yarimochi Posted November 3, 2007 Report Share Posted November 3, 2007 In a few months my 960L Tank will be built and ready. The dimensions are: 200cm x 80cm x 60cm (LxWxH). My first question is if I should run a sump made by me which would be about 150L or so or if I should run a fluval FX5 or two or something similar?? How hard are sumps to make and run? Does anyone have any designs that I can have a look at? And also, how does the water get to the sump from the tank? I hear there are a few different methods, but I don't like the idea of space in my tank being used up by one of those overflow boxes in the corner... Secondly, what kind of fish are suitable? Arowana, ornate bichir, fire eel, oscar, clown knife, black ghost knife?? Are all of these fish OK together?? Sorry for all the questions :oops: TIA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henward Posted November 3, 2007 Report Share Posted November 3, 2007 i have a 500+ litre tank, it was designed to keep fijian snapper by the guy that had it. had a over flow. your tank is huge, i would suggest an fx5 and an over flow. the overflow can provide such an IMMENSE! filtration and aeration. though some might say canisters are ok, i mean technically 2 fx5s would be extreme, that would turn over your tank 8 times per hour and filter cycle your tank 3.5 to 4 times per hour, thats more than enough, but if you put an over flow, you can put a tiny corner of your tank as over flow and would only take a few litres off it and is well worth the time. easier water changes, and so on. i would suggest one fx5. for the sump, any sump would do. go on "nzs premier auction site" and look for a 2 or 3 foot 100 to 150l tank, you can pick one up for 25 - 30 dollars. this would be sufficient. use this for your biological filtration tank. dont worry a bout having filter wool in there. this is what i do. in the tank i have 3 internals . fluval 4 x1 and jebo 4 series internal powerhead filter x2. and i have bio filter media in this sump, as well as my heater. you can literally fill up that tank half way with scoria, pummice, chipped driftwood and if you have the cash - buy some good bio media. the internals will pick up solids that go into there, and cleaning would be easy, you just pull it out of the sump. and filling up you just pour it onto the sump and the return pump will put it into the tank, less disturbance in your tank. in terms of return pump they are cheap and common, you dont hvae to have a huge one, though you can cos this will turn over the water sufficiently and provide more than adequate bio filtration. the fx5 (by the way is utterly brilliant i hvae one0 will pick up large and intank dirt and stuff, and filter further, also fill the centre bits of the fx5 with bio media. this keeps my water so clear, i have a jardinii, tyre track eel, albino bichir, 2 plecos in there, and i feed my jardinii lots, it will eat 2 to 5 shrimps a day plus the ox heart i throw into the tank for the others and 1 cube of blood worm per day. long email but just want4ed to highlight the advantages of a overflow and sump Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henward Posted November 3, 2007 Report Share Posted November 3, 2007 all thos efish should be ok but in my experience, bad experience, clown knife when gets to 1 foot, will munt up your other fish, they are nasty! wow! but beautiful, i want one one day. personally i would put silver aro, jardinii or red arowana in your tank, and put 3 to 4 bichirs and a pleco. HFF mt roskill has some brilliant fancy plecs right now. silver aro would love that tank! and with that sump idea above, you would not have to change the water frequently the bio filtratoin would take care of it. dont feed aro oxheart buy from pak n save packet shrimp, 2 kilos for 8.99, so cheap! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snookie Posted November 3, 2007 Report Share Posted November 3, 2007 thought you had a knife henward (Royal) knife /clown Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henward Posted November 3, 2007 Report Share Posted November 3, 2007 yes i did but over night, it ripped up my jardinii royal knife it was about 19 inches fromthe shop, i wanted my jardinii more and it was worth more so i returned the fish to the shop. dont have any room for it but i did have one briefly though, it was huge! so damn aggressive though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
candy Posted November 3, 2007 Report Share Posted November 3, 2007 Clown knife and ghost knife should not be kept in the same tank togeather. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jayci Posted November 3, 2007 Report Share Posted November 3, 2007 fish for a 960l tank. What about 960 cardinal tetras? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yarimochi Posted November 3, 2007 Author Report Share Posted November 3, 2007 Yeah LOl if i had the money for so many tetras i would. when I first get the tank im going to put 1 neon in and see how he likes all the space! I went into HFF in ALbany today and talked to them about sumps. they said it would be too noisy for my bedroom?? what is everyones opinions on the noise created by sumps and the overflow section?? Too much for sleeping at night?? soundproofing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HaNs Posted November 3, 2007 Report Share Posted November 3, 2007 Sound proofing and quite pumps FTW Im going to have a sump on my big tank and will have 2 2800LPH return pumps in the sump...........will be in my room so will need sound proofing a closed cell foam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
