First Tank-Setup Help/Critique

[UDGags]

I made a similar post of at plantedtanks.net and wanted to get from feedback from here as well.

I've been looking, reading up on and learning about planted tanks for the past few weeks (so much to learn but fun) and I've found these forums one of the best source for information. I'm looking at setting up my first tank and wanted to run my setup/equipment list past people here to get feedback before I do something stupid.

I'm more worried about doing it correct rather than the cost.

My goal is to get a beautiful planted tank and I'm leaning towards a Discus tank but not set in stone yet on the fish.

Setup/Piping Diagram



Equipment List

Tank
125 gallon (72” L x 18” W x 24” H)

Filters + Heaters
2x Eheim 2180- 450gph for a maximum flow rate of 900gph (7.2x), each has a 500W heater for 1000W (8W/gal) total.

CO2 System includes Reactor
GLA CO2 Regulator
Check Valve
Aqua Medic CO2 Reactor 1000

Control System w/Probes
Neptune Apex System includes pH and temperature probes.

UV Filter
25W Gamma UV sterilizer

Lightning
72” Nova Extreme Pro (468W more than plenty and will cycle various 10k/6.7k bulbs)

6-6700k bulbs to replace the 460nm bulbs

The main questions I'm wondering are

• Does my piping diagram look correct? Do I have things in the correct order? Do I need something else in there (e.g. an additional pump)?
• Any other pieces of equipment I should consider? Are my choices for my equipment good or would you recommend something different?
• Please critique and give me any feedback you feel is warranted.

Thanks ahead of time for taking the time to help me.

[Philosophos]

An extra filter using loc line for the intakes/outputs or some powerheads would be good to keep high current around the plants. I don't think it's a necessity, but I like to push my filtration up into the 10-15gph/gal range.

The lighting seems pretty intense, but I'm suspecting Nova runs multiple ballasts/switches that you can use to compensate.

Don't bother keeping the UV sterilizer on 24x7. It's a good tool for controlling suspended algae or helping along with outbreak of disease, but I haven't found any other detectable benefits. On the other side of things, there's some conjecture about mild harm it may cause. While the fish/plant health arguments are unsubstantiated, the added bit of cost on your power bill isn't.

-Philosophos

[UDGags]

Thanks for the advice.

Yeah, I originally was going to try and get at least 10 gph/gal range but wasn't sure how critical it was. I had seen a lot of setups that were way under that amount but still looked very good. I'm not sure I follow the "loc line" or exactly how I would plumb it all.

Correct, I would never have all the lights on at once. It has a couple controls/timers for the various lights.

That was my plan for the UV....I figured if I was plumbing everything now I might as well put it in and run it maybe 1 day a week just to clean things up or run it more if I have an outbreak.

[Philosophos]

The loc line is something you run in under the substrate with a pile of splitters so you've got nice flow coming in/out everywhere. Pre-planning your plants would be important with a setup using this stuff.

The UV is definitely good to have ahead of time; if you've got a bunch of people coming over in a day and for some reason there's an outbreak of BGA in the column, you want it gone fast.

Flow rates really depend on what you're doing with a tank in terms of height and density. You don't need tons for a sparse tank with a lot of low growth. If you're doing a ton of stems though, that's a different story.

-Philosophos

[Gerryd]

Hi,

Please note that the UV placed between the canister output and the AM1000 reactor will affect the flow into the reactor and thus the c02 diffusion and the eventual current to the tank.

The flow rate on the UV will be less than the output of the two eheims.

Can you provide more detail on how you plan to route the outlets?

May I suggest that you split the flow from the canister output so that 1 line goes to the UV with a ball valve PRIOR to the UV so you can control the flow into it. The remaining flow would then go to the reactor.

This allows just a small flow to the UV (so not all water is filtered by the unit) but allows more flow to the rest of the components and removes the restriction of the UV being first in line....

You then need to either merge them again to go to the tank or to separate returns based on your setup.

