120g fatboy setup

londonloco · Post by **londonloco** » Sun Sep 27, 2009 7:06 pm

Hi, my name is Loni, Iâ€™m new to your sight. I introduced myself in the Introductions forum earlier.

I am currently selling off my 120g reef and hoping to convert it into a planted angel tank. I have some questions and appreciate any help I can get.

1 - Canister Filters. I originally planned on buying a Fluval XF5, but in looking at different canister filter models I came across a Rena XP3. Ratings are great on this filter (individuals who have used/own them), and so is the price. Does anyone have any comments about Rena filters? I have 2 Fluval on my 75g tangy tank; have had no problems with them.

2 â€“ Lighting, my reef currently has two MH HQIâ€™s 250w pendants w/14K Hamilton bulbs, which I plan on selling. Iâ€™m assuming if I kept the MH lighting, I would HAVE to add co2 to my tank to get plants to thrive w/out an algae problem. Iâ€™ve read on this site I could get away with 2w per gallon w/out co2 (I'm trying to get away with no co2) and still have plants thrive, which puts me at about 240watts. Iâ€™ve been advised to use two 48â€

ddavila06 · Post by **ddavila06** » Sun Sep 27, 2009 8:27 pm

hey!

1- i too have the fluvals in my 125 and love them

i have no experience with any of the others you mentioned though

2-let wait for an answer from the experts

3- i too made the mistake of mixing to save a few bucks and now i kind of regret it...eco complete by itself is fine as far as i know. i had an aquarium with regular gravel and light and some dosing and the plants didn't really t"hrive", they were kind of "hanging in there" so i think a plant substrate would be better...

ingg · Post by **ingg** » Sun Sep 27, 2009 9:03 pm

I hate to be a bummer. I'll do that first, then on to the questions.

Buy the CO2. CO2 supplies carbon, the building blocks of plant life. In large tanks, supplementing with commercial sources like Excel may technically be possible, but are incredibly expensive over the long haul.

There isn't another single thing as important/difference making in a planted tank as CO2. I tried; I struggled to avoid it, I did DIY, all of it. I now run pressurized. If you are used to reefing, this is the easiest set it and forget it piece of equipment you'll ever own - and sooooo worth it.

I have Rena's. They are okay, require a lot more frequent cleaning than my Eheims. I like Eheims. I don't have much experience with Fluvals, they have too many mixed reviews for me to ever have bought one. (Some swear by Fluval, others abhor them. Never found an Eheim hater other than hating spending to buy one)

Light is okay, given good quality reflectors. I run 312 watts over my 180g, sometimes noonbursted with an additional 156, and can grow anything.

Honestly, while I am not the biggest Aquasoil fanboy, it isn't any more expensive than Eco or flourite. The $30 9l bags are a lot bigger in volume than the $20 Eco/Flourite bags.

That said, Eco is cleaner than Flourite.

Yes, you technically can just use regular gravel, but I'd really really advise against it. You'd want to use a high CEC substrate, which normal gravel is typically not, or some other form able to hold nutrients.... if you are looking for plug and play, don't do it.

Planted tanks are a lot like Reefs - pay me now, or pay me later. I'd pay it now and get a good substrate, really hard to fix when you figure out you'd rather have a nutrient rich substrate (and almost every planted tank needs one.)

PaulS · Post by **PaulS** » Sun Sep 27, 2009 9:13 pm

I agree with Dave. A good substrate really makes a big difference.

londonloco · Post by **londonloco** » Sun Sep 27, 2009 9:55 pm

Sigh, somehow I knew that was going to be the answer. I've had the complete Co2 set up, 2 tanks, bubble counter, regulator and that stelonoid thingy, sold it when I set up my reef. Now I'm gonna have to buy another one. Ok, later...after I get tank up and running, which will be in a month or so.

My 120g has 2 overflows. I was thinking of plugging them, but that sounds like 120 gallons of water in my basement. Could I leave the sump and put the diffusor (right?) in my sump? Would I lose too much co2 this way? Anyone have an extra co2 set up for sale? cheap?

If I kept the sump, I'm still thinking about a canister filter also. Which Eheim would you run on a 120g fatboy (48x24x24)? I'd like it to stand alone in case my 7 yr old tank springs a leak, I wouldn't have to buy another filter.

Substrate..ok, so I looked at Aqua Soil. If I did the math right, I need six 9l bags of Amazonia and 8L of power sand M special. Does this sound right?

I never used my canopy on the reef tank due to the heat of MH's and two mag9.5 pumps. I think I'm going with the T5 retro kit. I read the T5's don't get as hot as my MH's. The canopy has an open back, and slits on the sides so heat can escape. Will I need fans in my canopy if I'm using four 54w T5's.

Thanks again all. I didn't want to get excited about this new set up yet...makes me sell my reef stuff cheap! LOL

Loni

londonloco · Post by **londonloco** » Sun Sep 27, 2009 10:03 pm

Oh, and btw, Dave, I set my reef tank up twice. I know what you mean by pay me know or pay me later.

ddavila06 · Post by **ddavila06** » Sun Sep 27, 2009 10:20 pm

Catalina Lights has very good well priced fixtures, call them and ask them what kind of deal they can give you. if you get a retro instead then i do not know

i have no experiencem sorry

ingg · Post by **ingg** » Mon Sep 28, 2009 12:09 am

Consider simply running closed loops instead of sump - or bug mister Murphy to figure out how he keeps CO2 levels up, I think he made one work somehow.

Every thing I've ever read and ever seen people try says sumps = bad for CO2 retention.

You can technically seal them so you don't get gaseous releases, but why bother? Once you seal it, you've about eliminated every advantage a sump can have in the first place in my opinion - and get 90% of the advantages simply by having overflows. Those being hiding equipment/heaters, place to dump and circulate dry ferts from, etc...

Hook the filters to the intake and returns of the overflow system, bang done. That how my 180g is set up, closed loops with a mag9 on one side, Eheim 2260 on the other side. No sump. No head pressures other than friction loss on the pumps.

For Aquasoil, some love powersand, others don't bother. I've never bothered with the powersand stuff myself, the Aquasoil itself seems to have done quite well for me on its own. I've only ever done small tanks with Aquasoil though, too.

(Please do note: Aquasoil comes preloaded with an ammonia burst built in it. Tanks cycle differently, and do need to cycle before adding livestock, when using Aquasoil. Just something to keep in mind - you cannot avoid it, you have to plan for it.)

DelawareJim · Post by **DelawareJim** » Mon Sep 28, 2009 7:45 am

PaulS wrote:I agree with Dave. A good substrate really makes a big difference.

Mineralized soil with a regular gravel cap is an option too.

Cheers.
Jim

SCMurphy · Post by **SCMurphy** » Mon Sep 28, 2009 9:57 am

You can keep the sump and use the overflows, except you don't use it as a wet/dry filter, you use it as a reservoir of water that keeps the evaporation from showing in the aquarium. It is also a good place to put equipment you don't want to see in the aquarium. I bubble my CO2 into the return pump. The key is to have the outflow from the overflows going into the sump under the waterline, and not agitating the surface of the aquarium too much with the return flow. If you have any wave action powerheads from your reef set up that can be adjusted to constant flow, keep them. Many plants do better with flowing water and your sump return or the canister returns just won't cut it.

120g fatboy setup

120g fatboy setup

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