New marine tank

[SammyDee]

I modified it and it works beautifully. Cost me 5$. The only problem they have like many others is they don't create small/enough bubbles. If you add a wood air block it works perfect. Skims alot of crap outta the tank. Trust me if it didn't work well I'd have a brand new one in a week.

[JoseDepacos]

Ok. To speed things along I put a couple of my collectables on ebay so the valentini tank will happen faster. (I cant stop thinking about setting up this tank.) Since the heater I had for it turned out to be crapola I'm gonna need a new one. I'm thinking one with an external thermostat control. I despise the constant in and out of the tank to tweek and fine tune the temp you want. Looking at this one http://www.fosterandsmithaquatics.com/p ... atid=20161. Also found a dutch auction on ebay for a Bak Pak skimmer at $60 with shipping. I was also gonna try one of these http://www.fosterandsmithaquatics.com/P ... atid=16729. Opinions? Comments? I'm so excited.

[Mek0ng]

That heater isnt that good, I have owned two of them, one of them got stuck on and nearly cooked my FW tank. I still use one on my 90g cichlid, but the controller is WAY off. I read its not uncommon for them to stick. I am not to fond of the long temp probe on the heater, it makes a tank look cluttered.

External controllers that actually work accurately are ones like a Pinpoint or Digital Aquatics, the cost is much higher and they are not sold with a heater.

For your tank you should be fine with a Ebo Jager, very reliable, and you can calibrate the dial.

http://www.marinedepot.com/heaters_ebo-jager-ap.html

Why would you get that filter you listed? The biowheel is going to be far more efficient in terms of biological filtration. Stick with the biowheel and spend the saved $ on a skimmer.

[JoseDepacos]

That heater isnt that good, I have owned two of them, one of them got stuck on and nearly cooked my FW tank. I still use one on my 90g cichlid, but the controller is WAY off. I read its not uncommon for them to stick. I am not to fond of the long temp probe on the heater, it makes a tank look cluttered.

External controllers that actually work accurately are ones like a Pinpoint or Digital Aquatics, the cost is much higher and they are not sold with a heater.

For your tank you should be fine with a Ebo Jager, very reliable, and you can calibrate the dial.

http://www.marinedepot.com/heaters_ebo-jager-ap.html

Why would you get that filter you listed? The biowheel is going to be far more efficient in terms of biological filtration. Stick with the biowheel and spend the saved $ on a skimmer.

Good to know. Perhaps I will skip on that heater. The biowheel is used and came with some other used items I aquired. Thus far the heater and light fixture are junk so i figured I might as well replace the filter while I was at it to be safe. More than anything I was curious to see this built in surface skimmer they have on these filters.

[JoseDepacos]

I've seen may folks here speak highly of the Aquaclear filters. Perhaps one of those instead.

[Pufferpunk]

ACs are for FW.

[JoseDepacos]

ACs are for FW.

I take most anything you say at your word PP. After I saw your post I looked into that because I hadnt seen anything that indicated that in the item description. I countinued my search at the Hagen website and still find nothing that says its a fw filter only. The one item I did find was the Amrid media said fw only. I love the fact you can use different media in this filter. That was why I was considering it as well.

[Pufferpunk]

The only media I'd put into an AC filter for a SW tank is liverock rubble (which I do). as a mini fuge for smaller tanks.

[Nick]

Before I had a sump I ran an aquaclear with some live rock rubble, purigen, and chemi-pure. Now that I have a sump, the purigen and chemi-pure live over the drains of the flooded tray, and all live rock is in the main tank.

[SammyDee]

I'd get a fluval X series filters if you don't wanna sump on that tank. Then the AC as you mini fuge

[Pufferpunk]

And what would you suggest he put into that Fluval? Any FW media will be a nitrate factory. FW filtration is completely different than SW. Live rock/sand with a powerhead for flow & a protein skimmer, is the preferred filtration for SW.

[JoseDepacos]

Ok heres where things stand so far....Tank and stand are done deal, bought 30lb of Carib Sea aragonite aragamax sand (sugar size), gonna buy a new heater- Jager TS 100 watt, new glass canopy and fluor strip, digital therm, Reef Octopus bh100ss from Reef Warehouse, likely will start with 15-20 lbs fiji live rock and I intend to use a power filter of some kind. Either the Biowheel 170 I already have or a new one. I figured a good power filter is welcome for water movement and overfiltration is always good for a puffer tank. Want to go with one rated for about 75 gallons. Once again this is a 29g tank. Other than the Valentini, hermit crabs will really be the only other inhabitants (provided he doesnt eat them, which is ok they're cheap). Suggestions for cycling? Opinions, comments?



Edit: Scratch that Biowheel 170. I just tested it and the thing barely moves water. Impeller looks new. Figures. The rest of that used stuff I aquired was junk too.
From what I understand I wont need a power filter with that Octopus and live rock anyway. Should I just pick up a circulation pump or two?

[CarmenH]

Just a pump should work. I think most hob skimmers have spots where you can stick carbon or purigen (if/as needed) so I would skip the filter...

[SammyDee]

You still want some kind of filter to get bigger stuff outta the water. The skimmer won't grab that stuff. That why I said a fluval under th tank filter if you aren't gonna use a sump. You can change the media out for finer medias. And still run the HOB skimmer. Seeing it a 29g I'd use a standard hob filter for that cuz I'm guessing in a few months or year you'll wanna upgrade lol. So a fluval might be a waste of money.

[Pufferpunk]

The skimmer won't grab that stuff.

That's what the powerheads are for.