• Looking to buy a cephalopod? Check out Tomh's Cephs Forum, and this post in particular shares important info about our policies as it relates to responsible ceph-keeping.

do i need a sump setup? or can i just use a canister filter?

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we'll this is a new tank. i have a sump setup in my other 75 gallon but i wanted to do a canister in this one. what is a good canister to use?
 
As you've likely noticed, canisters aren't that popular around here, although I know some people have used them. I think they're mentioned in one of the octopus care articles, and I seem to remember that Roy Caldwell (neognodactylus) has mentioned he uses them in his lab setup. The main thing is that manufacturer ratings don't take into account the huge amount of waste produced by cephs, so you'll want to get one rated much larger than the actual size of the tank, and you may have to change the filter media more often.

I really only know this from trying to read a lot here, though, so hopefully some people with experience will chime in shortly...
 
Advice on tank set-up before I get Euprymna tasmanica

Howdy I run a lab at the Uni of South Australia and we are setting up a 260L (~70 gallons) tank with the plan of capturing a few Southern Dumpling Squid, Euprymna tasmanica, to do some ink behavioural analysis. Having not done anything to do with aquaria of any sort it is a steep learning curve to say the least. There are so many different opinions about what set-up is the best. So far I have a protein skimmer, submerged powerhead for circulation and a Eheim Canister Filter that is designed to handle a 500L tank. I am in the process of setting up a smaller, about 50L, second tank for live food or isolation if necessary running an old style trickle filter and undergravel filter. I 've lost count about how many people have said U/G filters are dodgy. I want to get as much as I can out of this so I want to see as many types of filtration as I can to see for myself. So far both tanks are cycling nicely Ammonia went up abit then down with Nitrite up a bit everything seems stable. My canaries in a coalmine are some Palaemon shrimp from the local coast. They eat some normal fish food and are moulting quite happily.
I need to get a chiller which I'm investigating to keep the water at about 14 Celcius.
Before we collect any cephs can anyone give me some advice on my progress so far and any improvements to the system or whether it is just ridiculously under prepared for cephs.
Cheers
Paddy:read:
 
As far as filtration goes it's very important to know what kind of skimmer you have. A sump is always the best solution because it increases your systems volume, allows a place for all your equipment and allows you to process much more water then a cannister. As a rule, especially with cephs, you'll want a skimmer rated at approx 1.5 to 2 times your systems volume also you'll want a system turn over volume (filtration) of at least 5-10 per hour. Hope this helps a little...
 
Sounds like you are on the right path with your set up. The best idea is to go large on all the equipment you buy compared to if it was to be a reef tank or a fish only tank of the same capacity.

As for canister filters - I actually quite like them. The new modern ones are nothing like the old ones and many are now able to self-prime and there are even those with in-line heaters. One advantage is that they are compartmentalised so you can have different filter media in them all at once without them mixing. That means a great way of adding carbon etc all at once.

Paddy, just watch that the powerhead doesnt suck up the cephalopods as they can get stuck to them if they dont have a grill or sponge.

U/Gs have their place but not compared to whats available on the market. Dont have your substrate any deeper than about 1cm to prevent buildup of waste and use something aragonite based to help buffer the water

cheers
 
Canister filters are better suited for filtering freshwater systems (IMO). If i was going to run one on a saltwater setup i would use a fluval fx5 and fill it with pot scrubbies.. This will be just a mechincal filter and will need some regular cleaning..
 

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