New 150G Tank Setup Advice

[Tautog]

Hello Houston Fish Box... I am new to this forum and I look forward to engaging in exciting discussion... First let me introduce myself... My user name Tautog is an Atlantic black skinned game fish for which the submarine I served on during the 80s and 90s was name after... kind of ironic that now I am in for 40s and have gotten so deep into this hobby in less than a year... I recently ordered a 150G Marineland 48x24x30 tall dimension tank and when it comes in, I will be standing down my two smaller tanks opting for one maintenance focus which will be the 150G. I chose these dimensions because of wall space requirements and I am now raising Discus... Currently, I have a 37G tank with x5 Juvenile healthy Discus, x3 Electric Blue Rams and x12 Cardinals. In my 60G tank I have a colony of x7 German Blue Rams, x2 Apisto Coctuies, x2 Apisto Borelis, x12 Neons, x5 Red Eye Tetras, x3 Marble Hatchet Fish, x10 Rummy Nose Tetras, x4 Corys and x1 Pleco... Total fish count is 66 fish... in the two tanks... I have spared no expense... both tanks are partially planted and I have keystone driftwood ornaments with a some petrified word rock. When I consolidate to the one tank, I will be retaining all dwarf cichlids to live with my Discuss fish and the Tetra Schools.

[Darbex]

Congrats to the box. Check out my post on my 150G in the discus section.

[Tautog]

I have a Eheim 2217 and a 2215 canister filters along with a 9W CoralLife Turbo Twist UV Sterilizer running on my 60G tank and I also have x2 Eheim 2215 canister filters and a 9W CoralLife Turbo Twist UV Sterilizer running on my 37G tank. My question is simple... I will be raising Discus, dwarf cichlids and schooling tetras in my new 150G deep dimension tank (48x24x30)... in order to save some currently investment, I would like to run my 2217 and all three 2215s on the new tank. I would also like to daisy chain my UV sterilizers together connected to one of the 2215 with 1/4 turn flow reduction thereby increasing the amount of time water is exposed to the UV light running through two lamps... Also, is the x4 filter configuration OK, or should I breakdown and buy the Eheim 2262 and run it with my 2217 then sell my 2215s... your expert advice is welcomed...

[Tautog]

Thank Darbex... searching for it now... new to this forum... will find shortly

[Ballinxalex]

Nice I used to keep discus !! Discus are so peaceful

[not1min]

I am no expert but I would get the Eheim 2262 and run a wet/dry if you have room under your stand for both. I run a Fluval FX5 with a DYI wet/dry on my 125 gal. My tank water is crystal clear.

[Ballinxalex]

I say stick with the filtration u have its fine just do plenty of wc

[mnemenoi]

Welcome aboard, we have that exact tank and have good results with a 2262 & 2217

[troy tucker]

Welcome to the Box!

I would like to run my 2217 and all three 2215s on the new tank.

The 2217 is a great filter. I would run it and a big wet/dry filter.

I would also like to daisy chain my UV sterilizers together connected to one of the 2215 with 1/4 turn flow reduction thereby increasing the amount of time water is exposed to the UV light running through two lamps...

UV is good to have but it works just fine. with out linking or changing the way its set up.

I have spared no expense... both tanks are partially planted and I have keystone driftwood ornaments with a some petrified word rock.

Using the ornaments from the other tanks will work but the 2 smaller tanks are like 20" high. You are going to have a big 30" to fill in the new tank. So you may want to try some taller plants or bigger driftwood.
The livestock should all get along. looking forward to seening pictures.

[prostreet69camaro]

I am running 2- 2217 on my 180 gallon tank with no problems. Water is clear and I do a 50% water change every 2 weeks.

I saw a couple 2217's for sale. 1 on craigslist and 1 on fishbox.

[Tautog]

Thank you all for the excellent feedback. I need to research the setup and maintenance of a wet dry sump type configuration to close the loop on my knowledge base but I will likely not do that until my next upgrade and next home. The tank I ordered does not have drilled holes or overflow. At the time I was opting for more internal swim room the the exiting challenge of setting up the tank with solution searching for hiding mechanical parts etc is a turn on. I enjoy a good challenge and if successful it's a rush followed by boredom. BTW. I bought an awesome piece of driftwood for the new tank from fish gallery. Gives the effect of tree root caves and branches to the surface area. I need a solution for plants. I will be staying true to the Amazon basin. At least where possible. Ill start a new advice thread on that subject matter expertise very soon.

[Tautog]

Ill either purchase a 2262 in mid July and set it up in conjunction with with my 2217 and one 2215. My 2215 would stay lower flow and push through 9W turbo twists creating 6 turn twists and longer exposure. The 2217 will do its bio filtration job and I will likely only clean it every 3 to 6 months. The 2262 will give me the flow rate and circulation I would have compensated for with a power head with the 4 smaller filters. I would think since I have the deeper 150 that if I configure the 2262 with bottom return pointing toward the opposite upper corner with a little driftwood break coupled with the longer travel distance in hoses that the flow rate can be managed to support the Discus environmental requirements. The 2217 would use a spray bar at surface for oxygen agitation and the 2215 would be an open pipe at opposite surface end from spray bar. I may use top circular flow on 2262. The tank will be set up and tested in sever configuration before transfer fish. If I use this setup then I have two 2215 filters I can sell one each with the 37g and 60g tanks sweetening the deal just a little. The other choice will be to set up all four filters I will make final decision by mid July. Also, I will be narrating with pictures upon project execution and each step along way. BTW. I do not like green hoses. Do you have an opinion how to achieve black hoses?

[Tautog]

Also I'm on a treadmill so forgive me if I have iPhone typos.

[Tautog]

I will also try to configure circulation to get the most out of each filter intake moving as much overall water through the UV system and bio filters as possible. A part of the idea with the bottom return on the 2262 would be to break up and circulate waste deposits through the filters. I will be trying all of my ideas until I achieve desired results. The beautiful thing is I have the other two tanks to maintain livestock until ready to transfer fish.

[mnemenoi]

You can always buy black hoses and intakes/spray bars online, just verify sizes. They are not original Eheims, so are just made by others. We have some and they work fine. The 2262 does have a tremendous flow, our issue currently is some dead spots near the vegetation. The 2262 tries to uproot stuff, so am considering a circulation pump for that aspect. Both our returns are surface agitation and we have a powerhead for additional oxygenation. Very swift currents in the line of fire, but a few spots that seem to be absent from any current. Overall its a great tank and setup, just need to tweak some lighting issues and photoperiod, add a bit more circulation and I think it will remedy the issue. Here is the thread on this tank for your perusal