Ideal filtration for 522 setup

[Orhlulu]

Hi Shifus,

Deeply poisoned by countless comm tanks here and decided to do away with my shellies tank and move towards a comm tank.

Can anyone of you advise me what is the ideal filtration for a 522 setup for tangas? I am planning to use canistar filtration as the tank will have a sand bed. Will canistar be able to substain the bioload ?

For the substrate, l am looking at coral sand (s0) and wondering how much qty is required?

i am planning to keep comps, julies and probably some sand shifters and shellies. Mixtures of similis, mutlis and brevis.

Thanks in advance

[Brichardi]

Originally Posted by Orhlulu

Hi Shifus,

Deeply poisoned by countless comm tanks here and decided to do away with my shellies tank and move towards a comm tank.

Can anyone of you advise me what is the ideal filtration for a 522 setup for tangas? I am planning to use canistar filtration as the tank will have a sand bed. Will canistar be able to substain the bioload ?

For the substrate, l am looking at coral sand (s0) and wondering how much qty is required?

i am planning to keep comps, julies and probably some sand shifters and shellies. Mixtures of similis, mutlis and brevis.

Thanks in advance

Not a shifu but glad to share my thoughts with you.

Having fine coral sand for tanganyikan is good....go for the smallest C0 size. $8~$10 per 10 kg depending where you buy it. However, that will give you problem with some filtration as the fine sand may get into it, thus you suggested Canister...which I think it's ideally for tank with fine sands. Tanganyikan especially those few species you suggested doesn't poo that much as compare to some other fishes, hence bioload is NOT too bad imo. Ofc, it also depends on how many of each species you will be getting which no doubt will still get bioload very high if we're talking about Quantity regardless of species/sizes. If only using 1 canister, get the one with highest output and if necessary, use wavemaker or equipment to create current/flow to circulate the tank better as well as removing some dead spots.

Those species of tangs you suggested are ideal for coms imo as they're not that aggressive. However, would also recommend some top swimmers like cyprichromis as your tank height is 2ft, which will make the top half of your tank redundant since most of the fishes you mentioned tend to stay on the sand bed or rocks.

These are sincerely what I feel and I'm sure it could be improved or others may have some better experiences/opinions. Peace and good luck!

Cheers!

[Orhlulu]

Thanks Bro Brichardi.Very helpful and great insights.

Don't need be so modest, i seen your threads. non stop production of fires
Btw, you are part of the group that got me poisoned!

[Brichardi]

Like to add on...maybe you should also prepare some shells for your shellies and Altos. For shellies, best is to go to Cold Storage (Kovan MRT) and go to the freezer section and buy escargots. Eat the meat, keep the shells. 1 packet of 12 pcs at around $14 (+/-). For the altos shells, u can buy them from bro Johannes at $4~$5 each. I think he may still have some left. Get 1 for each altos for hiding/breeding or sleeping.

Also as to how much sand to put into your 5" tank, it all depends on how high do u want the sand to be. As for me, my rule of thumb is if 3ft tanks, use at least 30kg, if 5ft tanks, at least 50kg...etc. These are for community tanks whereas for some tanks that do only require a thin layer of sand, I'll put in lesser. Hope it helps.

[Young Man]

no single best type of filtration for your tank. depends on your setup, fishes you keep and your maintanence routine.
most of my tangan tanks are either on double cannisters or cannister + OHF and coupled with an internal power filter.
i would say main thing to achieve is a mechanical filter for the poo etc to keep the water looking clear. this has to be high powered to have a good turnover rate.
next up is the biological filtration which breaks down anything undesirable. which is really important in a tangan tank as fishes would tend to be more sensitive to nitrate and nitrite at such pH levels.

since you are considering cannisters, then i suggest using it for it's volume as a biological filter. couple it with an internal power filter to do the mechanical work so as not to clog up the cannister too quickly.
(i am very lazy to wash cannisters)

your fish type are still considered low bioload unless you decide to max out their quantitiesthen different story altogether.
make sure aeration is good within the tank and take note of the temperature.have fun and enjoy your newer and bigger tank

[Brichardi]

Originally Posted by Young Man

no single best type of filtration for your tank. depends on your setup, fishes you keep and your maintanence routine.
most of my tangan tanks are either on double cannisters or cannister + OHF and coupled with an internal power filter.
i would say main thing to achieve is a mechanical filter for the poo etc to keep the water looking clear. this has to be high powered to have a good turnover rate.
next up is the biological filtration which breaks down anything undesirable. which is really important in a tangan tank as fishes would tend to be more sensitive to nitrate and nitrite at such pH levels.

since you are considering cannisters, then i suggest using it for it's volume as a biological filter. couple it with an internal power filter to do the mechanical work so as not to clog up the cannister too quickly.
(i am very lazy to wash cannisters)
your fish type are still considered low bioload unless you decide to max out their quantitiesthen different story altogether.
make sure aeration is good within the tank and take note of the temperature.have fun and enjoy your newer and bigger tank

Ah Boy, when will have an open house so can see your immense collections?

[johannes]

For canister you can set the inlet slightly higher than your substrate. Maybe around 4-5" above depending on your tank height.
It would be better if you can use round sponge with hole in the centre as simple prefilter at the inlet as well.
For 522 you can employ 2 canisters which would be sufficient in terms of media and general flow.

[Orhlulu]

Thanks Bro YM and Johannes for your advices. )

I think i will most likely go with 2 x canisters. Due to budget, going for 1x eheim 2028 + 1 x dolphin C1300 . Might consider an additional powerhead or wavemaker for dead spots.

Still considering the sponge filter option for aesthetic reasons. Need to find a way to hide them behind the hardscape and not affect inflow. Fish rearing requires a combination of science, art and financial planning

Tank is in already, awaiting oyama pasting and then LFS shopping for substrate /rocks and cycling can proceed.

[Orhlulu]

Originally Posted by Brichardi

Like to add on...maybe you should also prepare some shells for your shellies and Altos. For shellies, best is to go to Cold Storage (Kovan MRT) and go to the freezer section and buy escargots. Eat the meat, keep the shells. 1 packet of 12 pcs at around $14 (+/-). For the altos shells, u can buy them from bro Johannes at $4~$5 each. I think he may still have some left. Get 1 for each altos for hiding/breeding or sleeping.

Also as to how much sand to put into your 5" tank, it all depends on how high do u want the sand to be. As for me, my rule of thumb is if 3ft tanks, use at least 30kg, if 5ft tanks, at least 50kg...etc. These are for community tanks whereas for some tanks that do only require a thin layer of sand, I'll put in lesser. Hope it helps.

Yeah, it seems only Cold Storage is the only place that still sell escargots and the XL shell size is perfect for shellies. I need to get the hard scape up 1st before planning where to put the shells. Will be reusing the current shells i have, close to 50 odds of them at the moment.


50 kgs of sand.
i can already see my off days stuck in the bathroom!

[Brichardi]

No bud, sandwise it's really up to you. If you just want a thin layer of sand it's fine also, unless you wanna breed certain tanganyikans like Callochromis, tricortis, etc as they either wanna spawn in sand pits or moulds. 50kg of sand is only 5 packets....10~15 mins washing/rinsing only for each packet and really to spread into a 5ft tank it's only maybe 1~2 inches high. I think my 5ft tank has 60kg of sand atm.