# Is This Appropriate For A 240 Gallon Setup?



## B. Rodgers (Jan 20, 2005)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
240 Gallon Aquarium
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Filtration
[ 2 ] Rena Filstar XP3 Canister Filters
- 700 GPH Flow Rate
$ 200

Lighting
[ 4 ] 48" Fluorescent Shoplights With 8, 40 Watt Plant And Aquarium Bulbs
- 320 Watts Total
$ 80

Water Movement
[ 2 ] AC802 Powerheads
- 800 GPH Flow Rate
$ 60

Heating
[ 2 ] 300 Watt Rena Cal Top Light Excel
- 600 Watts Total
$ 50

Substrate
200 Pounds Of Flourite Seachem Substrate
200 Pounds Of Silica Sand Substrate On Top
$ 150
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


----------



## Andy1234 (Apr 23, 2004)

instead of the canister filters id get several ac 500s or emp 400s cheaper


----------



## MR HARLEY (Aug 12, 2003)

Andy1234 said:


> instead of the canister filters id get several ac 500s or emp 400s cheaper
> [snapback]908582[/snapback]​


I wouldnt ....








Then what would filter the bottom ?

Faded,
Keep the cannisters maybe add a few more , I just like to overfiltrate ...
Ex...
On my 210 gallon
2 Emp400
2 fluval 404's
2 Hot magnum's 
I have even debated the idea of running another Fluval 304, but the water is Cristal and I dont think its needed ..
Thats just in filtration ...
If your not gonna use wet/dry system IMO, when dealing with tanks of this size its best you come over filtered on the other forms.


----------



## galland (Nov 7, 2003)

There's the american way of filtration=10x per hour through 15 oz. of media or the European way=2-3x per hour through 12 liters of media. As for me I think it's not the volume moving through a filter but more the amount of media exposed to that water. For the biological cycle the more media the better right? So I use 2 Eheim 2028's on a 300 gallon. All chemistries perfect. The setup you have should work fine.


----------



## B. Rodgers (Jan 20, 2005)

So you think 1 wet/dry would be better than all of that? Or possibly 2 XP3's And 2 AC500/110s?


----------



## MR HARLEY (Aug 12, 2003)

Faded said:


> So you think 1 wet/dry would be better than all of that? Or possibly 2 XP3's And 2 AC500/110s?
> [snapback]908927[/snapback]​


wet dry and the Xp's


----------



## B. Rodgers (Jan 20, 2005)

wet/dry's cost too much


----------



## galland (Nov 7, 2003)

Just start with what you have and keep up on regular water changes. Monitor the water chemitry and then add more filters as needed.


----------



## B. Rodgers (Jan 20, 2005)

Thats another thing? which parameter in my water chemistry will indicate i need more filters?


----------



## galland (Nov 7, 2003)

If I'm thinking straight waste is first turned into ammonia and then nitrites which are then turned into less harmful nitrates. If you are seeing an increase in either ammonia or nitrites, then you should probably boost your filter #'s.


----------



## Dragonrider (Jan 13, 2005)

MR HARLEY said:


> Faded said:
> 
> 
> > So you think 1 wet/dry would be better than all of that? Or possibly 2 XP3's And 2 AC500/110s?
> ...


Look into DIY, there's shortcuts, old fish tank, couple pieces of plexiglass, shop for media, poof, a wet\dry.


----------



## Bluegill (Nov 28, 2003)

I really like my Filstar, but you should be shooting turn over the volume of your tank about five times an hour with canisters. 240 gallons yields 1200 gallons per hour, so I'm afraid that 2 XP3's isn't enough. I'd go with a wet/dry. For $200, you could DIY a nice one, especially if you have an extra tank lying around unused. Otherwise, add an AC500 on top of thwe two XP3's.

Just my 2 cents.


----------



## Lyle (Jan 29, 2003)

You can also go with one titanium heater...cheaper, cleaner looking and safer...


----------



## B. Rodgers (Jan 20, 2005)

How About 4 AC500/110s and The "XP3 I Already Own"?

