Starting Up Tank, Need Advice...

[CureTheSane]

Hello,

I am starting up a new fish tank and know little.
I deal in litres being Australian, but I can convert to gallons if needed.

Anyway, as I said, I have ordered a 4 foot tank, 14 inches deep and 18 inches high.
How many litres or gallons of water would that hold?
And when I purchase a filter, how many litres/gallons per hour should I be looking at as a minimum?
Should I get a filter with a switch to vary the flow rate?
Generally do people prefer Aqua One or Fluval (the two most common types here) and what would be that main differences?

The main things I am loking for in a filter....
Quiet operation
Ease of maintenance
Reliability

Any help is greatly appreciated, after the cabinet and tank, this is the last sizable expence (aside from the fish themselves), and I want to get it right from that start
Martin

 

[HasGills]

I have the same size tank.. From memory leaving about 1 inch gap at the top and given the inside dimensions are smaller on the inside your looking at around 180-185 Litres of water..

As for filters I would recommend Eheim 2215 Classic. Im using one to filter my tank as its doing a good job so far. I cant hear it unless its late at night and i can just make out the slight hum coming from the filter.

If your going to have plants make sure you get enough light.. I have 2 x 40w Powerglo's and the plants have gone crazy.. Im having to prune once a week to keep everything in check.. The general rule is you want 1.5-2watts per Gallon.. Your tank is around 45Gal-50Gal so 80w is pretty good.

Btw, once you have it setup make sure you do the full fishless cycle which takes around 4-5 weeks before you start adding fish.

 

[sannesley]

I'd agree with HasGills. When you take substrate and tank furniture into account you're looking at around 170-175 litres of water for a tank with the dimensions you've given.

 

[CureTheSane]

Thanks for the help