Tank Setup And Critique

[Frank the Tank]

ok got myself a cheap Rio 240 litre tank so decided to go for Malawi setup phone, i got 2 external filters

eheim ecco 2036 - supports up to 300lt
cristalprofi e700 - supports up to 170lt

would both these be enough for filtration?

i also got 2 300w heaters which i got for the tank (one at each end)

going to use white silica sand

everything look ok or any recommendations?

 

[Noahs ark6]

1watt per litre is the amount needed for heaters, so 600 watts would be ample for a 600 litre tank, your tank is only 240 litres. It won't do any harm though. 300 + 170 = 470litres, your tank is 240, so yes, that is more than enough filtration

 

[ZoddyZod]

the one heater would be enough, but always good to have an extra in there as a back-up, should one fail......especially on cold winter nights!

As for the filtration, I'd like to see some Malawi owners comment. Over-filtration is a requirement due to the over-stocking of a regular malawi set-up. Those two might be enough to be classed as 'over-filtering' but hopefully someone with Malawi experience will give you a sure answer.

 

[Noahs ark6]

How do you know i've not had Malawi experience?

 

[ZoddyZod]

How do you know i've not had Malawi experience?

sorry, seems we were replying at the same time.

 

[Noahs ark6]

oh right

 

[gregswimm]

How do you know i've not had Malawi experience?

Just don't run both heaters at the same time.

 

[Frank the Tank]

How do you know i've not had Malawi experience?

Just don't run both heaters at the same time.

why would that be an issue? I've ran 2 heaters before and I've seen others do it ?

 

[ZoddyZod]

running two heaters will not be an issue. But since they are both powerful enough to heat the the tank on their own, I'd run one a few degrees less than the other. That way of the higher one packs up, the other one will kick in when the water drops in temp a little.

 

[Lufbramatt]

I've got a 300 watt heater on a 350 litre tank and it copes fine, temp is rock solid at 26 degrees. The issue with running two powerful heaters is that they will be turning on and off lots, and its the switching circuits that fail- more cycles will shorten its life. Big heaters stuck on = cooked fish. If it was two 150 watt heaters then it would sound a bit safer to me.

I think you'll be fine just running one and keeping the other as a spare or just use it in the middle of winter when it gets cold overnight.

The filters look fine, decent amount of media in both of them and combined turnover of 1450lph, about 6x tank volume per hour. For malawis I'd maybe feel more comfortable with a bit more so you're nearer 10x tank volume per hour but I think you'd be fine with what you have.

 

[rifty]

How do you know i've not had Malawi experience?

Just don't run both heaters at the same time.

eh? why not