scotty81 Posted July 7, 2010 Share Posted July 7, 2010 Ok so i'm about to sart a project to setup a 6x2x2 display tank. I plan on making the Cabinet and hood myself over the next few months. I am looking to do the whole setup relatively cheaply. What sought of lighting should I be looking at?? I want to use external canister filters, if I get two similar to these ( JHW 303B Age of aquariums ) would that suffice, the tank will not be for breeding. Will I need any other filtration?? air pumps?? etc. Any other thoughts or sugestions would be apreciated Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogboy Posted July 8, 2010 Share Posted July 8, 2010 what are you planning to keep in there? filtration, and lighting , requirements will change according to what fish and how many fish you are planning to keep in there Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scotty81 Posted July 8, 2010 Author Share Posted July 8, 2010 what are you planning to keep in there? filtration, and lighting , requirements will change according to what fish and how many fish you are planning to keep in there It'll be a mixed Cichlid tank, male only. Probably look at keeping, 20 fish in there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scotty81 Posted July 11, 2010 Author Share Posted July 11, 2010 Can anyone help Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foti Posted July 11, 2010 Share Posted July 11, 2010 i would say that they are on the small side but will do the job if you add a internal filter like a powerhead but you will require to keep an eye on all of them because they would be on overload! there are many people on here who sell filters cheap ones that they no longer need because they have upgraded there systems so i would keep an eye open on here for something as for air pumps no you would not have a need straight away or maybe ever just have a trickle tip on your out let above water level if your out let is hitting the top of your water that would be fine! lighting is something only you can dicide on. i would not go for anything flash but i would get a 6 foot light if i want the hole tank lit up the best part about fish keeping is the research on housing compatability and then fine tuning everything so dont rush this process for its the most important part of fish keeping and the most fun lol i would say for your filtration run a canister but your main filtration should be a sump ! i am sure you can make one you will also need 2 x 300 watt heaters i also sugest getting good quality ones for they are as important as your filtration and lighting on such a large tank! all the best Foti im sure you will soon be asking about stock next. if you are not sure get that out of the way quickly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scotty81 Posted July 12, 2010 Author Share Posted July 12, 2010 i would say that they are on the small side but will do the job if you add a internal filter like a powerhead but you will require to keep an eye on all of them because they would be on overload! there are many people on here who sell filters cheap ones that they no longer need because they have upgraded there systems so i would keep an eye open on here for something as for air pumps no you would not have a need straight away or maybe ever just have a trickle tip on your out let above water level if your out let is hitting the top of your water that would be fine! lighting is something only you can dicide on. i would not go for anything flash but i would get a 6 foot light if i want the hole tank lit up the best part about fish keeping is the research on housing compatability and then fine tuning everything so dont rush this process for its the most important part of fish keeping and the most fun lol i would say for your filtration run a canister but your main filtration should be a sump ! i am sure you can make one you will also need 2 x 300 watt heaters i also sugest getting good quality ones for they are as important as your filtration and lighting on such a large tank! all the best Foti im sure you will soon be asking about stock next. if you are not sure get that out of the way quickly Thanks for the reply, I have some fish in a 3 foot tank at the moment that I will move to the bigger tank. The three foot tank I have is complete unit ( ie. came already to go ) so thats why i'm not all that sure on filtration etc. I see there are other threads on building a sump for this size tank so I will look to them. Thanks again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcloughlin2 Posted July 12, 2010 Share Posted July 12, 2010 Ok so i'm about to sart a project to setup a 6x2x2 display tank. I plan on making the Cabinet and hood myself over the next few months. I am looking to do the whole setup relatively cheaply. What sought of lighting should I be looking at?? I want to use external canister filters, if I get two similar to these ( JHW 303B Age of aquariums ) would that suffice, the tank will not be for breeding. Will I need any other filtration?? air pumps?? etc. Any other thoughts or sugestions would be apreciated Lighting is up to you. The two best options for doing something on the cheap would be either T5 or T8 fluros. I'd go for T5 if it were me - more bang for buck (It has a higher light output for less power consumption) You could pick up a twin T5 light unit for quite cheap off Ben @ Age of Aquariums. It probably isn't worth trying to DIY the lighting unless your a sparky as it will end up looking untidy and almost cost as much as the light unit from AOA. You could look at getting 2 x twin 3ft light units or you could just use 1 x twin 4ft light unit if you don't mind the light being stronger in the middle. Of course this is only if you intend to have no plants in there. If