Joined
·
40 Posts
My two cents....
I agree with Niko on the use of a sump for a planted tank. Sumps oxygenate tanks which is great for a reef tank but not so good for a planted tank. Built in overflows are also great as they hide the equipment normally associated with tank filtration. I think the problem you'll have trying to plumb canister filters into the overflows will be too much air getting into the drain lines causing suction problems with the canister filter. I've never tried it, but in theory, the overflow works off of gravity and the use of a return pump to push the water back to the display tank. Canisters use suction to pull water down and create an airtight path to push the water back up. Attaching a canister to an overflow will, in theory, break the suction and you'll end up with filter without the "juice" to push the water back into the tank. Also, with sumps you do open up the possiblity over overflow, so if you go this route be sure to mount any power stips you have away from they drains and up off of the floors.
Regarding lighting, MH's look great and if you ever want to convert to a reef tank will be awesome, T5HO get the job done cheaper and are what I use. I use a 4 strip T5 with 2 10K's and 2 6500's. The 10K's do help bring out the color of your fish, and if have discus, you know you want to show them off as much as possible.
good luck
I agree with Niko on the use of a sump for a planted tank. Sumps oxygenate tanks which is great for a reef tank but not so good for a planted tank. Built in overflows are also great as they hide the equipment normally associated with tank filtration. I think the problem you'll have trying to plumb canister filters into the overflows will be too much air getting into the drain lines causing suction problems with the canister filter. I've never tried it, but in theory, the overflow works off of gravity and the use of a return pump to push the water back to the display tank. Canisters use suction to pull water down and create an airtight path to push the water back up. Attaching a canister to an overflow will, in theory, break the suction and you'll end up with filter without the "juice" to push the water back into the tank. Also, with sumps you do open up the possiblity over overflow, so if you go this route be sure to mount any power stips you have away from they drains and up off of the floors.
Regarding lighting, MH's look great and if you ever want to convert to a reef tank will be awesome, T5HO get the job done cheaper and are what I use. I use a 4 strip T5 with 2 10K's and 2 6500's. The 10K's do help bring out the color of your fish, and if have discus, you know you want to show them off as much as possible.
good luck
