Question: Questions about new set up

Cacique

Cacique

New member
Joined
May 26, 2014
Messages
326
Reaction score
1
Points
0
Location
Orlando, FL
Country
United States
So I'll be looking into upgrading my axolotl's tank soon. He's still young and in a 10 gallon but I was going to swap him into a 40 gallon long which I'll hopefully be able to get soon, so I have a couple of questions.

I was thinking of starting out with just some sponge filters, would you recommend adding another filter like a HOB or a canister?

What should the LEDs be like if the tank will be medium to heavily planted? I currently have a 12" strip of white LEDs and a blue strip that I alternate (white during the date and blue at night). My plants seem to be doing good although they're not as tall as before, my sword got a bit red and is more wide than tall now.

Does anyone have any recommendations on a heavy duty shelving unit I could use for all of these? In total it would house a 40 gallon long or breeder for 1 axolotl, 1 or 2 20 gallon long tanks (shrimp and maybe minnows), and 1 or 2 10 gallon tanks for quarantine/hospital tanks.

I was thinking possibly the units that old over 500lbs (I was thinking of going for something that holds 1000lbs per shelf), maybe replacing any particle board for plywood but I was thinking maybe a wire shelf unit wouldn't need anything else? The tanks would most likely rest on the shelves rather than on the frame of the shelving unit I think.
 
Might be better to get like a sideboard unit form some tanks or something where you can have external filteration. I think you will certainly need a lot of support for the units given the load of the tanks.

If your sponge filter is bio it might not be powerful enough to clean up after him, unless you want to run 2. Although the bio load is considerably less with only 1 Axie.
 
Thanks for the quick response.

Do you think a 40 gallon long/breeder would be too much for 1 axolotl? I figured more is better.

I'll most likely end up adding an external filter as well, and thought of looking for a shelving unit that would hold maybe like 1000lbs per shelf. (According to this chart I found, a 40g long should be about 500-600lbs filled.)
 
There's never too much room for an axolotl :) he will live comfortably by himself or your could buy him a friend.
 
You'll definitely want more filtration in a 40 gallon than just a sponge filter. You could place a sponge filter in each corner, or you could get an HOB or canister. I'd vote Canister, but HOB are a lot simpler and easier. Just make sure you don't get an HOB that only has room for a cartridge. Lots of HOB filters simply have a carbon cartridge and maybe those things called "bio scrubbers" that don't really do anything at all.. Best bet is to cut the carbon out of the cartridge, leave the cartridge in for mechanical filtration then pack any remaining space with pot scrubbers or sponge or ceramic media to load up on beneficial bacteria in there.
Canisters will be a lot more efficient, cost more money, and will probably produce less current in your tank, which is good for axolotls. If you use a spray bar you can cut the current down immensely, where an HOB can't really have that sort of attachment. There are things you can do to disperse HOB outflows, but they aren't as effective.
You can also consider making your own canister filter, I made one and it is really fantastic. Made it for the cost of media, a pump, pvc pieces and hose.
 
Thanks Hayley, I figured the bigger the better. He'll get the tank all to himself for now, no plans on getting another axolotl yet. Plenty of space to roam since he's only about 5.5" (14cm) at the moment.

Thanks for the recommendations, Jonjey. I'm going the DIY route with this as they seem like projects I can handle. I'm already getting my feet wet since I'll be making a sponge filter for the 10 gallon he's in now, but I'll be making that canister filter for the big tank.

What size would you recommend for a DIY canister filter? And what media/how much would you use? Would K1 media be worth it?

Could a bigger canister filter be used for more than 1 tank? I'll be starting a shrimp tank (20 gal) and maybe some minnows in another 20 gal and that might make things easier.

Does anyone have an AquaClear filter? They seem great, since they can use a sponge instead of a disposable cartridge.

Thanks again for all the help, everyone.
 
Whatever filter you get or make should turn over the water 4 x in an hour. E.g. 100L tank? 400L per per hour.
 
Indeed, bigger tank is fine for Axie, you can always divide it later if you subsequently decide to purchase another and wanted to use the same tank.

Maybe you would need to look at the trade set ups, I'm sure your las have a set up of a filter system which does more than one tank. Without in and outlet pipes into each tank. Or it might be a bit of fiddling around to use an existing system and make it so it deals with more than one tank. I'm sure it's possible, depends how much time you have and your DIY, invention skills in guess. :happy:
 
Thanks for all the advice and answers. Not sure how my DIY skills measure up, might be easier to just make 3 canister filters, 2 smaller ones for the 20 gallons. I'll have to look around and see if anyone has done it before to see.

