Filters for 240 Gal Freshwater?

B

big tank newbie

Registered Member
Nov 28, 2004
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Hey all,

I've got a 240 Gallon acrylic tank (8 ft x 2 ft x 2 ft) in my new place that came with no filters, pumps, or hardware. This tank has 4 spaced and threaded holes in the bottom of the tank that can be used as a filtration option as well. It is wall mounted with easy access to the rear and sides and about 2-3 ft clearance underneath the tank.

I've worked with smaller tanks in the past, but that was some time ago and on a much smaller scale. I've been reading up about various methods but am getting a bit overwhelmed by my options, especially since most of the discussions and solutions are based on tanks of smaller sizes.

I'm interested in turning this into a freshwater tank with a moderate amount of fish and plants. What are my best bets in terms of filtration systems for this size tank? I'm looking for a reasonably priced solution that would be fairly easy to maintain. Canister? Sump? Multiple Bio-Wheels? One pump or a combo solution to handle my load?

Any help or experienced feedback would be great...
 
I suppose the easy thing would be a couple of canisters, but I like DIY and wet/dry so I'd go with a big wet/dry since the tank sounds like it's set up for it...
 
Get two expensive canisters and one wet/dry.
 
Wet/Dry system would be nice, but they get expensive unless you can build one yourself.

Canisters are nice, but cleaning them can be a pain, plus the seals where down in time and you have to check for leaks.

My personal choice would be four AC500s (filled with the sponges and filter floss) for mechanical. Also, a fluidized bed filter than can hold at least 3 lbs of sand for the bio. If you buy a good check valve for the fb filter, you won't have a problem on re-startup.

One problem with hang on back filters is the noise. Once the water level starts dropping you can start hearing the water agitation/splashing. Of course there are ways to correct the noise unless you find it pleasing.
 
I'd probably go with a large sump, and a wet dry. The sump can then be used to hide other equipment and you can easily add additional filtration from there. Of course, a lot will depend on what kind of fish you want--100 neons vrs 4 oscars makes a big difference in filtration needs.
 
This is linked to the original question, i'm not hijacking.

How large of a sump would you want for a 240g? I'm thinking a 55g would be overkill. I ask because i'm upgrading to a larger tank in May (probably a 150-185g) and i've got a spare 55g leftover. I'll be making my own stand, so i could customize it to easily accomodate a 55g tank underneath. Could a sump also double for breeding feeders?
 
Thanks for all of the feedback. I'm thinking of a DIY Wet/Dry Sump. I found some Rubbermaid 19 Gal Plastic Sinks at Home Depot that look like 2 of them could work well. They have threaded drains that could be connected very easily with a pipe for the flow from the Bio-Balls side to the sump side so you wouldn't need to try to solvent in a wall into the tubs which would be a pain since the tub has some "give" when you fill it with water. This would effectively give you a 38 Gal system that fits nicely under the tank. Sponge in the overflow, then filter floss on top of the Bio-Balls, heaters in the sump side. To bring it back around to Spartan's point about sump size, would this be enough? I'm thinking of about 5 schools of smaller fish (around 5-8 per school) plus some plant growth.
 
There really isn't a 'too big' when it comes to sumps. I have a 10 gallon SW with a 15 gallon sump--it's just a matter of what size you need to accomplish your goal. I run 55 gallon sumps on my 120's, and would have gone bigger if I'd had the space underneath.
 
I would go with the DIY wet/dry and a large sump. I would go as large as you can with the sump, the more water the more stable. What ever you can fit under the tank, a stock tank, rubermaid container,garbage can etc.
 
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