Question before I order the following equipment!! :-)

[PK Tester]

Hey everyone...

I plan to order the following for my 40 gallon hex tank (Oceanic Contrast Line):

(2) Aquarium Systems Visi-Therm 150 Watt Heater *Would one 300 watt do better?*

(1) Marineland AirMaster 3000 Air Pump

(1) Fluval 304 With Filter Media *Will this filter be good for a pretty good stock? Not sure what I plan to put in it. This filter is rated for 70 gallons!*

Other misc stuff like air stones, tubbing, gang valves etc...

So how does all this sound? Anything I'm overlooking?

 

[PK Tester]

Anyone? I'd like to order tonight

 

[PK Tester]

Oh yes...I have the high wattage of heat because the room I plan to put this in has some heating issue it seems.

The room could easily drop down to 65~70...Will these two 150 watt heaters present a dange?

 

[amosf]

I'd go with 2 150w as if one goes bad it shouldn't be able to overheat the tank on it's own. Together they will have enough watts, tho can be touchy balancing the two... Doesn't really matter as one heater ends up running all the time and the other cuts in and out to regulate the temperature...

Air pump. I use them but you don't need it. It is useful for circulating the water if the filter stops, and an airstone or two is good to provide a mice gentle circulation in the tank which can help circulation. I usually just get a cheap brand as they seem to last and it doesn't really matter if they stop working in a system with a power filter.

I'm a wet/dry guy, but the fluval 304 will do good. Get some biomax or something similar to put in it. And prefilter the inlet with a sponge to reduce internal blockages. I'f have a canister, but they cost $200-$300 in my part of the would, so I found the wonderful world of DYI wet/dry filters. I wouldn't go back now

 

[PK Tester]

amosf thank you so much for your reply.

Look to ebay for a canister filter

I was debating on either the canister or the emperor 400...but I like the canister idea better...I can do more with it.
I did end up with a cheap air pump $12 for one up to 90 gallons...the tank is rather tall so I want extra power

Thank you so much for your reply!

I think I will be ordering it now

 

[PK Tester]

Anyhow, It was ordered...

I bumped the filter up to the fluval 404...

it was only $12 more...

 

[youronlysin]

The only advantage youd get from using a single heater is less clutter. If you have the real-estate to spare, then two heaters is a great idea. Your over the minimum recommended wattage with your current selection, and thats great. Go for it.
The Fluval 304 is a bit big...the 204 would do the job, but if you just wanted to make sure you were as efficient as possible and you have the money, then the 304 will be fine. Ask around about how to use the media....I cant help you there but it sounds like that filter will take some maintenance to keep it going. I prefer a hang on or power filter for smaller tanks (40 gallon is smaller to me). Plus, 80-90 bucks for a filter for a 40 gallon tank seems like a lot of money. The 304 will give you a nice clean look though...no bulk in eyesight. Let us know how it works.
The airmaster 3000 is also quite large for what you need (up to 90 gal.), but for under 20 bucks, how can you go wrong?
Make sure you have a good power strip to plug everything into; a surge supressing unit would be great, if you have the extra little bit of money. Have a good thermometer as well. and hopefully you have water test kits already?

 

[youronlysin]

Anyhow, It was ordered...

I bumped the filter up to the fluval 404...

it was only $12 more...

Deffinitely overkill. Cant hurt. You should be able to keep that filter around for a long time...it will work even if you upgrade to quite a larger tank.

 

[PK Tester]

Oh Im crazy...lol. I went with the 404 if I have issue...Ill just return it. 100% satisfactory with Bigals.

I might get a larger tank soon that is why I went with the 404...

I have read of many people have a 404 on a 55 gallons so hopefully it wont be disatrous...

I was looking to get as close to 10x overturn as possible on my aquarium as it is considered the best...

I bought a digital thermoter from bigals

I have test kits but plan to buy new.

I knew the air pump was big...it controls its flowrate on itself + I have a 5 way splitter.

Hopefully the 404 will not be a disater! I really hope to be getting a larger tank as I said before...I also plan to have it pretty heavily stocked.

Oh yes...this tank has been so expensive.

