Need Opinions! Setting up a 2FT Tank

[johntanjm]

After a break from reefing for the past 9 months, it has come to point where i make a decision whether to start a tank again.

I have a 2FTx1FTx1.5FT 80L tank. Current equipment on hand, Eheim 2222 canister and a Eheim 2217 classic canister. In the past I've used wet/dry filters to very good effect but now I'm just wondering if a marine tank can be effectively supported with canister filters. Wondering what you guys think.

As for a skimmer, I would be opting for a hang on or in-tank skimmer because I do not have a sump. RedSea Prizm seems a little too noisy as the tank is in my bedroom and i dont want to sleep with that buzzing sound. Tunze Nano skimmer sounds perfect but it does not have a surface skimmer intake, unless i buy the reefpack which is way costly. last alternative i thot was turboflotor. What do you guys think?

[acidjazz]

Firstly, try not to use a canister for marine. That's old school, like 4-5 years ago concept. If possible can a sump tank.

Ur tank is pretty small, so margin of error is very big. Ever considered gettinga bigger tank? Perhaps a 2 feet cube?

Skimmer choice is subjective. Can always go for weipro or deltec.

Putting a tank in the bedroom isn't a good idea. No matter wad, there will still be sounds from tt overflow, pump, fan, chiller etc etc etc. .

[johntanjm]

Sadly that's all the space that I have. I would really love to have a sump but space constraints because I dont have a custom made table for the fish tank. The table i have now its going to be hard to fit a sump.

Can I ask your opinion as to why canisters are not as good?

[Sapp]

Bro,

I am running a 2ft cube. Used to have a cannister running with a surface skimmer attachment. Had a hang on skimmer too. However, the options of LS and coral which you can keep will be very limited and you cannot stock alot cos the power of cannister filtration is quite limited. You will need to clean the cannister weekly if possible to maintain low detritus buildup in the cannister.

1 coral melted and my tank crashed.. killing all LS. This is how fragile your tank can be when you just use a cannister filter. Plus i was using an underpowered skimmer which is no help at all. No chiller as well... LS were not doing well too...

After all these, i changed my setup to include a sump. Installed chiller and restart my tank. System is so much more stable now and LS and corals are all doing well.

Not that cannister cannot work but frankly, you will have to be very hardworking and be prepared to clean the filter, change water weekly. I have seen reefers with successful tanks using cannister filter. Check out hammy's tank thread cos he is also using cannister filter.

Bottom line, cannister will have alot of restrictions and a sump will provide u more options.

Just my humble opinion.

[jacobus]

bro .. my 2 ft cube is in my bed room .. actually all the tanks i had are in my bedroom ... you 'll get used to the sound ... the splashing, buzzing everything ... plus if u got moonlight ... its damm nice to look at while u trying to fall asleep !

[johntanjm]

Bro,

I am running a 2ft cube. Used to have a cannister running with a surface skimmer attachment. Had a hang on skimmer too. However, the options of LS and coral which you can keep will be very limited and you cannot stock alot cos the power of cannister filtration is quite limited. You will need to clean the cannister weekly if possible to maintain low detritus buildup in the cannister.

1 coral melted and my tank crashed.. killing all LS. This is how fragile your tank can be when you just use a cannister filter. Plus i was using an underpowered skimmer which is no help at all. No chiller as well... LS were not doing well too...

After all these, i changed my setup to include a sump. Installed chiller and restart my tank. System is so much more stable now and LS and corals are all doing well.

Not that cannister cannot work but frankly, you will have to be very hardworking and be prepared to clean the filter, change water weekly. I have seen reefers with successful tanks using cannister filter. Check out hammy's tank thread cos he is also using cannister filter.

Bottom line, cannister will have alot of restrictions and a sump will provide u more options.

Just my humble opinion.

yar brother sapp, I understand exactly where you are coming from. Canisters maybe neat and compact, but a sump is the optimum and with a sump will come a wider range of skimmers and other equipment available for me to choose form as well.

So lets say i fill up both my canisters with just coral chips for bio filtration, but i guess in the long term are you suggesting that my canisters will become like a DSB and excessive denitrius buildup will crash the tank?

I'm favouring the 2 filters because one pumps at 350L/H the other at 440L/H thats 790L/H and i probably cycle the tank's water thru 10 times an hour which is i think its excellent, but yes your advice is defintely for me to take into consideration.

And also with a sump, I won't have space for a mini chiller anymore. At least with the 2 canisters, I still can squeeze a CL85 under the table.

