75 gallon rebuild

[feh]

Tank: 75 gallon rimless - having this custom built so I have the option of getting it drilled.

Lighting: Tek or Aquaticlife 4 bulb t5ho - suggestions? Both seem to have individual reflectors for the bulbs. The Aquaticlife has built in timer but thats just something else to break without an easy way to replace it so I am leaning more towards the Tek.

Filtration: I currently have 2 Eheim 2073s. I'd really prefer something with lots of options with flow and very easy to maintain and not have a lot of equipment in the tank. I'm considering 2 options: keeping the 2 Eheims and have the tank drilled or a wet/dry.

I don't know alot about sumps and wet/dry filters and have never used either. I could use a little help with making a decision on which way to go with filtration and whether to get the tank drilled or not.

The wet/dry looks like a lot less work to clean than canisters with inline equipment. It also looks like I could get a lot more flow from it. My main concern with a wet/dry is the overflow and a possible flood from a power outage. I'm also not fond of a big overflow box inside the tank. So I'm kind of torn between these two options.

CO2: pressurized

Substrate: ADA aquasoil

 

[Htomassini]

A wet dry and a polishing filter is all u need
Is the tank drilled?
Will it have it's back to a wall?

Give us more details and we will help u

 

[feh]

A wet dry and a polishing filter is all u need
Is the tank drilled?
Will it have it's back to a wall?

Give us more details and we will help u

Its going to be custom built. I have the option to get it drilled and it will back up to a wall.

 

[Gerryd]

Hi,

An option that may work for you is a so-called coast to coast or calfo overflow box..This could go along the back top wall and would not require the use of traditional standpipes and wiers..

You could then drill just the top back to accomodate the coast to coast box. You also then need to think about drilling for the returns and where those will be placed. Keep in mind that each hole requires a bulkhead and is now a potential leak point and cannot be undone once drilled...

Using the twin eheims would work I think but a sump provides good 02 and filtration and allows for the placement of heaters, c02, etc and out of the tank.

I and many others have plenty of experience with both. I have a closed loop canister now and don't think it takes that much more maitenance than the old wet/dry trickle I had Really lots of pros/cons for each style.

Tom, Amano, and others have documented (I think) info that wet/drys are healthier for plants and fish over canisters.

What are your goals for fish and plant load?

I advise starphire glass if you can afford it

 

[Gerryd]

Hi,

If you can provide links to the light fixtures that would be helpful so I don't have to google them.. i am not familiar with all fixtures unfortunately...

That said, I think 2xt5 would be plenty for anything you may want. Think about mounting the light so you can adjust this....

I have a fixture with builtin timer and so far so good after 3-4 months...

 

[Htomassini]

I'll post a light I carry that I like that has bult in timers


Henry Tomassini
www.theplantedaquariumstore.com
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[feh]

Well the reason I was thinking about a 4 bulb fixture was the option of using the 2 outer bulbs to get a better spread.

The 2 fixtures I'm looking at:
http://www.aquacave.com/aquatic-life-48-4-lampbr-4-x-54w-t5-ho-light-brfixture-3310.html
http://www.aquacave.com/tek-light-t-5-48-lightbr-fixture-4-x-54w-lamps-brby-sunlight-supply-691.html

 

[Gerryd]

Hi,

Both are nice fixtures....I have no issue using a >2 bulb fixture as it provides more flexibility overall. I just wanted to point out that using just 2 bulbs for the best spread is best....I forgot to mention the spread part, sorry..

I like the tek as it seems to have a flatter profile and a wider spread. I think the first light may be to much using 54w bulbs...

I have a 12x39w t5ho and use only 5 bulbs about 9" above a 24" tank.

T5ho are pretty bright...

 

[feh]

Hi,

An option that may work for you is a so-called coast to coast or calfo overflow box..This could go along the back top wall and would not require the use of traditional standpipes and wiers..

You could then drill just the top back to accomodate the coast to coast box. You also then need to think about drilling for the returns and where those will be placed. Keep in mind that each hole requires a bulkhead and is now a potential leak point and cannot be undone once drilled...

