Complete filtration system setup

Hello dear fish-lovers!

I recently bought a second-hand 75 gallons tank with lots and lots of equipment.
I already have a very small tank for about 2 years now (10 gallon tank) and thus I wanted a bigger one this time.

I am trying to make my own background as an additional objective and because I do, I am able to hide as much equipment as I want to so my tank looks as nice as can be. However, I am not really sure what equipment I would need for an optimal setup.

I have an external filter (Eheim 2215) with the 3 types of filter media in it. So that means I have to hide the intake and output tubes and I also have to hide the heating element. However, I was wondering if all that would be enough to make my life as easy as possible in terms of cleaning/...

I've done some homework and came upon a sump. Now, most of the time it is used in saltwater setups while my goal is a freshwater setup so I am not sure whether this will be helpful.

So my actual question is: is there any way to make an optimal setup for my tank?
Requirements:
- It is planted (real plants)
- Freshwater

I can hide stuff and I am fine with spending some money (even if I have to program stuff myself like Arduino-styled things...) I just want an optimal solution for my filtration/cleaning/... setup.

Thanks in advance!

PS: I already have additional filters available (another Eheim classic 2013)

 

So do you want to do a sump or use your cannisters? I have a 150 with a sum p freshwater. I love it great way to filter imo. BDpups has a couple I think. He helped me out when I started mine. He definitely has optimal setups on his tanks drip systems etc... optimal can be expensive depending on how much diy you want to do. I know the diy king (joey) has lots of videos on youtube for sumps filters and stuff if watching videos helps out. I love the diy background idea make sure if you do it to make a build thread.

Just and idea of ease in cleaning I don't have a drip system yet but I have a water line running to my tank so when I do a wc or syphon up junk I crack a valve and fillthe tank. I have a drain built into bottom of stand that I dump old water into via syphon and it drains out so no more buckets. Cheaper than drip system for me any ways. But bdpups metioned before he had them you could tickle his brain on his setups.

 

Hey BlueMoony

Are you wanting help hiding the parts of the canister? Or help with a sump?

My tanks are not set up with a computer. I just use drips and timers. Nothing too complicated.

 

@(Red) Thanks for the information already! I will not be able to put in a drip system as I have no direct access to water near my tank (so yeah, I'll have to keep on using buckets) however, there are many plants next to it and those need water every week I usually do like DIY but I am far from a master.


@ I am not sure what system would be the most beneficial for this still relative small tank (it is still a smaller one right?) There is some space in the stand below the tank so a sump would fit in there but I already have 2 canisters... I thought that I would need both for optimal filtration.

I have been looking on the net for some good examples and I just got confused in which situation to use what. In my other tank I usually get this film on top of the water so a skimmer of some sort would be useful but with that I guess I'll always need a sort of sump. About the hiding: I suggest I'll always have to hide some tubing or intakes or output equipment whatever solution I choose.

The computer thingy: a simulation of a day-night cycle would be cool, won't it?

 

I'm not sure what the gph of the cannisters are but two could very well be enough for your tank you want about 5 to 10 times gallons of water.
You don't need skimmer to get rid of the film mostlikely the issue is not enough water aggitation at the top easily fixed with placing filter output closer to surface or using an air stone. Doing this also increases o2 in tank.

As for day/ight simulation I found a light for my tank 72inches across that had that setting for around 140.00 on ebay or amazon so that fairly cheap epecially forthat length. But if you are in to plants make sure those are in the thought with light output its doable just not sure cost wise if there's much.

 

The biggest one has a flow of max 165 GPH and the second one 116 GPH. So, in the case that I use indeed only the canisters, if I put holes into my background on the left side near the ground as output (filtered water coming from the Eheim), is it smart to hide the input into the background at the top on the right side?

An example is here (which is the background I take as my example). Here the user takes the left side as output of his filtered water and uses some sort of overflow where he puts his input tube. I would also put my heater in that same spot to hide it.

 

Youd be cycling the tank a little more than 3 times an hour a little low imo but see what others say.

As for placement you can hide it anywhere you want, but imo I think that design has 2 flaws first not sure how he she would be able to remove intake output for cleaning bc they do need cleaning every once in a while. Second isn't as important but I just find that a wasted 150. Nicely done but not my taste.

Most important part about diy bg is necessity of cleaning hidden objects although it may be rare it needs to be a thought in the build.

 

BlueMoony, welcome to Fishlore. Sorry about events in your country, hope you and yours stay safe.

I've been thinking about your plan to hide equipment and wondering whether you could do it with plants. You are not telling us what fish you will have. Not all of them like completely open spaces, and in 75 there is lots of space.

Good luck and stay safe

 

The biggest one has a flow of max 165 GPH and the second one 116 GPH. So, in the case that I use indeed only the canisters, if I put holes into my background on the left side near the ground as output (filtered water coming from the Eheim), is it smart to hide the input into the background at the top on the right side?

An example is here (which is the background I take as my example). Here the user takes the left side as output of his filtered water and uses some sort of overflow where he puts his input tube. I would also put my heater in that same spot to hide it.

Using the canisters would be fine. And hiding them should work well for you. I would put the heater near one of the outputs. If you are hiding the outputs, you would not need to use the spray bar either. Eheim has these you can use instead of the spray bar,


As far as skimmers go from your first post, there are ones you can attach to your input,

Or these work very well too.

 

As for placement you can hide it anywhere you want, but imo I think that design has 2 flaws first not sure how he she would be able to remove intake output for cleaning bc they do need cleaning every once in a while. Second isn't as important but I just find that a wasted 150. Nicely done but not my taste.

Most important part about diy bg is necessity of cleaning hidden objects although it may be rare it needs to be a thought in the build.

You are completely right about that. The reason why I took that as my example is because I wanted a Mayan themed aquarium tank (or Atlantis themed) and it looks very modern in my opinion. After all, there aren't many plants in it and it looks quite empty... I want a temple entrance in the middle of my aquarium. Might want to change to a concept like . More plants, probably happier fish!

Jomolager thank you for your sympathy! Luckily, nobody of my family was a victim. Together with Big Red, you are right. There is a lot of open space, almost nowhere the fish can hide. Even though I have not yet decided what fish I'll put in, more plants would be useful and could also hide any equipment. The link I shared in this post would be beneficial for hiding equips with plants. Also perfect for later cleaning. I love shrimps to be honest, those will be in for sure. Might want more plants for them?

@ Never saw the skimmer in combination with the input! Great help! I hope I can make one myself. I would keep the spray bar to get a better flow (wider flow) so I won't get to many dead spots. Tell me if this way of thinking is wrong.

I better get back to the drafting table...