Heating and filtration for a 345gal tank

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Im having some issues finding heating and filtration for my new tank on order- i simply can't find any companys that produce heaters for tanks that sort of size ! I know loads of you guys on this forum own tanks similar or much larger than the tank i am getting and i was wondering what sort of heating do you use to heat your tanks and if you can recommend and particular brands of heaters?
As to the filtration, i was thinking of getting a pond pump for the tank as its easy to find large pond pumps, and i was thinking of simply replacing some of the more coarser pump sponge with somthing finer and somwhere figuring out a way so the pump doesn't suck up every tiny fry born in the tank- but if they are any proper non-sump tank filters for a tank the size of mine i'd be grateful to know what companys make them and stuff .
Any help much appreiciated

 

[CFC]

Pond filters dont really work on tanks as they are designed to be positioned above the water level not below it as aquarium filters are, to be honest the only option you have on a tank that size is a sump filter as usually used on marine tanks. This is usually another tank that is large enough to hold 20% of the main tanks volume and is divided into compartments by glass plates which the water flows under and over through various filter medias, the last compartment contains a pump which is capable of lifting the water from the floor to the top of the tank and turns over at least 5 times the volume of the tank per hour.

As for heating you will need multiples of the highest wattage heaters you can get, i use 2x 300w heaters on my 200g so really you will be looking at atleast 3 and prefferably 4 heaters. The good news is that with a sump filter you can place the heaters in the sump so that they are not visable in the main tank.

 

[The-Wolf]

you could use a pressurised filter system like
Hagens Laguna(tm) systems
http/www.hagen.com/usa/ponds/sub_categor...=30&SUBCAT=3001

as this is a pressurised system it can be positioned below, at the same level or above the tank.
Be warned they are not cheap

Edited to change from UK link to USA link

 

[CFC]

Once you have crossed the 100g barrier nothing is cheap anymore, even putting a substrate into the tank is going to cost an arm and a leg and you dont even want to think of the cost of water conditioner and electricity bills Then comes the decor, those little £4.99 bits of bogwood look silly in huge tanks so its time to start looking at the larger bits which start at £20 a time, unless you are going for rocks in which case you'd better get a mortgage out

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Lol
Yeah i had a feeling things were going to get even more expensive after the tank was bought, i've been saving up rocks from the beach for the last year although a decent amount of substrate(fine white silica sand) is going to cost me about £30's...And thats being very optimistic, bye bye money .
Thanks for the info though, i've heard of sump systems but they seem realy complicated to me which is why i was trying to avoid them- can you buy the whole system in one lot or is it one of those things you have to scrape together from different stores?

 

[Mo_loves_fish]

well first of a 345 gal i am so jelous i want a bigger 1 so bad but i need to save munny and stop buying fish

 

[Cossack1977]

there are a heap of pumps that will do that size tank:
Magdrive
pondmate
just to name a few

filtration: i just put in a custom built presuirised system on my tank and it beats hands down any off the shelf filter or a sump outright. A little bit of money though but worth it all DIY.

heaters hmmm. thats a tough one

 

[andywg]

I would certainly be gunning for a sump on a tank that size, not only does it give you a huge amount of room for filter media it also increases the water volume (more stable tank) and provides extra aeration. I run sumps on both my 6 foot and 4 foot tanks and never have any problems.

The most important advices I can give you is to get the tank drilled. There are far too many things that can go wrong with overflows that won't or are almost impossible to happen with a drilled tank.

You can buy the bits from various places. I have had my sumps custom made to perfectly fit the space available for them. Otherwise look for second hand tanks.

The glass you can get from a local glazier and for the pipe work I would use Fish Fur and Feather.

For more help understanding the principles of a sump based system then I recommend you talk to the salty people, they can explain it far better than I (despite having just set up my third sump) and they taught me everything I know.

As for heating, CFC is spot on, just grab a few of the largest ones you can find and stick em in the sump. Not like you'll ever see them.

Another possibility for the filtration would be to have one mechanical filter and a fluidised sand bed for bacterial.

HIH

Andy

 

[jolaf]

http/cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...&category=42931

Check this out

Good luck

.

Im having some issues finding heating and filtration for my new tank on order- i simply can't find any companys that produce heaters for tanks that sort of size ! I know loads of you guys on this forum own tanks similar or much larger than the tank i am getting and i was wondering what sort of heating do you use to heat your tanks and if you can recommend and particular brands of heaters?
As to the filtration, i was thinking of getting a pond pump for the tank as its easy to find large pond pumps, and i was thinking of simply replacing some of the more coarser pump sponge with somthing finer and somwhere figuring out a way so the pump doesn't suck up every tiny fry born in the tank- but if they are any proper non-sump tank filters for a tank the size of mine i'd be grateful to know what companys make them and stuff .
Any help much appreiciated

[snapback]896758[/snapback]​

 

[fish_keeper2]

Cant belive no one thought of this.......why dont you try to find the largest heaters and filters and buy several of them to meet the reguirments of the tank

 

[andywg]

Cant belive no one thought of this.......why dont you try to find the largest heaters and filters and buy several of them to meet the reguirments of the tank

[snapback]898030[/snapback]​

That has been suggested for heaters at least twice.

With filters most people don't really want the expense of say 4 to 5 Fluval 404s to handle a tank like that, and even then you'd be pushing it (not to mention the multitude of wires and bits and bobs stickeing the tank).

Once you break through the 200 gallon you really are looking at custom filtration, be it pressurised, fluidised or sumped.

 

[Ethos]

Just sounds might expansive if you ask me.
Good luck.

 

[fish_keeper2]

Cant belive no one thought of this.......why dont you try to find the largest heaters and filters and buy several of them to meet the reguirments of the tank

[snapback]898030[/snapback]​

That has been suggested for heaters at least twice.

With filters most people don't really want the expense of say 4 to 5 Fluval 404s to handle a tank like that, and even then you'd be pushing it (not to mention the multitude of wires and bits and bobs stickeing the tank).

Once you break through the 200 gallon you really are looking at custom filtration, be it pressurised, fluidised or sumped.

[snapback]898242[/snapback]​

oh...i acidentaly skiped over that ) . all the wires and all makes since, the largest tank ive had up to date is a 10 gal so i didnt know tabout those types of filter execpt sumps(ive been looking in to marine tanks) but forgot about em

 

[colen]

I could just imagine, dozens of HOB filters lined up around the 345gal tank! haha. A sump sounds like the best option for a tank that massive.

Let us know how you make out and what you decide to do.

What are the dimensions of your new tank? And I guess my next question would be: How do you plan on getting the tank into your house?

Thanks,
Colen.

 

[andywg]

There is one very large downside to a sump and that is the extra gas exchange surface which makes it pretty hard to do plants as it drives CO2 out of the water. In that respect a pressurised filter could well work, though I don't have great experience of those so couldn't really comment.

If you wanted to go mad you could dig out my old post on Algae Turf Scrubbers. Fantastic filtration that actually just absorbs ammonia and never breaks it down to nitrite or nitrate (hence no nitrates) and can allow more length between water changes. They are becoming ever more popular in marine and are just starting to be used by people with freshwater. But due to the bucket system needed to throw the water over the algal turf they drive out CO2 and tend to be a little noisy.