New tank idea

346 Views 4 Replies 4 Participants Last post by meedee1209, Jan 20, 2011

meedee1209

Discussion Starter · Jan 19, 2011

okay so over the next month or two im gettin a new tank ready for my 6-7month old red devils,

they are currently house in a 55g which i was told before i brought them would be big enough.

now my plans are a 6' x 2' x 2' on a nice new stand (compared to my 4ft tank on rough stand now)

plans are:
-Sand substrate
-Twin Eheim 2215 Canister Filters
-Single Aqua One Heater ** << would i need 2? i did think about getting a 2nd but im unsure
-Powerhead for flow (unsure what brand atm)
-Nice rock display using mainly flat rocks to make pyramid style hides etc.
-Some form of background poster

Only thing im unsure about is lighting, the current light i have is real white but isnt anything special when it comes to brightness. i have seen many tanks with nice bright blue lights and have thought about these... Any suggestions???

Let me know what you think

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Glaneon

· #2 · Jan 19, 2011

Not sure 1 heater will be sufficient.
General rule is 5 watts / 1 gallon
That sounds like a 150-160 gallon tank.
I use a 200 & 250 in my 125.

For water circulation, I found that the Aquaeon Circulators are powerful and cheap; I got a 1250GPH for $40. Mounts easily - however, you may want to tighten the "nut" down a little tighter - I found mine changed angle on me when I was moving the cords around.

Personally, I like 1 FX5 to do the job. (rated up to 400gallons, but that's at the max end)
- 900+GPH no media (why bother?), 600GPH w/media.
Some people prefer eheim and prefer 2 filters... me... too much work and cost.
That eheim only has 164GPH, even with 2, you're only filtering your tank 2/hour. Recommended is 5-10x your volume.

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prov356

· #3 · Jan 19, 2011

-Single Aqua One Heater ** << would i need 2? i did think about getting a 2nd but im unsure

Going to two heaters seems to be the trend, but I've never agreed with it, never done it, never needed it. As for wattage, it ALL depends on room heat and desired tank temp. There's no meaningul or helpful watts per gallon rule. I run a tank the same size as the one you're planning with a single 300 watt heater and it works just fine. If it fails, then the water drops to mid to low 70's, I replace it and life goes on. If it sticks on, it shoudln't have the power to cook my fish before I get home from work and notice a problem.

Running two heaters is intended to add redunancy and safety. Unless you keep your room reallly cold, a heater that fails by not coming on is not going to kill your fish. And two or more heaters in a tank running on their own controllers can give erratic results. They are designed to work within an 'on/off' range and getting two to be in perfect sync is impossible. Going with two on one controller is fine, but only needed for very large systems that require hundreds of watts, or more than you find in a single heater.

Check out Jehmco's site and info on heaters and controlllers. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and there's a good explanation of why multiple heaters on separate controllers may not be a good idea or work the way intended.

-Powerhead for flow (unsure what brand atm)

Consider Hydor Koralias. They push water without driving a jet stream.

HTH

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RRasco

· #4 · Jan 19, 2011

Out of my 8 tanks, I have 1 heater. And the tank it is in is the biggest I have, so technically the one that needs it the least. I don't remember the wattage, but my theory has always been that the water will stay pretty consistent with the room temperature, and it does. Keep in mind I also live in Texas, it doesn't get that cold here. Cold, but not like up north so I don't have to combat arctic temperatures either.

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meedee1209

Discussion Starter · #5 · Jan 20, 2011

thanks for your input

glaneon, have just looked at the FX5 information and am impressed. it will do a higher rated job then the eheims and i really like the idea of the chip in the pump for gas release. im currently looking around at more information but am now realy considering one of these instead

not sure what 70s is in regards to temp, we run celcius

.. haha .. but during winter we have cold nights of like 8.. which i think is 45ish to you ... im going to look into it further before i purchase another heater but in the end its only $40 for another one so if i need it theres no major issues

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