Marine To Chichlids - Filtration Help

[jwmachon]

Hi Guys and Gals,

After a long hard decision I have decided to move from marine fish to cichlids its been a very hard decision but I believe it will be the best and most enjoyable move for me

Over the last 2 years I have kept marine fish and spent alot of money on them over 4000 pounds over the last 1 year excluding stock this was including upgrade I have had 2 wipeout and not willing to spend any more money on it to be heartbroken. So I have now decided to move onto the cichlid side after seeing some stunning display tanks.

This is my equipment list and a couple of photos.

Tank is a Custom Build 5x2x2 which is a stunner - cost 1600
MP40Wes Magnetic Pump - 325 quid
Sump - 4ft including top up area - price was with tank
KR-92 Aquarium Light cost 1800
ATC-300 Heater/Cooler controller powering 2x 300 watt heaters - cost 70
Eheim 1262 Return pump - cost 100

Im going to fill tank with ocean rock and coral sand substrate - not too much rock


Im getting test kits later today to test my tap water to see what the parameters are not sure if my saltwater test kits will be ok will have a look.

So my only really question is filtration as with marines I have had live rock so this is now not a viable option.

Im wanting to convert my sump into the filter without any modification really

As you can see in the picture there is a big main section free then 1 small section free and then the return pump which is a eheim 1262 my inital plans where the following

In big section have a filter sock then fill soace with bioballs dont know how many i will need though, 2nd section alfagrog.

However this is my problem area so all recommendations will be greatly appreciated

Thanks for been here and look forward to getting up and running

 

[jwmachon]

Here is some more of my pictures of my sump to help on my filtration and my plan of what im thinking to do the sump is bigger than the photos look especially first section

There is a big section then another 2nd smaller section then a 3rd section which houses the return pump

First section im going to use a filter sock then im going to split it with egg grate to make a dummy section first half prefilter second half will be pot scrubbers 40 of them is this enough?? or 1000 bioballs
2nd section will be alfagrog or lytehag as much as i can fit in it will be in a mesh bag easier to maintain
3 section return pump

I will also but a section for prefilter after the filter sock

Do this sound ok.

Thanks

View of big section that im planning to split into to first half prefilter second half bioballs or pot scubbers

As above

As above

This section will be filled with alfagrog or lytehag

This is return pump section may upgrade to a higher rate pump later but this is quite powerful

Here is some more of my pictures of my sump to help on my filtration and my plan of what im thinking to do the sump is bigger than the photos look especially first section

There is a big section then another 2nd smaller section then a 3rd section which houses the return pump

First section im going to use a filter sock then im going to split it with egg grate to make a dummy section first half prefilter second half will be pot scrubbers 40 of them is this enough?? or 1000 bioballs
2nd section will be alfagrog or lytehag as much as i can fit in it will be in a mesh bag easier to maintain
3 section return pump

I will also but a section for prefilter after the filter sock

Do this sound ok.

Thanks

View of big section that im planning to split into to first half prefilter second half bioballs or pot scubbers

As above

As above

This section will be filled with alfagrog or lytehag

This is return pump section may upgrade to a higher rate pump later but this is quite powerful

 

[Wills]

Seems a real shame to shut down such a stunning tank!! But I can totally understand, I tried marine once, very breifly but after emptying my wallet in a few weeks I realised I couldnt keep up with it haha!!

Are you planning to keep African Cichlids or American Cichlids? Generally speaking you need a lot of biological filtration for both types due to the overstocking methods of Africans and the mass and waste producing ability of some of the Americans.

What is the liters per hour rating on your pumps?

For me I would go with the 1000 bioballs or how ever many you can fit in. I would also get a layer of filter foam (not floss) in there as well to trap a lot of the solid waste before it gets through.

Wills