Using the twin eheims would work I think but a sump provides good 02 and filtration and allows for the placement of heaters, c02, etc and out of the tank.

I and many others have plenty of experience with both. I have a closed loop canister now and don't think it takes that much more maitenance than the old wet/dry trickle I had Really lots of pros/cons for each style.

Tom, Amano, and others have documented (I think) info that wet/drys are healthier for plants and fish over canisters.

What are your goals for fish and plant load?

I advise starphire glass if you can afford it

That is another reason I was looking into the possibility of using a wet/dry better O2 concentration than a canister. I don't intend to do any of the drilling which is why I'm having the tank custom built aside from the use of starfire glass. I'm looking into the overflows you mentioned now. What I'm looking for is a clean clutter free easy to maintain setup. The canisters themselves are easy to clean its the miles of tubing I don't want to clean or the reduced flow from running everything inline. I have everything inline now in a non-drilled tank and its a real pain to break all that down and clean the tubing. Usually takes a min of 3hrs but that also includes vacuuming, cleaning the glass, filters, etc. I will say these Eheim Pro 3s aren't always the easiest to prime too. If I went with those what are the odds I'd have issues getting them primed again after cleaning? The one that runs my co2 reactor requires me to disconnect the hose from the reactor to get it primed back up after cleaning and emptying the water. I have plenty of time to weigh things out and I really do like the fact a wet/dry is a very simple and clean install under the cabinet. It has better o2 concentration, its not a real issue with co2 loss, i don't have to buy special inline equipment to use to keep things out of the tank which also reduces flow. I'm all but convinced on going with a wet/dry setup. I'm just wondering what options I have on the overflow since it will be a rimless and open top tank. I don't want it distracting from the view of the tank

As for fish and plant load I'd really like to be able to keep my options open on fish and plants. Right now I'm just planning to add the fish I have in the current 75 back in. Plants... mostly up in the air. Amano uses a sump on his huge home tank. I'm not sure if there is any Co2 on that tank. I've only seen glimpses of the sump and pics of the tank so I'm not sure of all the specs there.

 

[JJ..Bequiet]

I have owned Tek and aquaticlife, In my humble know nothing experience I will say that the aquaticlife fixture doesnt have "true" individual parabolic reflectors, and isn't the same quality as Tek fixtures are.
But be clear that I am in no way "dissing" aquaticlife fixtures, they have their place.

 

[feh]

Thats one of the bigger reasons I'm leaning towards the Tek fixture.

 

[feh]

Hi,

An option that may work for you is a so-called coast to coast or calfo overflow box..This could go along the back top wall and would not require the use of traditional standpipes and wiers..

Ok so with a CTC overflow box how would you suggest plumbing things? I've been looking at designs such as this after googling around to find info on this type of overflow. This particular design looks like the standpipes would be above the rim of the tank.

http://www.beananimal.com/projects/silent-and-fail-safe-aquarium-overflow-system.aspx

 

[Gerryd]

Hi,

I am not sure you need to go with a bean setup..Most overflows are noisy simply due to the amount of water volume passing through. Many reefers like to have 5k gph lol

If you undersize the return pump you will most likely always have a full siphon which will be noiseless.

If using the ctc overflow design, I would drill appropriately for the overflow for the intakes. I would drill two outlet holes on the back wall for the returns. Use black loc-line to direct the flow as desired.

You can also use an external overflow box and simply use emergent growth to help hide it....

I am doing a slightly larger custom build and have gone through these very questions and issues...they can make decisions very difficult as it then impacts other decisions...

One large eheim with dual intakes and a single return would not be that hard to hide three tubes up and over the back. Or plug the canister into the bulkheads and go closed loop.

 

[feh]

Hi,

Both are nice fixtures....I have no issue using a >2 bulb fixture as it provides more flexibility overall. I just wanted to point out that using just 2 bulbs for the best spread is best....I forgot to mention the spread part, sorry..

I like the tek as it seems to have a flatter profile and a wider spread. I think the first light may be to much using 54w bulbs...