That should do it?


----------



## galland (Nov 7, 2003)

If you talk to a number of curators around the country. Like Belle Isle Aquarium in Detroit, Boston Aquarium etc. they will tell you that for larger freshwater tanks they don't really like wet/dry's. For saltwater the reverse is true. Eheim is known as the #1 filter for tanks. That's because they don't just turn over water, they use media with massive surface area that contains the bacteria to convert the waste in your tank. They also do it at a slower rate. Look up the flow rates on their filters and you will see that they are fairly low. That's the benefit. Tons of media with lower flow. Lower media needs tons of flow(AC500). My Eheims use only 25 watts of power per and are completely silent. Your XP's are knockoffs but will work the same. Don't fall into the trap of just turning over the water a billion times. That's just uneducated fish keepers listening to other uneducated fish keepers. Like a bad rumor it just keeps going. People laugh at how expensive the Eheim substrate is. I think I spent about 150 for mine but it's engineered to remove waste efficiently. Isn't it funny how many threads there are with people running 4 or 5 AC's and how they are always having to upgrade?


----------



## Mack (Oct 31, 2004)

Faded said:


> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> 240 Gallon Aquarium
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Filtration
> ...


Posting this all on P-Fury and starting a bunch of disagreements: priceless.


----------



## B. Rodgers (Jan 20, 2005)

Lyle said:


> You can also go with one titanium heater...cheaper, cleaner looking and safer...
> [snapback]909407[/snapback]​


Where can i get a titanium heater? I'm supposed to have 720-1200 Watts Of Heating According To The P-Fury Information Calculators..Where the hell do I get a 1200 Watt Heater?


----------



## Sunman222 (Apr 19, 2003)

Faded said:


> Lyle said:
> 
> 
> > You can also go with one titanium heater...cheaper, cleaner looking and safer...
> ...


i run one 300 watt in each of my wet-dry's, seems to work just fine


----------



## B. Rodgers (Jan 20, 2005)

so it is possible to put a heater inside a filter so it's not just hanging around in the tanks and being used as a punching bag for the piranhas?

I wondered if that was possible I don't like them in my tank..and I've got a Rena 300 Watt heater in my 200 gallon now, but according to the P-fury calculator I need 720-1200 Watts? what's that all about I'd need 4 of those bastards in there to get that and have a filter big enough to hold them all...this is going to be harder than i thought!

Someone just tell me what to do!


----------



## RhomZilla (Feb 12, 2003)

I have a 240 gal also.. and here's my specs.

(2) 300 gal rated sump powered by Honda JK powered by (2) Mag Drive 7 pond pumps.

(2) 250 watt heaters (tank is in room temp)

And an optional XP3 which I turn on/off depending on the how long my last water change was.


----------



## B. Rodgers (Jan 20, 2005)

(2) 300 gal rated sump powered by Honda JK powered by (2) Mag Drive 7 pond pumps.

Hmm. how much $ and where 2 get them? I've never heard of them but I know that "U Da Man" especially with a name like that


----------



## mori0174 (Mar 31, 2004)

galland said:


> If you talk to a number of curators around the country. Like Belle Isle Aquarium in Detroit, Boston Aquarium etc. they will tell you that for larger freshwater tanks they don't really like wet/dry's. For saltwater the reverse is true. Eheim is known as the #1 filter for tanks. That's because they don't just turn over water, they use media with massive surface area that contains the bacteria to convert the waste in your tank. They also do it at a slower rate. Look up the flow rates on their filters and you will see that they are fairly low. That's the benefit. Tons of media with lower flow. Lower media needs tons of flow(AC500). My Eheims use only 25 watts of power per and are completely silent. Your XP's are knockoffs but will work the same. Don't fall into the trap of just turning over the water a billion times. That's just uneducated fish keepers listening to other uneducated fish keepers. Like a bad rumor it just keeps going. People laugh at how expensive the Eheim substrate is. I think I spent about 150 for mine but it's engineered to remove waste efficiently. Isn't it funny how many threads there are with people running 4 or 5 AC's and how they are always having to upgrade?
> [snapback]909849[/snapback]​


This isnt something new or high priced knowledge as you are presenting it. Some people prefer HOB filters, and you need a high GPH to achieve proper filtration in a piranha tank. Some prefer cannisters, where you still need more GPH than average tank because it is a piranha tank. I dont see everyone saying "turn over your water a billion times and you will be good". People are dispensing knowledge based on the principle you so eloquently described.


