[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

biological filtration, DIY substrate heater & DIY CO2

I am setting up my first aquarium with plants in mind. The tank I am setting
up is a 50gal show tank. I have a magnum 350 canister filter and 2 bio-wheel
units that I bought when my intention was to have a tank with fish only.
what I was wondering is: Are the bio-wheels necessary for biological
filtration? I still want to have fish in the tank with the plants. The
filter chamber on the magnum is relatively small and I think I would be
limiting my other filtering options by dedicating the chamber to some
bio-balls. With the bio-wheels installed I would only have enough room in
the hood I have for 3 40w lamps, I really want 4 lamps. I have considered an
additional closed chamber in my filter loop dedicated to bio-balls but I was
wondering what other options do I have for biological filtration? With a
heavily planted tank, do I need to worry about it? Also, I am going to give
a DIY CO2 system a try. Where in my filter system is the best point of
connection? I would like to keep all of the gadgetry concealed below in the
stand.  Finally, I made a low voltage cable heating system per. Uwe Behle
et.al. By my calculations I needed about 28 watts of heating capacity and
was able to accomplish this with 48' of 30 awg and a 12v 4amp transformer. I
tested my heater with 1" of water in the tank and was surprised to find that
after running overnight I had only raised the water temp to about  72 deg F
(about 5 degrees above room temp). Is this right? I tested the transformer
output and it is working fine, I've gone over the math and everything checks
out, I've never installed a heating system before
and don't know what .1 to .2 watts per litter (again per Uwe and Dan)
equates to in actual heating capacity. I was wondering if anybody else has
had a similar experience. TIA.
Rob Braibish
Dallas, Oregon