# 100 gallon new tank



## cableguy21 (Jan 20, 2014)

I am setting up a new tank,, currently have about a 4inch base of live sand and also have live rock in there need filtration advice, I was just doing to go with two AC110 filters, then maybe thought two Jebao canister that run 320gph, or maybe two sunsun canister that run 370gph. Will that be enough. I have 2 power heads to help with flow.


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## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

Welcome to C-F!!!

If this is a fresh water aquarium, there is no such thing as live rock (in the saltwater sense) and live sand is also a misnomer. Some manufacturers state that certain brands of sand contain live bacteria, etc. but this is not the same as live sand.

A 4" thick layer of sand might possibly cause problems with anaerobic pockets if you don't keep up on substrate vacuuming or stirring it weekly, it is more common to have 1" to 2" of sand. If you are using live plants, you can adjust the amount of sand to make it easier to plant the roots properly.

Your planned filtration sounds reasonable to me but of course you may need more or less depending on the stocking levels.

What are the dimensions of your 100G tank?

Do you know what species of fish you plan on keeping?


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## cableguy21 (Jan 20, 2014)

I thought the sand base would help with the biological filtration like it does in saltwater? My tank use to be saltwater so the aka live sand and live rock are dead now.. So sand and rock...


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## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

The sand substrate doesn't really work the same in a fresh water tank like it does in saltwater. It will still permit the growth of beneficial bacteria but it's not identically the same process.

Did you clean the old live sand and rock prior to putting it in the new setup? In other words, was it already dead and dried out or did you just drain the saltwater tank and then fill with fresh water?


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## cableguy21 (Jan 20, 2014)

Also sorry doing haps and peas for the fish and I think the tank is 6ft in length


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## cableguy21 (Jan 20, 2014)

I drained the saltwater out and pretty much hand washed the sand with fresh water to get out anything salt related out.


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## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

Did you clean the live rock or allow it to dry out first?


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## cableguy21 (Jan 20, 2014)

Dry out... I'm not planning on putting fish in the tank for awhile... Most likely going to refill tank using my ro/di system and let me tank run for a month or 2 to filter any bad stuff out and let it cycle.. I mean even thou I cleaned everything when I put water in tank and start running the filtration there is still going to be die off and that is going to spike levels in tank so I'm going to wait for that process to do its thing .


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## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

I wouldn't waste your time using RO/DI water to fill the tank back up, just use regular tap water unless there is a real problem with it.

Saltwater tanks are a bit more tricky regarding water parameters, hence the RO/DI systems. You shouldn't need one for fresh water aquariums as it is a 'pure' water and will require you to add buffers to your tank to meet the requirements of the fish.

Check out some of the articles in the Library, the link is posted in my signature. There are articles regarding home made buffers, compatible species, fish-less cycling and many, many more that will be extremely helpful to read.


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## cableguy21 (Jan 20, 2014)

Hmmm cool so no ro/di needed... Sweet.. What about the filtration? Should I go with the two ac110, or go with the canisters? I was going to go with the sun sun the big boy that is 500+ gph but I noticed it runs at 55watts if I just can use that one filter then fine but if I need two then ehhhh , or I can go with two smaller ones that run about 340 gph each... I mean if I have to get two big one then so be it..


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## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

What are your tank dimensions? For a 6 foot long tank, I would use at least one AC110 and a canister filter but I personally prefer to over filter my tanks. You can check out the Product Reviews section at the top of the page for member reviews on brands and models.

The unofficial usual recommendation for filtration for cichlids is 8 - 10X the size of the aquarium. This isn't a definite number but a loose recommendation that takes into account the habit of overstocking fish.


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## cableguy21 (Jan 20, 2014)

6ft length, 22inches height and 18 depth


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## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

Looks to be about 123 gallons or so.


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## cableguy21 (Jan 20, 2014)

It's actually 110 gallons has 2 built in overflows so they take up space.. With rock and sand I'm estimating about 100 gallons.


