Advice on equipment to start 2 ft planted tank..

[beetlejuice403]

Hi all,

had been wanting to start my very first planted tank but never take the FIRST step into this fun & interesting hobby...

Think I'm having a lot of questions in my mind: What kind of filter system to get for my 2-feet tank (Internal or External; Which brand is better? Jebo, Fluval or Ehiem etc...)?

Had looked through many threads & stickies in here.. but still totally clueless as to how to get started... Can anyone please advise?!? Really appreciate it!! Thanks!

[Cpark188]

Hi beetlejuice, can you tell us more details for your two ft. tank.

1. Going for a low-tech or high tech tank?
2. Only plants tank or with faunas keeping?
3. What are the type of plants you intend to grow?

Usually for 2 ft. plant tank (low-tech) with a hang on filter will do. (Atman and Jebo are recommended).
If you are keeping fishes and plants together, than you buy canister Eden 501.external filter is good enough.

You also need lighting for your plants with 2-3 wpg. Which mean your 2 ft. tank around 13.5 gallon. So a 36watts PL light will do.( switch on 6-7 hrs/day)
If you are growing plants that need strong light than you have to get 54watts PL.
Low tech plants does not require Co2 unless you want to.(without Co2 plants grow slower, with Co2 faster.)
High tech tanks needs Co2 and strong lights but will invite algae to your tank.

All this things are your choice and selection in your own favour.
You have to decide what are you going to plants and venture in it, go to one of the LFS and select your items, if doubt, you also can asks the aquarium boss for advise. Or any problems just post in this forum
to let us know and it's our pleasure to help you solve what every problems you have. Cheers.

[alechim]

If you do not have any budget constraint, you can get the better filters. For me I had went from internal, OHF,HOF, DIY and eventually bought a canister. The latter proved me right from the start I should have gotten a canister. Still it very much depends on your flora and fauna, mine was heavy on bioload.

[WaterH2O]

Agree with alechim, canistor filter gives the best option over all other filters.It does not need to be place in the tank taking valuable space for plants unlike internal filter does and it is not unsightly. OHF also very ugly when place on top of the tank and takes up valuable space for lightings if you have a need to put in one more light set. HOF are for smaller tank generally in the range of 1 feet and smaller. Only problem Canistor filter cost more than other filters.

[alechim]

I think to buy a good canister filter 1 time and you are trouble free at least for quite a while. Trust me, from my rate of changing from internal -> OHF ->HOF ->DIY -> canister, I did all these change in 1 year. 1 year of head scratching and only gotten that canister is still the best.

[dnsfpl]

sometimes cutting budget might end up paying more

i should have got a canister right from the start...then no need to stretch head now

any value for $ canister for my 2 feet tank

[alechim]

There are many canister out there. From the more popular eheim, jebo,jebao,atman,dolphin,boyu,rena,tetran hydor etc etc.

You can try hydor, italian brand and many places are having a sale now. The more affordable ones are jebo,jebao,atman,dolphin and boyu bah. Think 7 red notes $70 can get a reasonable 1 enough for 2 ft tank. Gotta check the flowrate, I am not sure of that.

Else you can keep a look out for bros here selling some of their canisters.

[WaterH2O]

Some website recommends Flowrate = 4 X Tank volume and some 3 X. It just a general criteria say if you have a 60 l tank of water then your canistor filter should be roughly 180 l/min to 240 l/min. If you get a bigger flow one then check the flow at the output side to see if it is blowing out too strongly. A rainbar should reduce the force of the out flow.

[Shadow]

Please put into account what are you planning to put in line with the filter, for example chiller and reactor. Also you will need higher flow if your tank is densely planted. Lastly after a while the flowrate will drop. It would be good to get overpower filter (maybe 400 - 500 l/h for 2ft tank) and make sure come with valve to control the flow.

