Starting a new Tank - advice requested
 

Hey,

I am going to be setting up a new tank.... 75-90 gallons.

I do not want to go sump as I am away all the time and dont want the headache of possible overflows and what not.

Can anyone recommend a good canister and why its good?

Also.... lighting... I am probably gonna go T5... any ideas or suggestions?



Patrick

Canister filter I like is the Fx5, works great, Holds a lot of water and has good flow, and is easy to service. Although if a sump is set up properly it wont overflow with a power outage etc.

i run a canister for now...until I get my sump up and running, but I run a Cascade and also have a Fluval and a Rena (just not all on the same systems). All of them work well, though I much prefer the fluval for ease of clean up and it doesn't leak when removing the hoses where as my Cascade does.

I can not recommend a canister but if you set up your tank and sump properly you can eliminate possible sump floods. Having a sump does not automatically mean you will have a greater chance of floods (again, if you build it right). If you plumb your canister wrong you can leak and flood :)

Just my 3 cents.

Sump
 

Yea... but having not really any experience with sumps.... this could be an issue... and again... my wife and I travel.... so I dont want to leave it to chance and have a friend stumble upon an overflow... if say I am in Jamaica or something ha ha!

Thanks for the input.

Without a sump you will most likely need a HOB skimmer. These skimmers increase the chance of flooding more than any sump would.

I run an HOB skimmer on my 20 and have never had that happen. Interesting. Have you had that happen?

I have not even heard of that happening??? How??

before the current tank had a sumpless 75g and the most annoying thing was the lack of sump when I was traveling as I could only go a few days then I was worrying about pumps pushing air due evaporation. Once the sump had more lee way (and now with a ATO no worries at all).

Properly done there's issues having a sump.

Why even use a filter...I removed mine and have never been happier.

I would suggest do it right the first time, get a sump, get some advice re setting up the sump dimensions and overflow properly and there is no chance of water overflowing the sump or tank. If you go canister you will have elevated nitrates and you will get rid of it sooner or later. I also suggest getting as much used equipment as you can as you will save $$$$.