candy Posted November 3, 2007 Report Share Posted November 3, 2007 I have a sump in my bed room and i sleep fine with it right next to the bed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henward Posted November 3, 2007 Report Share Posted November 3, 2007 there are ways ot make the sound of water flowing down less noisy and sound like a waterfall. you might even dream that you are in a tahitian rainforest... but i dont know, the sound on mine isnt that loud but i wouldnt be able to sleep with it, im sensitive to that so cant gve advice. if thats the case, maybe 2x fx5 is the best way or 1 fx5 and 2 cheaper canisters. but equals to the same money anyways Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firefish Posted November 3, 2007 Report Share Posted November 3, 2007 I have a 100l tank in my room with LOUD filters - especially when the water level is low! I think that no matter how loud it is you will get used to it ... not that I know anything about sumps :oops: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HaNs Posted November 3, 2007 Report Share Posted November 3, 2007 Will be more cost effective to run a sump than 2 fx5's IMO More media in the sump as well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henward Posted November 3, 2007 Report Share Posted November 3, 2007 agreed totally agreed, in fact, if you get a very veyr power ful pump, or ore 3 pumps, you can easily out filter 2 fx5s or one even. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yarimochi Posted November 4, 2007 Author Report Share Posted November 4, 2007 yeah I think I will have a sump becuase I don't like anythig in the tank like heaters and it also makes the experience of owning an aquarium a more personal experience. what do i use for sound proofing? and also, you can have a corner overflow right? ie: one pane of glass making a triangle in the corner? How can you stop the gurgling sucking noise that sounds like a drain if you have an overflow? tia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted November 4, 2007 Report Share Posted November 4, 2007 Make a durso overflow.. http://www.aurx.net/saltwater/durso.html and keep searching you will find more info and designs You might almost have to do 2 overflows in a tank that size, you would need a great big pump though, there is a big 9000lph one on an auction site at the moment for $120 that might do the trick which is very cheap.. If you cant be bothered drilling your tank building overflows etc don't worry about it and buy a couple of FX5's! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HaNs Posted November 4, 2007 Report Share Posted November 4, 2007 what do i use for sound proofing? Polystyrene, closed cell foam....umm mind blank(long day) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yarimochi Posted November 4, 2007 Author Report Share Posted November 4, 2007 cool. 2 fx5s would be so much easier but also so much more boring. I try to make my sump as quiet as possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markoshark Posted November 4, 2007 Report Share Posted November 4, 2007 If you have a look @ the marine Durso style overflows, you should be pretty set. One would work fine. What you "could" have, is a section in your sump for breeding certain types of fish for live food - IE, convicts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David R Posted November 4, 2007 Report Share Posted November 4, 2007 I had a 5x2x2' tank in my bedroom with a sump and an open 4x2 stand, you very quickly get used to the noise. It was lucky I could hear it, because one night I woke up around 2am it sounded really strange. The water would stop flowing for around 20 seconds then go WOOOSHH!! like someone flushing hte toilet. After listening to it for a few minutes trying to figure out what was happening, I got up and turned on the light to find my 14" fire eel in the overflow trying to swim down the pipe to the sump, but he was too fat! His head would block the hole while the water would build up, then he'd give up and pull out and all the water would go rushing down. Aaaaaany way.... I'd say a big sump set-up would be fine. You don't need a canister as well, and its just another big expense. [it won't hurt to have one tho, but they're not necessary] Get the sump custom made by who ever is doing the tank (the mught do you a deal) and make it so it will fit nicely under the stand and so it has a big tower for the media above and below the water. You could convert an old tank, but you'll probably end up with something that doesnt make good use of the available room under the tank. Two FX5's might be easier to set up, but they'll be much more expensive [so not really easier if you consider the amount of work you'll have to do to get the money to buy them!], and no where near as easy to clean and maintain as a large sump. You've got plenty of choices for fish. You could go with a random assortment of monsters like the big tank at HFF Albany (aro, dats, cichlids, clown/royal knife, large barbs etc), or something with more of a theme like a large central american cichlid community. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dixon1990 Posted November 4, 2007 Report Share Posted November 4, 2007 You could do a planted discus tank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evil_elmo Posted November 4, 2007 Report Share Posted November 4, 2007 have you looked into getting the eheim 2080 instead of the fx5? i've have two fx5 at the moment but will be upgrading to the 2080 in the next couple of months due to a few things that annoy me about the fx5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yarimochi Posted November 5, 2007 Author Report Share Posted November 5, 2007 speaking of being annoyed by the fx5, what is everyones opinions on this filter? reliable? easy to maintain? powerful? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evil_elmo Posted November 5, 2007 Report Share Posted November 5, 2007 this is why i'm annoyed with it http://www.fnzas.org.nz/fishroom/fx5-vt25734.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Afrikan Posted November 5, 2007 Report Share Posted November 5, 2007 I've heard mixed reviews on the fx5, some say it's not cracked up to what it is made out to be... others like them... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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