I'm considering the Tunze Reefpack as a all in one solution as well. heard its mechanical filtration is unrivalled. how true is that ah?

[jervismun]

I'm considering the Tunze Reefpack as a all in one solution as well. heard its mechanical filtration is unrivalled. how true is that ah?

I own a reefpack 500 and it is true... it's mechanical filter is pretty impressive for its size... do consider that, that may save you a lot of piping work as you can have everything contained within the main tank... period. And you will also find the water top-up very handy.

Definitely worth considering if you want a fuss free, accident-free setup. IMO, that product is worth every single cent... and unfortunately I am not selling my set

[raydiative]

i have a same setup as u in my room. a 2x1.1.5.. i m using a fluval canister filter, resun 280, and prizm skimmer... to me the noise level is quite minimum... i think bro jacobus will be able to tell u that it is relativly quiet in my room...

but i do agree with bro AJ that if u have not setup anything yet.. a sump will be a better way... more allowance for water evaporation without having the water level in the main tank to drop and also u can hide things like FR and skimmer... just my 2cents worth.. =]

[colinsoon]

i used to have a 2x1x1.5 too. you can check out the link in my signature. documents a lot.

[ervine]

my tank is in my bedroom too.. i'm ok with the noise and all it's the damn heat from the chiller which really gets to me sometimes...

as for canister, I would suggest against it, get a proper sump, build/order a proper stand, do it right the first time...

also, one of the best advice to give newbies is this, "if you are serious about the hobby, get the biggest tank you can afford". Why? Because sooner or later your hands will get itchy and you'll want to upgrade...

Trust me, I've been thru a 1ft cube with hang-on filter all the way to my current 2.5ft with sump and all that...

Have fun!

Erv.

[johntanjm]

hey for all you friendly reefing brothers out there, dont say 2cts worth lar, value all your sincere comments above that.

why a 2x1x1.5 is because i already have it. Can afford lar, but no space also no choice. So i guess I can shall devote the money to better equipment.

So i see i'm not the only one with a fish tank in the bedroom. Well I just want to say something stupid here, u know the humming/droning sound the tank makes, I'm just wondering if it has any long term pscyhological effect on personal health if u listen to it when you sleep. hahahaha! unconsciously it might affect u while sleeping. hahahahha!

what's the price difference between a tunze reefpack and a turboflotor anybody knows? the all-in-one feature of the tunze kinda takes the fun out of building a tank ah. haiz.

so many things to consider. I'm determined to make a good decisoin.

[jervismun]

what's the price difference between a tunze reefpack and a turboflotor anybody knows? the all-in-one feature of the tunze kinda takes the fun out of building a tank ah. haiz.

so many things to consider. I'm determined to make a good decisoin.

Price difference between them is Reefpack around $500 more expensive than the Turbostar Flotor... due to different scale. Reefpack is more complete and as you mentioned, the mechanical filter is very efficient.

Fun of building your own tank? What is there to build in your case

To be honest bro, the glass tank is the cheapest among all equipments. And your 2 x 1 x 1.5 is not very suitable for marine... furthermore I suspect your glass in not thick enough. Saltwater tank usually slightly thicker than freshwater coz saltwater is heavier... u do not want the tank to crack in your bedroom do you?

My advise, if budget is not TOO tight, do consider a proper tank setup. Trust me, I've upgraded 3 times within a 8 month period... setting up a mediocre tank is as good as not attempting at all.

Water volume is everything... your current 2ft is too low in volume to allow stable parameters. If you have space constraint, you should at least consider a 2ft cube with sump. Visit bro Hammy's 2ft cube... you will see how much more fun it can be... coz seriously, you do need the depth to achieve nice rock scaping and sufficient space to place your corals.

[raydiative]

So i see i'm not the only one with a fish tank in the bedroom. Well I just want to say something stupid here, u know the humming/droning sound the tank makes, I'm just wondering if it has any long term pscyhological effect on personal health if u listen to it when you sleep. hahahaha! unconsciously it might affect u while sleeping. hahahahha!

haha... well.. at least i know that my equipments are working?? =]

[johntanjm]

brother raydiative thats one very funny way of putting it lar. hahahaha! reminds me of army days when i tell my recruits pain is good! cos it tells u that u're alive! hahahaha!

brother jervuism, wah super lao jiao reefer. always see u helping out with other people's tanks. Will defintely take into account your advice.

