Not new but new to you.

[Ghost]

I have a plumbed 130 gallon tank. 72x18x22 is the size and the hole has been drilled in the left center of the tank about 6 inches from the sides.

I'd like to have it as a basic but beautiful tropical freshwater, with at least one african ghost knife fish..then when i'm skilled enough maybe some discus.

All I need for this tank is a stand that can support it, a canopy and someone to wire up the flouresent fixtures I have.

The question is what hardware to use. My thoughts are that i'd want to cycle the tank 6 times per hour for the ultimate in cleanliness. To do that i'd like to make use of the hole fo rus of an undergravel filter, a fluval 404 and the biggest biowheel I can find.

The dilema is should I have undergravel filters or not. I'd like to have a 10 gallon or 20 gallon below the tank to house all my hardware. So that I have nothing but fish and plants in the tank above. I will have to find a way to use the hole for undergravel. Kinda tricky. Usually the hole is on the corner of the tank and the overflow is what drains the tank. Since the hole is in the middle i'll have to rig up some tubing to go to the side of the tank. But with having an undergravel mean way more cleaning than I might need. And with the other two filters going that might be enough filtration.

What do you all think?

 

[crazie.eddie]

I would stay away from the UGF, since it will require more maintenance and not trully intended as a novice filter device. Don't get me wrong, it's a good filter. I've used it for over 7 years. I would just stick with a Wet/Dry filter with a large sump. Then put your heaters in there. I would also put the biggest pumps and powerheads in the sump to thrash the water around to oxygenate the water. Also, instead of the fluval, I would go with an Eheim 2128 Pro II. It has an integrated heater. This way, you would have 2 filters, one to backup the other. Also, 2 heating systems, that would backup the other.

 

[jams.alaskan]

Yep - gotta agree with eddie, wouldn't go undergravel. He uses it, I don't any more, seems like it would work forever and then when I would have a problem it would be a big one and costly to my fish.

ALASKA

I'd live to see pictures when it's up and running

 

[crazie.eddie]

I've used it for over 7 years.

USED... I just got rid of it also, in preperation for a planted tank. Plust just wanted a different look.


Yeah, pix would be great

 

[Ghost]

I looked into the eheim but there is no LFS nearby that supplies eheim so if anything went wrong i'd have to take a ferry to Vancouver to get supplies or parts. So i've sort of gotten rid of that idea. We don't have the greatest in fish stores in Victoria BC. There is a decent marine store and a few places that cater to the new fish guy. The good one lost the original owner was taken over by Hitlers daughter.

But going along with my conscience and your advice i'll not go with the UGF. I agree that the waste underneath is too much to deal with. Although it makes great fertilizer for my plants.

My plan is to make it a theme tank based around the African Ghost Knife fish. I'll check out the other fish native to the same place and buy accordingly. I'd like to have about 3-4 schools of ten fish, khuli loaches and my leapord sailfin that is older than my 4.5 year old son. His name is Mable!

Thanks for the advice and if you guys have any more, feel free to help out.

What would you guys suggest I do with the plumbed hole? Since i'm not using UGF then i'd better angle off the hole with a tube set to overflow in case of power failure. I think i'll have tube go through the center of the hole an angle it to the nearest corner. Then angle it up to the corner as well. I was even thinking of splitting the tube to collect water from both corners of the tank.

Good or bad idea?

 

[crazie.eddie]

Good idea. Most larger systems over 125 gallons have 2 overflows anyways.

If you had a large Wet/Dry filter with a very large sump (rated for 200 gallon tank or more), then it's not necessary to have the canister filter. The only moving parts in there is the return pump, so make sure you have a spare. Also keep a spare heater and any additional pumps or powerheads. That way, you don't have to make special trips to an LFS if you needed to replace something.

 

[Ghost]

Well I will have to buy a canister filter of some kind, and i'll use every other filter in the sump. I'm thinking of UG heating as well.

I really want to plant this aquarium like crazy so i'll really need some good substrate, co2 and lighting to make that possible.

I'm tempted on making a small system for live food as well.

 

[jams.alaskan]

sounds like you have some great ideas! I'd love to see this when you are finished! Planted tanks are beautiful

ALASKA

 

[babyfish]

Hiya and welcome
If you want to grow a great underwater garden then you can't go far wrong with sand and a laterite( or similar)base.
Most of the fish waste ends up around the plant bases anyway and no matter how well you clean some of it will remain for the plants to feed on

 

[sunbot]

wow thats big

 

[sunbot]

hi

 

[Ghost]

One thing that i'm concerned with aquascaping is the constant tear down from larger fish.

I have a 7 inch 5 year old Lepord Sailfin 'Mable'. He's older than my son! And he has the habit of digging himself a corner by the mopani wood and moving the gravel. Sand would look great and help with rooting plants. But i'm just unsure of how to use it. I just bought a Fluval 404 in preparation for getting my 130 gallon and I love it. It's so quiet.

If I use sand where to get it from?

How do I keep it in place and not get all flat or losing it from filtration when it gets stirred up?

How long would you say that it takes to get the biology working in the media?

Thanks

 

[Inchworm]

Hi Ghost

Welcome to the forum.