Thanks for the advice Lilyea! I don't have any experience to draw from, so I'm sure I would be wasting a lot of money and time without all of this forum's support.
Should I conceive a way to hold the blue filter material in place or will it be fine just sitting on top of the lava rock? Should the blue filter be immediately below/touching the mesh bag or would it be okay to have distance between them? Is there a benefit to having the filter material on top of the lava rock, or would it be better to have it in the water (or both!).
Is there a certain configuration of the powerheads that you would recommend (top/middle, middle/bottom, etc)?
Michael, how did the substrate material that you purchased from Tractor Supply work out in the tank that you built for the nature center? I've decided to plant the tank, any suggestions on plants? Elodea seems easy enough, but I didn't know if there were other native plants in the northeast that would work well in an aquascape.
I hope that the tank will be empty by the end of next week so I can start actually putting all of this together. The time has served me well in terms of research, but I'm getting antsy to begin!
Thanks again,
Mr. Pierce
Help! 150 Gallon Classroom Tank
Started by
Guest_MrPierce_*
, Jul 01 2014 01:22 PM
26 replies to this topic
#23
Michael Wolfe
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Posted 11 July 2014 - 06:55 AM
Michael, how did the substrate material that you purchased from Tractor Supply work out in the tank that you built for the nature center? I've decided to plant the tank, any suggestions on plants? Elodea seems easy enough, but I didn't know if there were other native plants in the northeast that would work well in an aquascape.
It worked quite well for us. As mentioned in another post, we did have to rinse it a lot. But it looks great at the nature center, has not broken down or created more dust, and although it is too early to see much growth, the plants look good after a month (except for the ones the hog sucker tore up... Remember to put some rocks around the base of plants if you have a sucker in the tank... Duh... I knew that but didn't do it).
Vallisneria sp. would also be good for your tank.
Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing. - Benjamin Franklin
#24
Guest_lilyea_*
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Posted 11 July 2014 - 06:25 PM
The purpose of the mesh filter bag is mechanical filtration of large particles. The purpose of the blue filter, which should come next, is mechanical filtration for smaller particles. The distance between the bag and blue filter shouldn't matter (even if they are touching). Putting the bag and blue filter before the bio-media limits the amount of debris that goes into the bio-media. You should be able to lay the blue filter on top of the bio-media, but that will be a judgment based on the actual setup (you want to keep debris from pass through to the bio media). The bio-balls/lava rock in this trickle-filter approach provide biological filtration. The bag, blue filter, and bio-media should all stay above the water line. The skimmer would catch protein matter that makes it through the bio-media which may be key if the sump is not serviced as readily as it should be (you mentioned low maintenance). I suggest that you search/research "trickle filters" for a more thorough explanation and illustrations. The primary maintenance on this system will be rinsing out the mesh bag and the blue filter (regularity will depend on the bio-load in the tank) and emptying the cup on the top of the skimmer as necessary.Should I conceive a way to hold the blue filter material in place or will it be fine just sitting on top of the lava rock? Should the blue filter be immediately below/touching the mesh bag or would it be okay to have distance between them? Is there a benefit to having the filter material on top of the lava rock, or would it be better to have it in the water (or both!).
This (at least partially) depends on the way the return from the sump is plumbed and the direction/velocity of that water flow. Attempt to position the power heads in conduction with that flow. After you aquascape your tank you will likely adjust the power heads and then after you add fish and watch their behavior you will likely adjust again (notice a pattern?Is there a certain configuration of the powerheads that you would recommend (top/middle, middle/bottom, etc)?
). You are attempting to create stream-like conditions without blowing the fish out of the tank or wearing them out with no place to rest. You may also keep at least one power head low to keep debris/waste suspended in the water column so the filtration can do its thing. You may choose to readjust later if you see debris/waste collecting in certain areas of the tank.
#25
Guest_Irate Mormon_*
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Posted 12 July 2014 - 09:51 AM
The protein skimmer will be largely useless. Works great in SW due to the higher surface tension. Not very useful in FW.
The sump is a nice thing to have. Whatever manner of filtration you use, it can serve well as a refugium.
The sump is a nice thing to have. Whatever manner of filtration you use, it can serve well as a refugium.
#26
Guest_Irate Mormon_*
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Posted 12 July 2014 - 09:56 AM
Oh, while I'm on the subject of the sump, an inexpensive filtration method is a rotating biological contact wheel. These are made of of disks of fibrous matting which are sandwiched together. Same general idea as the Penguin HOB filter, except on a larger scale and with different materials.
You can google it - In deference to Matt and Uland I won't clutter up the forum with pages of Youtube videos and such
You can google it - In deference to Matt and Uland I won't clutter up the forum with pages of Youtube videos and such
#27
Guest_lilyea_*
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Posted 13 July 2014 - 12:10 PM
Pierce - as Irate mentioned, the water tension is different in saltwater and freshwater and therefore protein skimmers are generally more effective on saltwater systems. In larger freshwater systems that have a high bio-load, protein skimmer are used and can be helpful. In the case of the 150g school aquarium, the protein skimmer is not necessary and may produce little to no skimmate (the "yucky" stuff that collects in the skimmer cup) at first and maybe not ever. I certainly wouldn't recommend that you go out and buy one for this setup. Since you already have the skimmer, the tradeoff is for the slim potential benefits versus the slightly elevated temperature (created from the skimmer pump) and the minimal cost of the electric to run the skimmer's pump. Another option (either now or in the future) is to consider selling the protein skimmer on a local online classified website and using the money for the light bulb conversion or other supplies (of course the selling price would vary based on the specific model and the market in your area).
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