I have a 12x39w t5ho and use only 5 bulbs about 9" above a 24" tank.

T5ho are pretty bright...

You're using 5 bulbs over a 24" deep or 24" wide tank?

 

[feh]

Hi,

I am not sure you need to go with a bean setup..Most overflows are noisy simply due to the amount of water volume passing through. Many reefers like to have 5k gph lol

If you undersize the return pump you will most likely always have a full siphon which will be noiseless.

If using the ctc overflow design, I would drill appropriately for the overflow for the intakes. I would drill two outlet holes on the back wall for the returns. Use black loc-line to direct the flow as desired.

You can also use an external overflow box and simply use emergent growth to help hide it....

I am doing a slightly larger custom build and have gone through these very questions and issues...they can make decisions very difficult as it then impacts other decisions...

One large eheim with dual intakes and a single return would not be that hard to hide three tubes up and over the back. Or plug the canister into the bulkheads and go closed loop.

I'm mostly looking for something that doesn't take several hours to break down and put back together when its cleaning time which is what drew my interest to the wet/dry setup. I've spent as much as 4hrs sometimes cleaning my current setup. Its a real pain to break it all down/clean/put it back together,prime the filters, clean the glass, vacuum, and do a water change. For the most part I vacuum and do a 50% or more water changer, and clean my filters.When the hoses are dirty I break everything down and clean those along with everything else. I do this a minimum of once a month. I'm looking to get away from that. Maybe I'm wrong but the wet/dry system such as the picture of the one I saw Tom had setup looked very simple in design and very easy to clean and maintain. I also really like the benefits a wet/dry offers with better O2 concentrations, ability to add equipment into the wet/dry or sump tank without adding more hoses. These only add to what I like about using one. The bean standpipe configuration was just something I found when googling the CTC style overflow. I do like the design of it because it offers redundancy to help prevent floods. I've looked at other standpipe designs but so far I like the bean style most just want to keep the eye sores out of sight. Emergent growth is an option along with an external overflow. I saw a few reef tanks using this method with an CTC overflow. From what I can tell they're cutting the back of the tank down to create the lip for the water to flow into the box and then drilling the back of the overflow for the bulkheads if I remember correctly. The drawback I see with this is I don't really want things too far out from the wall the tank is going to back up to so I'm still looking at an internal CTC overflow. I noticed a lot of reefers that choose this type of overflow is for the surface skimming ability which even in a planted tank I think might have some usefulness in getting rid of protein film that some tanks have. I kind of like the idea of drilling the back for the returns as well. I don't see it being a real issue as long as the extra head height is accounted for when figuring out what size pump to use for the return. I'm still rolling things around but my main goals are what I stated above something simplier to maintain and clean and the less plumbing the better. Believe it or not my tank gets fairly dirty in a week's time. Its not exactly lightly stocked by my standards. 25 rummies, 2 bushy nose plecos, 4 cories, 5 german rams. Anyway back on subject... aside from the maintenance I still want good flow.

 

[Gerryd]

You're using 5 bulbs over a 24" deep or 24" wide tank?

Both 24" deep and wide... is a 180 gallon

 

[feh]

I'm wondering if 2 returns would work fairly well on the back wall using loc-line split into a V with this piece of wood.

 

[feh]

This is not exactly encouraging. I can buy an ADA 120-P reef tank for less than a custom tank based on the first quote I got. The ADA 120-P with glass overflow is only $900 shipped. Only difference is I get to pick the overflow type and how/where its drilled.

 

[Gerryd]

Hi,

What size is an ADA 120-P?

Custom built tanks will be more expensive than those pre-built.

Picking the drilling points can be pretty important to some folks, so this is NOT such a small thing....

 

[feh]

Yeah, you do have a point about picking drilling points. The 120-P is around 65 gallons. 120cm X 45cm X 45cm (47.24in X 17.72in X 17.72in) Its almost the same as a 75, just a little over 2 inches shorter in height. There is also an RR model of this same tank for like $765 plus shipping. Has a glass corner overflow. The shipping / crating fees seem to be where they get ya. The tank itself wasn't so shocking.