FishBeast
Well-Known Member
Finally got moving on setting up the 210 this weekend! It’s been sitting empty for the last few months serving as a water change reservoir. Seeing @Racersk get on his tank and sump inspired me!
First, the tank. It’s a dual overflow Aqueon 210. The stand was a bit poopy so I built my own. I made sure there was lots of clearance underneath for a sump and plumbing. Didn’t put doors on it as it’s just in the garage.
I decided on an FX6 as well as a sump for filtration. Got the FX6 for almost $100 off with free shipping a while back. Came with free gravel vac ($60 value)! Thanks to @Loren for the tip.
The sump is a 4 foot, 55 gallon tank. Total system volume will be 240 to 250 gallons.
I was going to use glass baffles originally (had them cut and everything) but decided to simplify and use reticulated foam baffles supported by egg crate. I decided on 3 compartments separated by foam. Compartment 1 will be filtered by 10 PPI foam, compartment 2 is fluidized K1 and then through 30 PPI foam into the pump and heater zone. There are immense benefits to using reticulated foam for biological filtration (look up Hamburger mattenfilters). The 10 PPI foam will be mechanical filtration. I got them from Swiss Tropicals! They are arriving today.
To prevent the K1 from spilling into the other compartments I attached plastic needlepoint mesh to the tops as a screen. Water flows from left to right in this case. Here is the sump under the tank. I’ve also hooked up the FX6.
I’m using 2 x Active Aqua AAPW1000 pumps. They were super cheap on Amazon at $45 each when I bought them. They will do about 700 GPH @6ft which is perfect for my overflows (800GPH). I’m also using a Finnex 800 watt titanium heater ($50 on Amazon) with a digital controller.
The pumps will be adding some heat to the system so hopefully the heater will be able to do the job well enough.
Overflow plumbing did have some microdripping which I fixed with tape.
FX6 in place.
Also I washed and placed the red garnet blasting sand ($19 for 55 lb bag) which should be a nice color for the bichirs. Thanks to @DMD123 for the recommendation!
Next steps: plumb the drains and returns and start up the sump. Stay tuned!
First, the tank. It’s a dual overflow Aqueon 210. The stand was a bit poopy so I built my own. I made sure there was lots of clearance underneath for a sump and plumbing. Didn’t put doors on it as it’s just in the garage.
I decided on an FX6 as well as a sump for filtration. Got the FX6 for almost $100 off with free shipping a while back. Came with free gravel vac ($60 value)! Thanks to @Loren for the tip.
The sump is a 4 foot, 55 gallon tank. Total system volume will be 240 to 250 gallons.
I was going to use glass baffles originally (had them cut and everything) but decided to simplify and use reticulated foam baffles supported by egg crate. I decided on 3 compartments separated by foam. Compartment 1 will be filtered by 10 PPI foam, compartment 2 is fluidized K1 and then through 30 PPI foam into the pump and heater zone. There are immense benefits to using reticulated foam for biological filtration (look up Hamburger mattenfilters). The 10 PPI foam will be mechanical filtration. I got them from Swiss Tropicals! They are arriving today.
To prevent the K1 from spilling into the other compartments I attached plastic needlepoint mesh to the tops as a screen. Water flows from left to right in this case. Here is the sump under the tank. I’ve also hooked up the FX6.
I’m using 2 x Active Aqua AAPW1000 pumps. They were super cheap on Amazon at $45 each when I bought them. They will do about 700 GPH @6ft which is perfect for my overflows (800GPH). I’m also using a Finnex 800 watt titanium heater ($50 on Amazon) with a digital controller.
The pumps will be adding some heat to the system so hopefully the heater will be able to do the job well enough.
Overflow plumbing did have some microdripping which I fixed with tape.
FX6 in place.
Also I washed and placed the red garnet blasting sand ($19 for 55 lb bag) which should be a nice color for the bichirs. Thanks to @DMD123 for the recommendation!
Next steps: plumb the drains and returns and start up the sump. Stay tuned!
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