By the way it should be liter per hour instead of liter per minute

[dnsfpl]

i hope you don't mind hijacking your thread

i am building a low tech 2 feet planted tank
need advise on my equipments

• canister(how to select? brand and model)
• light(PL 30w enough for mid planted tank?)
• plant(good for beginners - hardy, grow fast)
• CO2 injection
• test kit(temperature, pH, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate)

i don't mind 2nd hand but at the moment still clueless on which item to hunt for
thank you very much...really want to improve the living conditions for my poor neons

[beetlejuice403]

Wow... am really glad to see so many replies from so many experienced forumers when I checked my thread... Busy for the past few days as my 19 months gal & myself wasn't feeling well...

Agreed that better to 'invest' more at the start (especially on equipment) than to pay more by 'upgrading' along the way... Anyway, like to check if this brand/model of Canister Filter [Jebo Aquarium Canister Filter 3 ply 835] is good enuff for 2-feet tanks? Any idea what is the price range for it from the LFSs for a brand-new set? Does it comes with a valve to adjust flowrate? Was actually contemplating between getting this or the one by Fluval (but I can't remember the Model No.)

Is this Jebo one also 'friendly' with Chillers if I intend to get a Chiller next time when I'm ready to venture into CRSs...?

[alvin_varian]

go for 2nd hand artica chiller. Quiet and reliable,also good resale value

[beetlejuice403]

Hey thanks Alvin_varian on the recommendations for Chiller... but currently still stuck as to what Filter I should buy for my 2-feet tanks...

Any forumers here know the current market price for an Eheim Ecco 2232 (Brand new set)? Will it be two strong for one 2-feet tank? Or if it's too strong, can I split it for TWO 2-feet tanks instead? Is the splitting easy or impossible??

Thanks for all advice in advance!!!

[ronang]

IMHO a Eheim 2215 will be good for you. Flowrate 600l/h and best of all 1.8 m head. The head of a pump is it's ability to fight against resistance. so the 2215 can pump 1.8m vertically at it's rated flowrate. Some pumps have high flow rate but low head. Those a useless if you intend to add on chillers, vu sterilizers etc..... also the return path.

Buy Eheim if you are in this hobby for the long haul and if you the budget. Ask around, some hobbist have eheims that outlasted their refrigerators!

[alechim]

2232 is not to strong for a 2ft tank as it has 400L/hr flowrate. as what many bros had mentioned, you have to asked yourself several question before deciding what filter to acquire - are you attaching any other equipment in series?is your tank going to be heavily planted? etc etc.

I had enquire once for the 2232 and it cost 15 red notes $150.

[beetlejuice403]

Heard & seen many good comments about Eheim Canister filters...

2232 = 400l/hr flowrate (around $150)
2215 = 600l/hr flowrate

so does it mean that 2215 is more powerful [& of course more expensive] & has more options for future 'upgrading' of adding things like chiller etc...??

[larlee]

They are around the same price.
You should go for a flow rate > 500l/h, once filter media is in and the height of the filter place, it will reduce the flow rate which I didn't take into consideration.

I am currently using a 2222 flow rate 500l/h with a chiller and a external reactor for my 2ft tank. The flow rate is slower now compared when new. I have tried to clean, rinse the filter media but it is never the same as brand new. I might have to end up buying another higher flow rate filter. You can go PetMart at Serangoon North Ave 1 to check the eheim filters. If I am not wrong Ecco 2236 cost around 15 red notes $150. My Pro 2222 cost around 13 red notes $130, so go there and ask around.

CRS don't like strong current, so there are a lot of factors to look at. Different plants will need different setup, low, med or high light. CO2 or without CO2, ferts etc etc. Then lastly, for CRS, it would be good to get a chiller otherwise fans will do.

check out this page for the flow rate, filter volume etc etc
http://www.eheimasiapacific.com/Engl...ages/chart.jpg

[torque6]

ideally, low flow rate for keeping CRS.

Basically, flowrate= 3 times the capacity only for shrimp tank. For fish tank it must be 6-10 times. So just a normal eco 2232/eden would suffice for a nice 1.5 FT tank.

[blue33]

If you have others stuff like chiller, external reactor or so, you may not get the actual flow rate as written, especially after sometime use you will notice the flow slows down, especially using external reactor. Hope it helps!

[alechim]

now my 2ft is running a 2026. which after putting in some ADA substrate pro and according to the filter guage, its running around 400l/hr..