Filtration question on new setup

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blockamon

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Jun 17, 2007
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I'm thinking of setting up a 55-gallon planted tank for my wife. All of my fishkeeping experience has been saltwater (90-gallon mixed reef and 30-gallon mantis shrimp tanks), so I have a few questions concerning freshwater.

The tank we purchased has an internal overflow installed in one corner. I plan on hooking the drain from the overflow up to an external canister filter suction and returning to the opposite corner. Since the overflow doesn't use a standpipe, there will be water reservior in the overflow so I shouldn't have to worry about the canister filter running dry due to evaporation.

My only question is whether I should attempt to suck some water from lower in the aquarium to filter as well. In saltwater, most of the pollutants collect as a scum on the water surface, so an overflow is ideal. I'm not sure whether that is true for freshwater. In general, I'm also not too sure if the water motion in the tank will be high enough to get all of the detrius up to the overflow surface.

Also, I know that I need some type of aggitation to mix oxygen into the water column. Will a bubble wand at the back wall be sufficient, or do I need to look at adding a powerhead to get more mixing?

Thanks.
 
Run a RUFG, with power heads.
 
With the overflow, you don't really need surface agitation. The skimming action and water cascading does enough. You can apply just about everything from saltwater to freshwater. Except adding salt of course and you can't use a protein skimmer obviously.

Put the return in the opposite corner and possibly use a spray bar return to distribute.

You may want to use a HOB filter like AC110 to supplement the canister and provide some backup.

Are you planning on doing CO2 and high light plants or just low-tech low-med light plants?

ahsupply.com 4x55 watt would give you plenty light.
55 Watt 20.7" 4 Pin Biax - Aquarium Fresh & Saltwater Phosphor: Light Bulbs Etc, Inc. is a good all around bulb, but 6500/6700K daylights are just fine. You can go 10000K and 6700K combination. No need for actinic.

drsfosterandsmith.com has Eco Complete Planted with the best shipping around. They don't charge extra for the weight. You want to have 3" of substrate. I use 40-50% Eco Complete and 50-60% inert 1-3mm natural gravel in my 110.

www.rexgrigg.com is a great source of planted tank information.
 
I'm looking for low-tech, medium light plants. I really don't want to get into CO2 injection.

For lighting, I'm looking at the Nova Extreve 2x54W T5 HO. I use T5 over my reef and love them.

Thanks for the tip on the substrate. How many pounds does it take for a 55 gallon? There wasn't any information on lbs/gal on the DFS website.
 
2-3 depending on what you choose. Probably 5 bags of Eco Complete.

The Nova light is perfect. There's one from drsfosterandsmith for freshwater that comes with a 10000k and a 6700K bulb.

Java fern, java moss, and anubias sp. would be good starters.
 
One other question:

I like the idea of a HOB as a supplement/backup to the cansiter filter, but it seems like massive overkill with the XP3 or Marineland C-360.

Would a Marineland C-220 supplemented with either a Magnum 350 or HOT Magnum 250 be sufficient for a 55 gal.? I have used the HOT Magnum for a while in the past, and I believe I still have a serviceable Magnum 350 around that I used to use on my saltwater setup. I love the micron cartridge for fine polishing and the large media chamber in case of emergencies.

I know the C-220 is "only" rated for 55 gallons. I would normally cut any manufacturer rating in half, but the new C-series filters appear to be pretty conservative in their ratings. Four media baskets and 220 gph seems pretty good; should still give about 3x tank turn-over per hour after accounting for head loss. That combined with the Magnum sounds like plenty to me, but I'd like a second opinion.
 
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