Oceanic's tanks arent cheap! $450 + 160 for all the stuff

*crosses fingers*

 

[PK Tester]

6094 Penn Plax Airstone- Aqua Mist Bar (4") $0.99 2 $1.98
1231 Penn Plax Bubble Wall Air Diffuser -23" $5.49 1 $5.49
2643U Fluval 404 With Filter Media $89.99 1 $89.99
16461 Marineland AirMaster 3000 Air Pump $12.49 1 $12.49
19343 Aquarium Systems Visi-Therm 150 Watt Heater $15.79 2 $31.58
7863 Coralife Battery Operated Digital Thermometer $6.99 1 $6.99
4436 Big Al's Airline Tubing- 12' $0.99 2 $1.98
6142 Penn Plax Air Tech 5 Outlet Gang Valve $4.99 1 $4.99

Subtotal: $155.49
Standard Shipping: $11.95
Total: $167.44

That is what I ordered...I'm pretty much set except for fish!

I thought it was a pretty good deal...What do you guys think?

 

[amosf]

You won't have any overfilter issues. I don't think you can overfilter. As a recent test I put a 1400lph above tank wet/dry on a 10litre tank - 140 tankfulls/hour or filter the whole tank in 25 seconds It worked just fine and there wasn't even all that much current. Trouble is the pump takes up too much tank

 

[gheitman]

That looks like you got everything you need and at a pretty good deal to me. I just paid almost $30 for a Rena Air 300 air pump that I am going to use to drive 2 sponge filters on 2 20 gallon tanks.

 

[An t-iasg]

That looks like a good deal to me too! Did you get everything at Big Al's? I didn't know digital thermometers were so cheap. I may get one!

 

[BrianNY]

I think you did real well too. I'm a big fan of the fluvals. You will definitely reduce your maintenance on it if you use a sponge prefilter. I get mine at www.jehmco.com They sell them with various width adapters so I use them on all my penguins and ACs as well as my cannisters.

Oceanic is the top of line aquarium. Make sure the tank is level before you fill it. This is especially important with hex tanks as they have so many seams.

 

[PK Tester]

Thanks guys! Brian your information is so helpfull...

I will be 100% sure it is level before I fill it.

Yes I ordered everything from BigAls. The digital thermometer is nice because I can suction cup it to the back and not see it stuck to my glass

 

[stusclan]

I've used the fluval 404 on my 55 for 2 years now. No problems at all, I don't think you can overfilter a fw tank. I don't use a prefilter either - that's your choice. Maintenance is pretty simple - it should keep your tank nice and clean. Since going salt, I've taken out the fluval media and replaced it with live rock rubble - lots of advantages for a canister if you ever chose to change to sw.

 

[TomK2]

Aquarium Systems Visi-Therm 150 Watt Heater *Would one 300 watt do better?

Think about using an "in line heater." Heater is in line with your canister outflow tube, must be verticle to prevent air trapping. I'v had one for 3 weeks, it is working great. It cuts down on tank clutter, but you can't have two smaller ones with only one canister filter. Which brings me to my next point:

I have read of many people have a 404 on a 55 gallons

I uhm..er... I actually went with two Fluval 404's for my 55 gal tank. I figure I want excess filtration capacity, and figure that the manufacturers are prone to overstating the filters abilities, so buying what they call four times as much filtration as I need should definitely be at leats twice as much as I need!

 

[TomK2]

lots of advantages for a canister if you ever chose to change to sw.

Wow. I haven't been following the SW stuff for a couple of years. I thought sumps with wet/dry filters and protein skimmers were still considered the best. I would use DIY sump & wet/dry in any tank with built in overflows(fw or sw), but I haven't heard much about canisters and SW. Do you use a protein skimmer?

 

[stusclan]

not to hijack this thread, but yes, I use a protein skimmer. I have a light load, so I don't get much skimmate yet. Tank is pristine, all parameters are perfect.

 

[stusclan]

Oh yeah, using live rock for filtration is great. I don't really need the fluval, I'm really only using it for circulation. Saved on buying another power head. Adding the live rock to it just increased my biological filtration.