Is this overkill ?

[Dee]

Hi All,

Im just throwing some ideas around for when I tranfer my juvi's in to the 4x2x2. Here's what im thinking.

4x2x2 Tank
1 x 2217 Eheim Canister
1 x 2215 Eheim Canister
2 x 400W Hydor THEO Heaters
1 x CoraLife Turbo Twist 9w UV
1 x CoraLife Turbo Twist 18w UV
2 x Standard Air Stones

I have all these bits except the 18w UV. I would put the 18w UV on the output of the 2217 and the 9w on the output of the 2215. The flow rates match for this kind of set up. This set up will house 13 discus, which is 1 over what is recommended maximum for a 120G tank, hence the filter set up. I didn't want to run both filters with only one having a UV on the output.

How does this set up sound ? Anything I should keep in mind ?

Cheers,

Dee. :)

[Merrilyn]

Dee, I would be happy to live in a tank like that! It sounds perfect. :P

[Dee]

Hi Merrilyn,

Thanks for the prompt reply :wink:

I was also thinking that I would get another set of the Eheim quick release tap thingy's and use them to connect the UV's. If for any reason (cleaning etc), I could just whip the UV's out and easily keep the filters hooked up ... If that makes sense. :oops:

Do you think that set up will happily house 13 Discus, with 30% WC's every second day ofcourse. :D

Cheers,

Dee :)

[africandiscus]

Instead on the 2 eheim get yourself a trickle filter

[Merrilyn]

Thirteen will be fine in there. The quick release hoses will make cleaning a lot easier. I've never had a problem with water leakage from my eheim fittings.

[Dee]

Hi PSX,

I'm going with the 2 Eheims because I already have them. Need to keep my funds for the 18W corlife i'm about to order :wink:

Merrilyn,

Thanks for the reply, didnt wan't to have any overcrowding problems. IMO Eheims are fantastic, I've been running the 2217 for about 3 years straight now without one single hitch .... love em !

Cheers,

Dee. :)

[anti-generic]

to save your money on an extra UV
u can try getting a 2 to 1 pipe from bunnings and connect both of them into one UV..

and you could also get tap switches from bunnings that are alot cheaper than the eheim one..

thats not to say that ehiem ones arent great.. they are.. but over $100AU is just a little pricey for me.


Just my opinion..
Cheers
Eric

[Bill T.]

I have two eheim canister filters - one each end of my tank, with a U.V. attached to only one of them. Merrilyn reckons this is O.K.
Those little taps from Bunnings can spring the occassional leak after a bit of switching on/off, but they are cheap enough to replace. I found a set of hose joiners that eheim make, which aren't too expensive, so have combined these with Bunnings valves.

[flukes]

Whats the litre rating on the 9watt?? If its enough too sterilise the tank then id try a joint hose into the one UV.....Then again new toys are fun.. :lol:

[Dee]

Hi scott,

The litre rating on the 9w CoraLife UV matches my Eheim 2215 and the litre rating on the Coralife 18w UV matches my 2217. I already have a 2217,2215 and 9w UV and just need to get the 18w UV. Spencer from the forum pointed me to a online aqaurium store in singapore that ships 220-240 UV's to AU, they also have the Eheim connectors for about $30 a pair. Im going to use a set of the Eheim connector's so i can place the UV's in line on the output hose with minimal fuss, just disconnect and reconnect with the UV inline, no need to change connectors ect.

Cheers,

Dee :)

[flukes]

smart thinking 99 :wink:

Just a idea i once saw on a mates tank. Before the U.V's add a T piece with a tap and the same after the UV's, the run a hose from each T piece.

This way for any reason you need too stop usage of the UV's you can just send the water around...

Although i cant see a problem with the water running through them when the light isnt on, it will come in handy if you ever need to do maintaince on the UV's...

He also did this on cannister filters aswell..

Just a thought...

[dreamer]

is there any reason why do you need 2 UVs?

[Dee]

Hi Flukes,

Thanks for the tip mate, I will consider that. :wink:

Hi Dreamer,

No real reason for the double Eheim and UV other than I will be running a heavy fish load in the 4x2x2. I just wanted a UV on each Eheim, seemed to make sense having all water that passed thru the filters be UV'd. Oh and the other reason which seems to be more valid is ........... I have more dollars than sense ! :P :roll:

Cheers,

Dee. :)

[Benno]

I would certainly love to be living in that tank. Benno

[jim]

2 x 400W Hydor THEO Heaters
...are you trying to cook your fish??

i think 2 x 250W is enough for 4 ft tank...

I only use 1 300w...which is ok to keep my water temp arond 29 C during winter

be aware that if you use high power heater...it will boil your water very quickly if it goes wrong

[Dee]

G'day Jim,

Yeah I'm going to run 2 x Hydor THEO 400w heaters. I currently have 3 x 200w Tronics going. I have a Hydor 200w heater that's now in my water storage tank that has been running for about 2 -3 years 24/7 with out a hitch, Hydor heaters are the best IMO. The tronics all way seem to be on in the colder months and when its really cold there seems to be a little temp fluctuations here and there. So with winter in Melbourne upon us, I thought I would upgrade my heating set up. I have 2 heaters as back up, one stops working the other kicks in. I have only ever had problems with heaters not working, never with them sticking on and as I said hydor's have never given me any problems. With Melbourne winters being what they are ... DAMN cold, I'm sure the Hydor's will handle it well and reliabley. Yeah it's true that 2 x 400w will cook the fish faster if they malfunction, but even 2 x 250w heaters would cook them pretty quick too. I mean once you get past 36-38 degrees the damage is done, I guess it comes down to luck if you catch it in time or not. IMO the less a heater has to work to keep the temp stable at 30c the less chance you have of it malfunctioning ... if that makes sense ?


Cheers,

Dee.

[jim]

Yeah,, you r rite...

it's just I have seen my friend's whole tank of fish got cooked.....TWICE...

Maybe it's because he use those cheap heaters...

[Dee]

Hi Jim,

Ouch that's gotta hurt, twice too ... that's real bad luck :( I'm a firm believer of "you get what you pay for". The Hydor 400w are $79 each, which I think is good value. Tronic 300w heaters go for around $75 and arn't as reliable as the Hydor's from my experience. The tronics temp setting knob just doesnt feel robust and feels like it could give out if you mess with it to much. Cheap heaters IMO are a big no no, I mean why risk a whole tank of expensive fish for a saving of $30 or so dollars ? I hope your friend has better luck in the future with his heaters :)

Cheers,

Dee :)

[Ben]

I agree with Dee!!! Why buy a heater that colud be risky in 6 months time!
I have good heaters in all my tanks except i have el cheapo heaters in my water aging barrels! If something gos wrong there i will either have cold water or 200 litres of water that i can poach eggs in!

One thing, those hydor external heaters are great!
Even and stable water temp and there is no heater visible within the tank.

Ben