----------



## RhomZilla (Feb 12, 2003)

Faded said:


> (2) 300 gal rated sump powered by Honda JK powered by (2) Mag Drive 7 pond pumps.
> 
> Hmm. how much $ and where 2 get them? I've never heard of them but I know that "U Da Man" especially with a name like that
> 
> ...


Go to eBay. they always have great deals on sumps.. complete or non.

And I was joking about the "Powered by Honda" part.


----------



## elTwitcho (Jun 22, 2004)

galland said:


> If you talk to a number of curators around the country. Like Belle Isle Aquarium in Detroit, Boston Aquarium etc. they will tell you that for larger freshwater tanks they don't really like wet/dry's. For saltwater the reverse is true. [snapback]909849[/snapback]​


Are you sure you don't have those switched? All the big aquariums I know of use wet dry filtration on their tanks because it is the only economical way of filtering tanks of a couple hundred gallons and it is also extremely effective. Saltwater filtration on the other hand rarely uses wet dry filtration because it can lead to an excess of nitrates which are very dangerous in a SW setup.



galland said:


> That's because they don't just turn over water, they use media with massive surface area that contains the bacteria to convert the waste in your tank. They also do it at a slower rate. Look up the flow rates on their filters and you will see that they are fairly low.
> [snapback]909849[/snapback]​


That's exactly the reason why wet dry filters are the best filtration methods for freshwater. MORE media than your eheim as well as having the benefit of more oxygenation for the bacteria to better fix ammonia.


----------



## sccavee (Feb 11, 2003)

elTwitcho said:


> galland said:
> 
> 
> > If you talk to a number of curators around the country. Like Belle Isle Aquarium in Detroit, Boston Aquarium etc. they will tell you that for larger freshwater tanks they don't really like wet/dry's. For saltwater the reverse is true. [snapback]909849[/snapback]​
> ...


Yep all large SW I know would not touch wet/drys for nitrate reason, most use live sand, live rock, and macro. Pretty much all large FW use wet/drys.


----------



## taylorhedrich (Mar 2, 2005)

Mack said:


> Faded said:
> 
> 
> > --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> ...


Nice one Mack







Yeah Faded, I thought what you originally said was fine. Shows what I know.







Yeah, I was getting a little confused reading all these different types of filters.







Well, good luck anyway!
~Taylor~


----------



## B. Rodgers (Jan 20, 2005)

************************************UPDATE*************************************
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
240 Gallon Aquarium
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Filtration
Home Made DIY Wet/Dry Powered By A Mag Drive 2400 GPH Submersible Pond Pump Weeee!!! Check It Out On My DIY Page Down Below!
$ 150
Also...The Output from the Wet/Dry should be enought water movememnt to mimic 2 AC902 Powerheads!..by that I mean fast..like raging waters from a raging river! So I may not need powerheads

Lighting
[ 4 ] 48" Fluorescent Shoplights With 8, 40 Watt Plant And Aquarium Bulbs
- 320 Watts Total
$ 80

Water Movement
[ 2 ] AC802 Powerheads
- 800 GPH Flow Rate
$ 60

Heating
[ 2 ] 300 Watt Rena Cal Top Light Excel
- 600 Watts Total
$ 50

Substrate
200 Pounds Of Flourite Seachem Substrate
200 Pounds Of Silica Sand Substrate On Top
$ 150
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


----------



## hrdbyte (Feb 2, 2005)

lots of other options out there but good luck....


----------