What kind of media would you recommend for an axolotl tank? I was thinking of the K1 media but I'm not sure if it would be worth it.
 
Cacique said:
Thanks for all the advice and answers. Not sure how my DIY skills measure up, might be easier to just make 3 canister filters, 2 smaller ones for the 20 gallons. I'll have to look around and see if anyone has done it before to see.

What kind of media would you recommend for an axolotl tank? I was thinking of the K1 media but I'm not sure if it would be worth it.
Click to expand...

K1 isn't good for a canister filter, you'll want some ceramic media, pot scrubbers/sponge, and filter floss. My diy canister has, in order from top to bottom, about 4 layers of fine filter floss, two packets of purigen, 1500 grams of ceramic media, then a ton of pot scrubbers all the way down to the bottom. It's a 2 foot 4" pvc pipe for a 50 gallon tank, powered by a 991 gph pump, I split the outflow, one way going to a ball valve with a uv sterilizer behind it, then joining back up and going to a diy spray bar. I'm very pleased with the results. If you do the diy thing make sure you use pipe clamps on any hose connections, especially if you use a strong pump like I do. Don't want a hose flying off and ruining your house with water damage lol.
And as for powering two tanks at once, I'm not sure that would work. Maybe if they were both the same size it could, but I could see one overflowing if they aren't the same size.
 
Thanks for all the info on your DIY canister, helps figure out what to do with mine whenever I get to it. Sounds like it might be easier to make a filter for each tank.

I was looking around at the shelving units and I wasn't too sure what would be best, so I was wondering everyone opinions.

Edsal 48 in. W x 72 in. H x 24 in. D Steel Commercial Shelving Unit-UR-245 at The Home Depot
First option uses particle board for the shelves which I would have to replace with plywood. Same width as the 40 long but twice as much depth.

Husky 5-Shelf 48 in. W x 78 in. H x 24 in. D Silver Steel Storage Shelving Unit in Silver-MR482478W5 at The Home Depot
This second option uses wire shelving instead of the particle board.

Does anyone have any experience with shelving units like these? I'll be putting a 40 gallon long, 2 20 gallon longs and 1 to 2 10 gallons. Would the wire shelves or plywood shelves hold the 2 20 gallon longs (most likely side by side) if the tanks don't rest on the metal frames of the shelves? What about being able to support a 40 gallon long?

The shelves on any of these are rated to hold about 200 or more lbs than the weight of the tanks, I guess I'm just not sure how well it would work if the tanks don't rest exactly on the frame of the shelves. Would a cheaper unit work? Should I look at something that holds even more weight?
 
I have the first one you posted. I use it to hold my filled canning jars. That shelf is massive and the boards are a lot heavier than I was expecting. They should hold up just fine IMO. I got mine off Amazon. I lined mine with shelf paper to help keep them dry.
 
Does anyone have any idea how the shelving unit with the wire shelves would hold up with a 40 gallon or 2 20 gallons resting on the wire rather than the shelving frame? I was thinking of going for something that would hold twice the weight of the tanks per shelf, even though I'm not sure if I need to go that high or if I should go higher.

Sorry about all the questions and thanks for all the answers, everyone.
 
Be really careful setting large tanks full of water on wire mesh. If the weight is not distributed evenly, you can crack the glass. I have a big wire shelf for my animal room, and I put 1/2" water resistant plywood over the metal grate so weight is distributed evenly. Here's what it looks like- all tanks except on top are 40 breeders.
 

Attachments

  • image.jpg
    image.jpg
    94.6 KB · Views: 162
Thanks for the reply, Rachel1. I was hoping not to bother with plywood but it sounds like the wire rack and plywood on it might be the sturdiest thing I can get. How many lbs does your shelving unit hold?

Also, did you have to do anything like stain or seal the plywood? Or did you just leave it as is since it's already water resistant?
 
Hey, just wanted to say that I have an Aqua Clear hob, and I love it! Big sponge and various other media fits in there... its great. This one is in my discus community tank.
 
Does anyone have any idea if it matters if a tank is cycled with plants or without? I was hoping to get my tanks heavily planted, but I'm not sure if I should wait until the water is cycled before adding the plants in. I assume things like hides and decor would be fine.
 
Cacique said:
Does anyone have any idea if it matters if a tank is cycled with plants or without? I was hoping to get my tanks heavily planted, but I'm not sure if I should wait until the water is cycled before adding the plants in. I assume things like hides and decor would be fine.
Click to expand...

It helps to cycle with plants! The more beneficial bacteria, the better.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
General chit-chat
Help Users
  • No one is chatting at the moment.
    There are no messages in the chat. Be the first one to say Hi!
    Back
    Top