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## spotmonster (Nov 23, 2006)

cableguy21 said:


> It's actually 110 gallons has 2 built in overflows so they take up space.. With rock and sand I'm estimating about 100 gallons.


Are the overflows going to go to a sump? Or are they totally internal? If they are "built in's" aren't you going to use the overflows themselves for filtration? If so you only need a pump, and to set up a filter system inside the overflow.

Overflows aside, I'd run 1- FX5 on that tank, and add one AC110 to have excellent filtration. One FX5 will filter that tank by itself and be silent. 2-3 AC110's will filter that tank by themselves also.

My Eheim knowledge is next to nothing but I know 1- 2260 / 2262 will do that tank by itself also.


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## cableguy21 (Jan 20, 2014)

I just purchased a sunsun 5 stage canister supposedly it runs 500gph for flow, the overflows are built in the tank but I heard they won't work with canisters. And the over flow sump setup are noisy.. So I will have the sunsun, and ac110.. Once I get that filter..


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## spotmonster (Nov 23, 2006)

cableguy21 said:


> I just purchased a sunsun 5 stage canister supposedly it runs 500gph for flow, the overflows are built in the tank but I heard they won't work with canisters. And the over flow sump setup are noisy.. So I will have the sunsun, and ac110.. Once I get that filter..


I'm not real familiar with overflows, but what I'm getting at is, the overflow can be used without a sump as a built in filter.... know what I mean? The water coming into the overflow can trickle over media and then be pumped back into the tank. And you could hide your heater in there also.


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## cableguy21 (Jan 20, 2014)

Overflow has a input and output holes on the bottom for a sump setup, what I was thinking was cover holes so it will bypass that, place the intake hose of the canister filter in the overflow with a heater to hide them, canister will pull water in over overflow to canister then back out to tank..


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## spotmonster (Nov 23, 2006)

cableguy21 said:


> Overflow has a input and output holes on the bottom for a sump setup, what I was thinking was cover holes so it will bypass that, place the intake hose of the canister filter in the overflow with a heater to hide them, canister will pull water in over overflow to canister then back out to tank..


Yes, that's what I'm talking about, if you cap the holes, add a return pump, it then becomes a built in filter. Of course you can use it for the canister also as you have said. But either way, you may want to add a tray at the top of the overflow input that you can add floss in as a pre-filter.


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## pablo111 (Dec 10, 2013)

^I agree on the FX (But the FX6 is out now. It's a very much improved FX5. Get that instead). You can find FX5/6 used on the internet for cheap if money is a concern. They hold up well. I agree about adding an AC110. 
Just run the AC with the included foam block, then a layer of filter floss or fine foam, and then a bunch of ceramic biomedia (the filter comes with some but not enough to fill the basket).

And pre-filters are a good idea when filtering FW to prevent poop etc from ending up inside the filter, making it a nitrate factory, and clogging up the pores of biomedia. 
Just take some foam (ie- aquaclear foam), cut a hole/crevice out to accomodate the filter's intake tube, and slide the foam over the intake.


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## miDnIghtEr20C (Aug 13, 2013)

Gonna use this thread here since I'm taking down my 60 gallon salt. I was going to put the live rock I have ( i never expected it or the sand to remain "live" in fresh) but wanted to read if there was anything bad about this. The most I've seen is that it will raise the PH... which is ok with my Africans I believe. I was going to use the rock.. because I've had them for over 10 years and they're sentimental to me... worth more than making money off them by selling them... Use some of those in the tank, and I wanted to use the sand, for the sump on the bottom.

Will this work? tank is 180, 6x2x2. Sump gonna be a 50 gallon i believe.


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## cableguy21 (Jan 20, 2014)

I've been going strong with used live sand and rock from my old saltwater tank... I cleaned the **** out of it but that being said fish are doing great and levels are fine.


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## miDnIghtEr20C (Aug 13, 2013)

Nice.. because I have lot's of it, and would suck to just not be able to use it. Good stuff.


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