DIY trickle filter

[dial]

Hi Guys.

I have a 90G 350L tank and i want to set it up as a marine tank (live rock - some soft corel and fish)

was wondering if its wirth wile me building a trickle filter myself. and how do i go ahead doing it .

1 thing though i want to take the water out of my tank with a pump (dont want to be drilling holes in my glass) is it possible...

and help would be greatly appreciated.

cheers aron.

 

[aresgod]

gennerally not a good idea, either drilled tanks or attached overflows are gennerally the best thing, otherwise you end up with H2OOHH GOD THERES SO MUCH WATER EVERYWHERE...hehe

 

[dial]

"gennerally not a good idea" but it is possible. im realy worried about the drill. (all the fishshops iv been to dont gaurantee a clean cut on your own tank (basicly if it cracks - chips - breaks - leeks) then to bad) and this tank of mine is $900 aus....

what about the building your own trickle filter... (the reason why, is my cubourd space is pretty small so ill build it in 2 sepaerate pieces in 2 cubourds and join it with a length of pipe)

cheers aron.

 

[1979camaro]

there is really no reason to have a trickle filter the LR provides all the biological filtration you will need

you can buy a HOB overflow which is your best bet...as aresgod said, it is difficult otherwise to synchronize flow

 

[dial]

ok. what if i have live rock as the main filtration. what else do i need. skimmer. i already have a canister filter should i keep that running aswell, and should i add a powerhead into the tank for current. i also have 2 filters in the hood of my tank that take water up poor it over pads (or whatever i choose to put in there) then drop it back into the tank, air touches it)

cheers aron.

 

[1979camaro]

i would go with LR, skimmer, canister with no media for flow, other fitlers with no media for flow, and then maybe some powerheads in case of dead spots...you want to move about 10-15x the water vol per hour

 

[dial]

ahh cool. so the LR will do all the filtering. i dont need bio balls or anything (every keeps telling my to put bio balls in the overhead filters).. now skimmer. whats the best sort to get how big, what am i looking for etc.. also light i have 3 already inbuilt fluro fittings. but was thinking of taking the middel fitting out and replacing it with other light <<< what should i use.

cheers aron.

 

[dial]

hmm. so

what sort of light output do i need for a 90Gal tank
also what sort of skimmer do i need.

looking at a LR tank with fish and some soft corel.

cheers aron.

 

[1979camaro]

dont need bio balls

skimmer: depends on if you have a sump and how heavy a bioload you want

if your tank is a standard 48in 90g then you will probabyl want a dual 175w-250w metal halide setup for softies...or a comparable PC setup...the metal halides will probably be cheaper in the long run

 

[S.Reef]

Yup...dont need bioballs.

I like the CPR bakpak skimmers, or the turboflotors. Something of that quality.

For lighting you could do 3-4 48inch fluorescent tubes over the tank. Should be enough for softies.

 

[dial]

or a comparable PC setup << whats a pc setup...

at the most i can only have 3 fluros..

cheers aron.

 

[S.Reef]

PC stands for power compact. The most popular fixtures right now are the coralife ones. These will cost about $260 US...but they are worth the money. You could definatly keep coral under it. With three fluorescent tubes I would make sure they are 40 watt bulbs.

 

[dial]

i cant find any info online in australia in regards to coralife power compact. are there any other brands. and say i was to put to 36 watt fluros in my hood. what wattage would the PC have to be if i wanted to put 2 of them in aswell.

cheers aron.