you want plants you need stronger lighting. I've never used the cannisters mentioned, but this is one point you do not want to skimp on. Spend the money now on quality cannisters. Buy well known brands such as Eheim. They are double/triple the price for a reason - they last for years not for 6 months like the aqua nova, orca etc cheap filters last. Trust me I've seen dozens of people who ignore this advice and then who have two either replace parts on their cheap filters or go out and buy the Eheim. The tank is a display, so you want the clearist water possible that isn't cloudy and doesn't have detritus build up on the substrate so Eheims or a sump are the go. (I havn't gone into sumps as you said you wanted cannisters) Airpumps are good to have, I like to run them on those tanks that use a cannister because on the off chance the cannister fails or the return falls beneath the water line and stops agitating the surface I know the airpump is still pumping air into the tank causes surface agitation. Don't buy one of those wall airstones, just whack a single airstone beneath a rock or somewhere hidden. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scotty81 Posted July 13, 2010 Author Share Posted July 13, 2010 Ok so i'm about to sart a project to setup a 6x2x2 display tank. I plan on making the Cabinet and hood myself over the next few months. I am looking to do the whole setup relatively cheaply. What sought of lighting should I be looking at?? I want to use external canister filters, if I get two similar to these ( JHW 303B Age of aquariums ) would that suffice, the tank will not be for breeding. Will I need any other filtration?? air pumps?? etc. Any other thoughts or sugestions would be apreciated Lighting is up to you. The two best options for doing something on the cheap would be either T5 or T8 fluros. I'd go for T5 if it were me - more bang for buck (It has a higher light output for less power consumption) You could pick up a twin T5 light unit for quite cheap off Ben @ Age of Aquariums. It probably isn't worth trying to DIY the lighting unless your a sparky as it will end up looking untidy and almost cost as much as the light unit from AOA. You could look at getting 2 x twin 3ft light units or you could just use 1 x twin 4ft light unit if you don't mind the light being stronger in the middle. Of course this is only if you intend to have no plants in there. If you want plants you need stronger lighting. I've never used the cannisters mentioned, but this is one point you do not want to skimp on. Spend the money now on quality cannisters. Buy well known brands such as Eheim. They are double/triple the price for a reason - they last for years not for 6 months like the aqua nova, orca etc cheap filters last. Trust me I've seen dozens of people who ignore this advice and then who have two either replace parts on their cheap filters or go out and buy the Eheim. The tank is a display, so you want the clearist water possible that isn't cloudy and doesn't have detritus build up on the substrate so Eheims or a sump are the go. (I havn't gone into sumps as you said you wanted cannisters) Airpumps are good to have, I like to run them on those tanks that use a cannister because on the off chance the cannister fails or the return falls beneath the water line and stops agitating the surface I know the airpump is still pumping air into the tank causes surface agitation. Don't buy one of those wall airstones, just whack a single airstone beneath a rock or somewhere hidden. What Eheim canisters do you recomend for that size tank?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcloughlin2 Posted July 13, 2010 Share Posted July 13, 2010 You could look at using either 2 x 2217 eheim classic which I believe are rated at each being capable of running a 600L tank (The rating is over rated though hence why you use two) Or alternatively look at using a single filter such as the eheim pro 3 but the cost will probably deter this as they retail for $800 I think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scotty81 Posted July 14, 2010 Author Share Posted July 14, 2010 You could look at using either 2 x 2217 eheim classic which I believe are rated at each being capable of running a 600L tank (The rating is over rated though hence why you use two) Or alternatively look at using a single filter such as the eheim pro 3 but the cost will probably deter this as they retail for $800 I think. Ok thanks for the help, would that be all the filtration i'd need?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
proformer Posted July 14, 2010 Share Posted July 14, 2010 depending on how wide your 6 foot tank is I would work out the volume in liters and then get a filtration that turns over (at LEAST) 3 times that amount an hour! Given that you put messy fish in the tank I would say better 5-6 times the amount. I would recommend 2 eheim canisters rather than 1 big one because you have peace of mind and time to act in case 1 fails. A good thing to have is a simple power head. the fish like it and it creates an additional current that supports filtration. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcloughlin2 Posted July 14, 2010 Share Posted July 14, 2010 Yes that would be all that would be required. If you want to ensure that you don't have any dead spots in the tank where the detritus settles have a look on Age of Aquariums for wavemakers. They are used primarily for marine aquariums but work great in keeping detritus from settling in large piles of poo in freshwater tanks too. You would only need 1 large or two smaller ones to do the job but before running and buying them see how the 2 x eheim go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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