Loc line:

ModularHose.com - Loc-Line Modular Hose System


Please note that there is no way you should ever NEED all 6 bulbs to get the growth you want. Light is what drives plant growth and thus c02 and nutrient demand. The more light the more need. I would go with just 2-3 bulbs at first (if possible) and use them so you get a good spread over the tank.

You can always add more light. It will be easier to get started with less light as c02 is not so easy to get right the first time

I would also second the advice to get a powerhead of some type. The Koralia brand II or III model would be good for this tank.

You may also want to see if you can plumb something to help with water changes. If you go the EI fert route, they require 50% weekly water changes. Anything you can do to facilitate this will help you and the tank in the long run.......even if it is to plumb a drain line that you can use to easily drain the tank as needed. Then just a hose to the tap and some dechlorinator/Prime for th refill and you are good to go!

Hope this helps.

[UDGags]

That makes sense Gerry. I guess in my head I was planning on doing something similar to that but didn't put it on paper. I was just going to have a by-pass tube parallel with the UV system. This way I can turn off the UV system entirely and replace if needed without interrupting the other systems. I'll update my drawing.

I would think the slower the flow the better the diffusion. As long as I keep it turbulent with 90° elbows or filler media. I'll have to look back at my books (chemical engineer) on gas diffusion in a liquid.


On the lightning....it was the only 72" T5 lighting I could find on petsolutions.com. The other option was to use two 36" but 72" just seemed like a cleaner look. The system comes with 12 bulbs (six 10k/six 460nm) so I was replacing the six 460nm with six 6.7k. I could then just run the ballasts I want. I don't foresee me ever running all 12 at the same time.

Yeah, I googled the powerhead and loc systems after Philosophos made his comment and plan on going with one. I just have to figure out what kind of layout/design I want to do. I got some basic ideas but need to do more research in the plant area before settling. I'll check out the Koralia Brand, thanks for the lead.


I thought about the automatic water change with a couple basic hoses and pumps. The system will be on a wall adjacent to a bathroom so plumbing is near-by and there is a basement below that I can plumb down to. The automatic water changes would probably be ideal especially if I plan on going with Discus.

[Gerryd]

You would have seen it eventuall. The bypass would also work well, but since you didn;t mention it, I wanted to be sure

Yes, the slower the better, but please note that the AM1000 has only 3/8 outlet and that will not flow much water.

Your filter output is going to be pretty underwhelming for your size tank.

Have you purchased the eheims?

If not, an alternate would be to go with an external pump, flex PVC and some Ocean clear or Nu-clean inline canisters?

Then you have one powerful enough pump to run all the components.

You may want to think about powering the AM1000 with a separate pump (300-500 gph) so that the eheims just filter the water and provide flow to the UV. Then the c02 diffusion rate will NOT be affected as the filter clogs, so think about that as well. This WILL HAPPEN so be ready for it. It will force you to keep the filters clean but can really affect the c02.......

Running things in parallel instead of in series has some advantages as well.

Hope this helps.

[UDGags]

I haven't purchased anything yet......wanted to post what my plan was and see what I screwed up before buying anything

[Gerryd]

Oh, don't forget to use throttle valves and unions if you can. These will allow you to control the flow to each component and also allow you to shut off flow to some components entirely for removal or maintenance. I know they are expensive, but think about the future and if you will ever need to remove or maintain a component in line.

I ended up changing some things if an install did not work according to plan (a real possibility for me!), but I guarantee you will thank me someday if you use them!

[UDGags]

Oh, don't forget to use throttle valves and unions if you can. These will allow you to control the flow to each component and also allow you to shut off flow to some components entirely for removal or maintenance. I know they are expensive, but think about the future and if you will ever need to remove or maintain a component in line.

I ended up changing some things if an install did not work according to plan (a real possibility for me!), but I guarantee you will thank me someday if you use them!

No doubt I will.....I often have to pipe things for work so I'm all for shut off valves and bypass's.

The Ocean Clear in-line filters could be nice since they have the UV built in to some of the larger systems. I would then just need to buy two inline Hydor heaters and a pump. Than decouple the CO2 with a separate pump and add a loc line....this would definitely save on some cash if it provides the same performance.