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Re: 240 gal




> 
> Subject: wet/dry, UG, or powerfilter for 240g
> 
> I have a 240g tank that I'm getting out of storage.  I used to have a
> large wet/dry on it, but it was not fun.  I couldn't go more than 3 days
> without having to change the felt in the prefilter, and every week I'd
> have to completely change all the felt in the filter itself.  I will
> have a much lower fish load in this tank (it had large arrowana), and
> since I'm in California I'd like something to be economical in terms of
> power consumption.  For power consumption reasons I was going to put a
> UG in it (I already had the plates), but I recently realized that a
> small (500gph) pump in the wet/dry might not use much more power than 3
> or 4 powerheads on the UG.  So, now I'm not sure what to use.  The UG
> would be much quieter than the wet/dry and wouldn't require as frequent
> cleaning.  The wet/dry will filter better but require greater
> maintenance (and the sound of the water gurgling down the tubes is
> noisy!). 

Forget the UG.
Since power and quietness seem your main consideration, stay with the
canister. 
You will not able to add as many fish if you do this vs the wet/dry. Perhaps
later as the tank matures, you will be able too. I'd be careful to try to
add as much mulm to the filter and the gravel and as many plants as you can
from the start up.
This will greatly enhance your tank start up time and health and GREATLY
lower your algae problems.
Gas CO2 would be a wise item even at low lighting. You could add more
lighting or set up some T-8's w electronic ballast. 12 4ft tubes of those
would work well for a nice planted tank. 6 won't grow much especially at a
2ft depth(about 1 watt a gallon). Get some nice polished reflectors also.
Regards, 
Tom Barr