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How does this setup sound for a Bimac?

Djm9288

Pygmy Octopus
Registered
Joined
Jun 18, 2003
Messages
8
OK Im new to Ceph's but not to marine, so i decided i wanted to try an octopus, so here I am. Oh well, this is the tank I am planning:
A 29g tank, with tight fitting full hood, secured by silicone. 30 or so pounds of LR, 1.5" of south down sand. a 100w heater. Penguin Biowheel 125 filter. Aqua C Remora Skimmer. Some PVC elbows for hiding spaces.

So what do you think of my setup? PLMK thanks!
Daniel
 
I thought about the bio wheel myself but thought it was an escape waiting to happen so I went with the Fluval 404 Canister set up, an external uv sterilizer and air pump into an air stone for airation and left only openings for the hoses so to allow no escape.

Adrian
 
OK, so ill look into scraping the bio wheel, and going with a fluval 204. So are you happry eith your fluval? Would you do it differently if you could? And I kinda have to have an opening for my aqua C Remora,so ill just have to cross my fingers there. PLMK if you have any more opinions.
Thanks
Daniel
 
Is there a chance that a local store has a glass drill??? If you can drill the tank, you can use a sump system, and make your filtering changes, etc... a lot easier! The only downside to using power filters is that they have a tendency to heat the water, and a 29 might be hard to keep cool enough...what temp does it stay at now?
Greg
 
No, I dont really want a sump, too much of a hassle, and i dont have the space. Im thinking that I may go with a 37g tank instead, same dimensions, but taller. I am also seriously pondering about the fluvals, are they a good canister filter? Ive never used one before. I am pretty much just accustomed to HOB filters. And finally, how sensitive are bimacs to nitrates?
Thanks
Daniel
 
I am with you DJM about the sumps, But for an octo tank I am too worried about him esacping so I have no hang on stuff. Everything I do is with hoses. I am running a 55 and a 100 with fluvals and I dont get much heat from them I have both tanks right at 74 deg F. They are a good fitler in my opinon. You can set up two of them in one tank like I do. One has the bio cylinders and carbon and the other has the bio cylinders and ammonia reducer. What I like about them is the muliple trays for differnet type of filte media. As for the nitrates, I do 25-50% water changes a week to keep the nitrates in check and I do fiter maintence once a month due to the efficnecy of the fluvals. For the money they are a great filter. Get a UV though, makes a difference. And with all this I dont run a protien skimmer. I have never liked them, and if you pay enough attention to your aquarium you dont need one.
 
Hi

I'd argue about getting a UV over a skimmer :?

they are comparible in price but the skimmer removes a lot of waste before the filter need to work on it. It removes ink in case of small 'accidents' and it increases the O2 level of the aquarium simply by the amount of bubbles it produces. In short, I beleive that a skimmer is possibly one of the most important pieces of equipment for a ceph tank.

If you have a skimmer it will leave less maintenance on water changes and filter maintenance.

C
 
How offten doyou have to clean the protien skimmer though :?: For me the extra attention on water changes and the filter are worth not messing with the skimmer. Thats just my opinion, I could be wrong.
 
I clean my skimmer cups every day...but you could probably go for a couple without needing to rinse them out...but, it only takes maybe two minutes!
I am with Colin, the skimmer is the most important piece of filtration equipment for minireefs!
Greg
 
I'd have to agree with Colin on the protein skimmer. What you say is true (if you pay enough attention to your aquarium you dont need one.), but in the case of a small tank, if your octo inks full blast for whatever reason, it might suffocate :bugout: or would probably be very unhappy since ink tastes bitter :frown: . Then, if you have a real big tank, 25% of the water is alot of salt.
 
its true that the cups are probably best cleaned daily and the riser tubes on a regular basis too. But its not too much of a job.

it is also possible to drill a small hole into the collection cup with a hose to a larger container to allow less frequent emptying....
 

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