1st Tanks...Yup I said Tanks

I'm setting up 2 tasks a 46g bow front and a 10g for QT/mini display for my daughters room. I don't really want to drill the 46g because I'll probably end up upgrading to the 72g or larger bow front later.

I have a 2x36watt t5 fixture running 50/50 I plan to add 225 bright white LED's. Because of not wanting to drill I plan to make a DIY siphon overflow directly to the sump (either a 10g aqurium or larger ,if I can find it cheap, or a plastic bin,for now). Just need to know what size pipe to use and what size (rating) the pump should have.

the little 10 gal will have a HOB skimmer/filter thing or will make a mini fuge from a plastic shoe bin or something simular. What size return pump and such for that set up?

also need to know a good reliable brand of heaters....don't want it going out and cooking my fishies.

Any help/advice would be appreciated.

 

cant help ya there but welcome to the 46 bow club cant wait to see pics!

 

Nah, I hear skim/filter are not great. Get a HOB and put a clip on lights and grow macro,not a shoebox, what fish are you gonna put in the 10?
I like via-aqua but they probably do not make a 25 watt... Hows about this?
Hydor Mini Aquarium Heater at PETCO
filter (can't put that much cheato)
Aquarium Power Filters: Marineland Penguin BIO-Wheel Power Filters
or wet/dry, could be overkill though
Kollercraft Tom Aquarium Rapids Mini Canister C80

 

Thank you . I
read about your build and Jwin & Tripple Mom's build too ...all great tanks.

 

Thanks....was also thinking about using a poweerhead and a snap lock container to build a diy canister filter due to wanting to keep the back free of clutter for viewing. (for the 10g). Plan on some LR, LS, cleaner shrimp a firefish and 1 or 2 other fish that stay small....oh just saw you put a link for a mini canister...yippee will look into that.

 

Be very careful doing a DIY siphon overflow, make sure you understand the danger in them in case of power outages and in case of accidental siphon breakage and design it for these potential circumstances. They're a relatively common way for floods to happen.

I would aim for 300-400gph for the return pump (after factoring in head loss), and use 1" pipes.

As for heaters I haven't found a reliable one yet. I think an external temp controller is mandatory but that's just me. Check out the ReefKeeper Lite for a pretty cheap controller that can do some other stuff too like time your lights as well as keeping your heater better under control.

 

Cool about the controller (I want to add blue LEDs to both tanks for nightime viewing & have the lights come on/go off more gradually).... and thanks for the info. As far as the overflow was thinking about the siphon 1 and did read how to put beakes on it to speak....but the kind i meant is like what an lfs may have on tank where a pipe is put @ the desired water level and the return pump outs water back in causing more to go into the overflow...heard that kind is quieter and only requires a few dollars in supplies (pvc pipe...althouh I have a great plastics retailer that may make tubing and connectors that are clear so they will blend in better.

 

Water

I forgot to ask about water.
There is a vending type of machine at the grocery store that says their water is put through RO/DI filtration & I think UV too. Do you think I should trust this claim or just try and get the water through PetsMart or other fish store?
The store water is only 35 cents a gallon and is just 2 blocks away so is preferable to the other sources due to convenience alone.