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New to Octopi, need help with sump related items.

joejoedrum

Hatchling
Registered
Joined
Jun 18, 2011
Messages
6
Hi there everybody,
First off, I just want to say hello to you all on this website and say how awesome it is there is an online forum for octopi and other cephs. I've always ave been fascinated with these creatures and have always wanted to have one.
I believe I've done enough research on the actual animal itself to brace myself enough to begin purchasing equipment for a tank. I had a saltwater tank in high school, but had to sell it upon moving into dorms at college. Now that I'm renting a house, I can once again invest in an aquarium. I know the basics such as size, water parameters, and the uncertainty with getting an octopi, but I'm just wondering if there are certain things about the equipment used for octopi such as filtration, skimmers, powerheads, etc.
Basically I would like to know brands you guys that have been successful with octopus tanks as far as the cleaning and oxygenating pieces go. Thanks in advance!
 
I can't think of an overwheliming brand of any one item exclusively recommended for an octopus tank other than a Koralia like power head (to avoid having to use a filter on the intake to keep curious arms attached to the animal). Most of us use the branded model but the higher end brands have been sited as worth the extra money and I don't know how well the knock-off units work.

Tank size (55+ recommended for the most flexibility in species 75+ is ideal), using a remote sump for additional water volume and an octo-safe place for equipment (skimmer highly recommended) aeration and cooling and a latchable lid are the main additional considerations over a normal reef tank. If you will look at the sticky at the top of this forum titled Tank Buildouts there are links by size to some of the member's tanks to give you some ideas.
 
I was certainly contemplating the hood for the aquarium, and those pictures certainly helped with that and my concern of sump items. My next question would be, how much GPH should I have from my power head?
 
I can't help with that much. My "go by" is more or less that there should be enough water movement along the top and top front of the LR to support a gorgonian but not be too much for mushrooms :roll:. I worry about debris movement more than GPH so the number and placement of my Koralias is based upon observation (particularly during water changes when I stir up the sand and find dead spots). If the flow it too much, I move it or rocks to block, too low, I add another. I have made the mistake of getting larger Koralias in lieu of adding and find the flow too much at the source.

One of the things I do in the most of the tanks is to include a SCWD in the return line and have an outlet at each end of the aquarium so that the current reverses direction. How effective this really is I don't know but it is one of those, if it appears to work over and over, stick with it assumptions we have made.
 
That depends :biggrin2:. I like the 2's the best (rated at about 600 I think) and originally put one on either side of two of my 60+ tanks. I "upgraded" to larger ones when the new ones came out but regret it and have added a net over one (and I did not replace the other) in one of the tanks. You have to balance flow with safety and it is a fine line. A lot depends on how you place them, the obstructions, the tank length and how much flow you will add from your sump return.

Octopuses seem to like to sit in direct flow part of the time (but definitely need lots of space where they are not buffeted) so a localized higher flow area may be desirable (directing the power head is probably the best way to experiment with this). As they age and become senescent the time infront of the higher flow increases. I have noticed they shed their sucker skin much more frequently in senescence and the skin of O. briareus becomes almost slimy feeling so I suspect the time in the higher water movement has to do with something akin to exfoliation. I don't know if there are similar observations with cuttlefish.
 

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