This 2ft tank i have i'm quite confident that its not some normal tank. the glass seems thicker and the joinings very good. I remember that my dad paid quite a extra fair bit for it. not like the ones you just buy from C328, so should be ok.

I'm also planning to stock very lil in the tank. a pair of clowns, dottyback, gobies, doctor shrimp. and it is also unlikely that i'd have any corals. maybe a feather duster and some mushies thats as much as i'd go.

While i continue pondering about the filtration, and skimming, final bit is the lighting. The last time i used a coral sun 50/50 to very good effect. I was thinking maybe i'd have 2 tubes of 50/50 this time. comments?

[stabilo]

I am currenlty on cannister for my 3 x 1.5 x 1.5, my tank is already 1 year and 10 months.....started with FOWLR, 3 months ago moved to LPS and SPS

Here is what my experience......cannister is ok, but if i had a choice I would go for sump (my next tank will definately be sump)......I have really no choice but to use cannister, what is important is what you put in your cannister. I fill my cannister with AM's Cerapore. Another very experience reefer I know, filled his cannister with Biohome and till today his tank is still good!

If you use cannister, your turn over rate for your tank may not be enough, that's where you have to invest in a VERY good skimmer. For me, I upgraded my skimmer to Deltec HOB MCE600, and the results was almost immediate. My new skimmer improved my turn over rate quite considerably. But of course still cannot beat the sump, where you can almost achieve 20X. Since yours is a 2 footer, MCE600 will be excellent for your setup. And remember, if you intend to keep corals, a surface skimmer is definately good to have as well.

Only downside of not having a sump is this, imagine, having to run all your equipment in the main tank, i.e. FR, CR, Nitrate Reductor, chiller pump. My tank now is super messy, and does not look like a showtank. Pumps and wavemakers all over the place To me, my tank macham like holding tank for my next setup!

[johntanjm]

Here is what my experience......cannister is ok, but if i had a choice I would go for sump (my next tank will definately be sump)......I have really no choice but to use cannister, what is important is what you put in your cannister. I fill my cannister with AM's Cerapore. Another very experience reefer I know, filled his cannister with Biohome and till today his tank is still good!

WOOT! a good story about canister at last! but yar lar.. i must agree with you that sump will still be the best. but given the situation's limitations like in your case, its assuring to know that a canister will work.

Can you tell me more about cerapore and biohome? sorry i've never used either of these before

[raydiative]

bro.. i really use the sound as an indicator that my tank is still ok... haha...

anyway i use canister and i place biohome in as well... just a little info for u.. visit the link below!

http://www.reinbiotech.com/biohome.htm

[johntanjm]

bro.. i really use the sound as an indicator that my tank is still ok... haha...

anyway i use canister and i place biohome in as well... just a little info for u.. visit the link below!

http://www.reinbiotech.com/biohome.htm

so where to buy this bio home leh? I have 2 canisters. so i was thinking one canister i fill it entirely with biohome. the other one i will fill with active carbon and rowaphos. is that a good configuration? or is there anything else that would be good to put inside. Also i do not intend to put any filter wool or foam pads inside. is that ok?

[jervismun]

Bro... biohome is good... you can find it in almost all LFS... however, it is advisable to have some form of prefilter prior to the biohome as any trapped food/wastes will create unnecessary problem aka Nitrate Factory. Same goes for the other canister too. However, with the use of filter (first chamber) you will need to maintain the canisters at least once every forthnightly. Remember to use your siphoned tank water to wash the sponges, avoid using tap water

[johntanjm]

maintanece going to be a problem. i was thinking my first layer use fine filter wool. trap all the shit. then just wash that layer lar. as for the biohome, they will never touch tap water. yar lar.. this is one of the things i dread about canisters.

Was looking at the aqua medic biostar flotor. anybody got comments?

[stabilo]

Bro,

My cannister's top layer is a filter, and I wash the filter everyweek. Another thing I am concern with my cannister is this, as it is a mechanical equipment, I do not know how long it will last, cross finger, hope it will last the time my new tank comes. If it breaks down, it will be headache!

As for the AM's Cerapore, you do a search in Google, I think AM have a website that has got a list of all their products. I only can say that Cerapore is not cheap, but i have totally no regrets! The good thing about Cerapore is this, it is designed to house NO3 bacteria (if used submerged)

As for skimmer, bro, if you have the budget, I really recommend the MCE600. Do make a comparison with the rest of the HOBs, you will know what I mean. Only downside is that it is expensive!