A Few Questions

[scoloujo]

Right here goes,
1, I have been given a 46 gallon tank with a 25 gallon sump. At present I am running a eheim 2213 in a 30 gallon but was told I could use this to pump the water from sump to tank, will this be strong enough and is it worth using the sump as I only have livebearer community tank?plus I have live plants and heard sumps remove the co2 so I would need to replace that, right? If I dont use the sump i will get another filter to run along side but how do I go about filling the hole in the tank do I buy a piece of glass slightly larger than hole and stick over the top? what with.

2, I need to set up lights as it came without any, I only want 2 tubes. what fittings, tubes do I need? the tank is 48in. they have to fit to a lid as I have cats and they would love to get a paw or 2 in it.

Any help on any of the above would be greatly appreciated. I am out for the day so will not be replying till this evening if you have any questions that I haven't answered.

 

[scoloujo]

Please, Anyone?

 

[lyotim88]

no, you dont need a sump it would create too much agitation to hold enough co2 most likely. I've never had to fill a hole permanently but i would say that just by patching it you'll get a leak eventually. I would think the best way to seal it off would be to get a bulkhead n put a valve on it and keep it closed

 

[scoloujo]

Sorry bit thick what is a bulkhead? I am thinking that the sump is overkill, so will definately need to close off the hole.

 

[lyotim88]

Sorry bit thick what is a bulkhead? I am thinking that the sump is overkill, so will definately need to close off the hole.

[URL="http/pet-supplies.drsfostersmith.com/search?af=type%3Aproduct&view=grid&w=bulkhead&visitorID=Timothy&cartcount=5&wishcount=0&subtotal=227.95"]http/pet-supplies.drsfostersmith.com/sea...subtotal=227.95[/URL]

im not even sure if the bulkhead idea would be best. i just can't see a patch holding forever, i may be wrong though.

 

[dojima]

I don't have any experience sticking glass together so I would go with the bulkhead, add a 90 degree bend and point it upwards (add small piece additional straight pipe if required) and cap it , the water can't go any higher than the level in the tank. Above parts would be cheap as well.

How about this lighting unit with individual reflectors?
http/www.charterhouse-aquatics.co.uk/cat...ors-p-1635.html

Or you want to make your own?

 

[scoloujo]

I don't have any experience sticking glass together so I would go with the bulkhead, add a 90 degree bend and point it upwards (add small piece additional straight pipe if required) and cap it , the water can't go any higher than the level in the tank. Above parts would be cheap as well.

How about this lighting unit with individual reflectors?
[URL="http/www.charterhouse-aquatics.co.uk/cat...ors-p-1635.html"]http/www.charterhouse-aquatics.co.uk/cat...ors-p-1635.html[/URL]

Or you want to make your own?

I would prefer to build my own as I need to build a lid anyway and dont have a lot of funds. So just a starter unit for twin bulbs I gues but I dont understand the w bit I would like one blue and one white that I can run seperately. Any ideas thank for help so far

 

[tqfan]

hey, i'm also doing what you are doing, setting up a 4ft tank from scratch.

we are building our own hood, and will probably be using 42" bulbs. i think i've settled on an Arcadia Ultra seal Double 36-38w Control Unit. the only other one i could find was the hagen glomat, but the tubes seem to be close together, where as with the arcadia i think they could be set at the front and back of the hood, although don't think it matters if it's a smaller width tank.

i asked on a thread here about lighting units, so you might like to check it out. i think the arcadia unit has two separate controls, so you could have one light on, and one not.

i also asked about which tubes, here but had no replies yet.

in the first thread there, i was told i might only need one tube, but i will be having plants, so i asked in the second thread about which to use.

the only thing we seem to have stalled on, is how to build the actual hood. we've done that before, a good few years ago, but we don't want it to be too heavy on the tank.

hope this gives you a few lighting unit ideas!

 

[Jdubz]

there are loads of good lighting units on ebay for £25(were i got mine from)

And there are some good diy hood building tips on google and on here. i put aquarium hoods in google and found a diy guild.

I've just bought a 3 foot tank and got to make a hood for it... but ive only got a 18" tube light so got to make a special reflector so it light both sides... should be ok as its a fry rearing tank and got no plants.

 

[scoloujo]

Hubby is building the hood in the pinned topic and we are building the cabinet into an alcove.
Right I will keep a look out for a T8 double starter and get 2x 40w bulbs, I.ve got about a month so plenty of time to shop around. Thanks for all the advice.