (to five) time turnover rate. A lot of people will suggest ridiculous levels of flow, but when using a well designed sump (wet/dry) it's completely unnecessary. I've found that even with heavy stock levels, you'll never be able to detect nitrite or ammonia when using a large amount of bio media in a sump @ 3X system volume per hour. You can get better mechanical filtration with higher rates, but that kind of defeats the purpose/efficiency of a wet/dry.

If you find that the mechanical filtration of a wet/dry is lacking (I never have) you could always add a cheap canister with a high flow rate. By cheap I mean what is previously suggested, not inexpensive lol.
 
Thanks for all the inputs and suggestions, really appreciate it.

The problem is I'm not too sure how to go about setting up a sump filtration for my tank, and the 2 external canisters make me much easier for a n00b like me.

anyway, how large must the sump tank be? dimensions?
 
lukefang;2543695; said:
Thanks for all the inputs and suggestions, really appreciate it.

The problem is I'm not too sure how to go about setting up a sump filtration for my tank, and the 2 external canisters make me much easier for a n00b like me.

anyway, how large must the sump tank be? dimensions?
Click to expand...

There is quite a bit of discussion on this in the DIY threads. Here is a good place to start your journey;

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=156089&highlight=sump

A sump will cost less in the long run, be easier to maintain and if sized right can provide extra capacity allowing you to add more tanks to your system....And so begins the gentle spiral farther into the hobby; the whirlpool ride into becoming a Monster Fishkeeper!
 
rob22;2543699; said:
the more flow the better
Click to expand...

flow is worthless without the proper home for bacteria.
 
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