ledzeppman

Well as the title says I'm looking for advice on seeting up a 200 gallon aquarium, from heaters to filters and everything inbetween. I recently acquired a 200 gallon, yes 200 GALLON, tank for the low price of $100. Currently I have a 45 gallon fully planted set up (check my profile). This will be a project spanned out over a couple of months as my current place does not have the room for a set up like this. I am planning on going with a south american cichlid theme with discus, angels, severums and rams as well as tetras and corys. I will plant this aquarium as well. My questions lie within the equipment needed as I have not done anything on this scale.

what filtration set up would be ideal? - canister or a wet/dry....(I will be running a UV Sterilizer)
what co2 set up should I be running? (my pH will need to be maintained between 6.5 and 6.8 so a ph monitor will be needed)
will dual 250w heaters be good enough?

I plan on using a substrate from Aquariumplants.com and two 36" PC 192w Coralife light fixtures.

Open to advice so please feel free

agabr123

that's incredible!

personally i doubt that two 250w heaters will be enough for you, possibly 3 of them but i think two won't have enough power for a 200 gallon tank.

also, others may be able to give you more info but discus really need a species only tank IMO, they need much higher temps than most tropicals can handle long term, and require absolutely pristine water (i know lots of discus owners do daily or every other day water changes).

aquarist48

Congrats on the new find. I have 2 250w stealth heaters in my 155 and they are very accurate. I might suggest 2 300w heaters for yours.

serissime

I disagree that discus cannot be kept in a community setup. I know of many successful aquarists that keep discus with angels, rams, tetras, etc. The temperature really isn't that much higher.

I'd go with a canister or two, on a setup that large. 2 heaters is always better than one. I defer to anyone else who has tanks that large.

edit: here's a link about discus keeping that I think looks reputable. There are MANY great discus keeping websites. Successful discus keepers are said to be the best of the best of freshwater. http://www.aqua-fish.net/show.php?h=discusfish

Regal

I have advice for your 200 gallon. Bring it to my house and leave it in my living room. I promise I'll send you pictures... lol

Butterfly

First let me quit drooling
If properly acclimated Discus and angels will happily live in a Ph much higher. If this is the only reason your adding CO2 then don't.
Two 500watt heaters(one at each end of the tank) would be more than adequate
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produc...9&pcatid=19369 I like this one because the temp controller is on the outside of the tank.
Drs Foster and Smith have a 15% off sale going on Magnum canister filters
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produc...fm?pcatid=3595
Don't know anything about canister filters but I thought that was a good deal.
carol

Llama

200 gallon... 757 liters...

What exactly are the dimensions? I bet you can put a pillow in there and sleep in it. Now that's an idea...

Pics please.

That said, a nice big canister filter (or multiple?) would mean you won't have to have a giant thing floating inside.

No idea who makes filters for that large...

ledzeppman

The dimensions are 72 x 24 x 30 (LxWxH) not including the 3/4" glass its made from I was unbelievably lucky on the find. Guy posted on craigslist and within 15 mins of the post I happened across it. Would love to show you all pics but can not upload from my phone directly to website and comp is down for the count.

I have seen a few canister filters that say they support up to 200 gallons. I plan on running atleast 2 large aqua clear powerheads with quick attach filters so maybe 1 canister will do?. What are some reputable companies that manufactor canister filters? I see Fluval and Magnum a lot, any preferences?

I have seen a few successful set ups with discuss and other community fish. I plan on running the co2 for the plants not just to keep PH low, although most discuss I've come across are aquarium bred and could probably get away with a PH of 7.0 and water temp around 82/83. My main concern is actually keeping altum angels I have had a hard time locating reliable and indepth info on these gorgeous yet sensitive fish.

This hobby really needs to come with a warning label that reads: More Addictive Then Herion; and you'll spend more money too.

namehater

i would without a doubt run at least 2 of everything. especially if your planning on keeping expensive critters like discus. your stock list concerns me a little tho, i would leave out the tetras for sure.

CHoffman

No input, just congrads on the awesome deal!!!..Sooo lucky. Good luck with getting it up and running. Sounds like it's going to be beautiful. You'll have to post pics.

≈ D ≈

aquarist48

I'm with "D" and the wet/dry or also called the trickle down filter system. If your tank isn't drilled for an over flow system...you can still use a wet/dry with a hang on overflow box. My tank has the built in over flow but I have used the hang on box for the over flow as well on other tanks. I have a Mag Drive 950. I still say 2 300w stealth heaters will do the trick. I don't think you need to go to a 500w IMO.

Llama

My cannister is of Eheim, I really like it. There was a thread somewhere in the 'filtration' forum which asked people to vote for their favourite filter... let me see if I can find it.

Here we are:

Your favourite canister filter and why?

ledzeppman

I had not considered running a wet dry AND canister but the more I consider it the more I really think that would be the way to go. My next question would be do I now need to have the aquarium drilled for that set up but thanks to aquarist48 I have looked into HOB overflow boxes.

As far as heaters 500w is not a problem getting from my LFS.

I understand smaller tetras like neons and cardinals will become quick snacks to larger discus and angels. I really like the look of Serpae Tetras but am worried their aggressive tendencies may be to much for discus or angels. Maybe Black Skirt Tetras or something.

Thanks for all the help and suggestions!! I'll keep the questions coming as I think of them. And as soon as I can post pics I will

≈ D ≈