A Few Questions...

[Sir Alex]

First off, how bad is Glass Cages?? Really? Caus I'm really close to convincing my grandfather to get an epic tank, :roll: and I think he should get a rimless 2' cube (so he only needs one radion :mrgreen::mrgreen:), and glasscages is the only place I could find that makes them. Since aqueon doesn't make cubes and the marineland cubes aren't small enough...

Other question: With a 45 gallonish tank, would sumpless be okay? Like just having a HOB protein skimmer for filtration. Only thing I'd missing out on there is the refugium and a place for the heater... But it just adds a lot of costs and work..

And for a tank that size what would be better? Two mp10s or one mp40?

 

[Northstar24]

You definitely don't need a sump, I just find it is a convenient place to stash things like heaters

As far as the Vortech MP's go, I think that if you only use a single pump, you miss out on a lot of what the pumps offer. I would personally go with two MP10's over a single MP40

I have heard mixed things about Glass Cages - I looked at them before buying my tank, but decided to go with an AGA tank

 

[Sir Alex]

I have heard mixed things about Glass Cages - I looked at them before buying my tank, but decided to go with an AGA tank

But they don't make cubes or rimless do they?

 

[chichimom79]

I am curious as to why Glass Cages is bad. And I will be following the thread for advice. I also want a 24x24x24.

 

[Northstar24]

I don't know if AGA makes cubes, but Marineland makes a 60G cube that is 24x24x24

 

[little_fish]

They have a pretty horrible reputations for building tanks that the seals arent done correctly, the sides are bowed or thin and have broken or the tank isnt level. Do a google search on them and you can find out why most people wont use them.

 

[Sir Alex]

Does petco sell marineland aquariums and would they order one for me??

 

[little_fish]

It wouldnt hurt to call and ask them

 

[Northstar24]

Does petco sell marineland aquariums and would they order one for me??

I dont know about petco, but any semi serious fish store should either carry marinelands, or have the ability to order them from a distributor like Champion Lighting and Supply

 

[Sir Alex]

I dont know about petco, but any semi serious fish store should either carry marinelands, or have the ability to order them from a distributor like Champion Lighting and Supply

Yah my LFS only carries marineland tanks, but I'm worried they might make it over priced... They had one of the 150 gallon cubes with stand and hood for like $1,500... :?

 

[tritan]

Keep an eye on craigslist. I've seen some crazy deals on there.

 

[Northstar24]

my LFS sells the marineland cube for $249, but that does not include the stand or a canopy

 

[Sir Alex]

Petco can't order the tank for me, but my LFS can...


Anyway, my grandfather says if he goes through with this he wants a sump. I was thinking a 20 gall since I can't go anymore than 2' (if that even fits :?), and definitely don't want to go any smaller. And is a mag-drive 7 too small? I'm probably going to be putting a valve on the drain line and turning it down until the overflow stops catching air. To reduce noise... But I'll probably be loosing some flow too...

 

[Northstar24]

It would be a little oddly shaped for a conventional sump, but could you get one of the cubes that has a smaller footprint and use it under the stand as a sump?

 

[Sir Alex]

It would be a little oddly shaped for a conventional sump, but could you get one of the cubes that has a smaller footprint and use it under the stand as a sump?

Well if it fits, wouldn't a 20 gallon be fine? I mostly just want to make sure I have room for a decent skimmer and a fuge.

 

[chichimom79]

My LFS wants almost $350 for the 60 gallon cube with overflow. At that price, for just the tank itself, I was :pooh: out of luck. Hope this guy with the used setup comes through. Im keeping my fingers crossed.
The 20 will be fine as long as your equipment fits. I think that's what this guy had running under this 60 cube.

 

[Northstar24]

As long as it fits it will be fine, I was merely making a sugguestion you may not have thought about

 

[Sir Alex]

My LFS wants almost $350 for the 60 gallon cube with overflow. At that price, for just the tank itself, I was :pooh: out of luck. Hope this guy with the used setup comes through. Im keeping my fingers crossed.
The 20 will be fine as long as your equipment fits. I think that's what this guy had running under this 60 cube.

My LFS wants $250 or $350 with the overflow and $390 for the stand.

 

[Sir Alex]

Another question... Is it unlikely that a 2' sump will be able to fit in a stand made for a 2' tank?

 

[Sir Alex]

Never mind I looked it up, the maximum sized sump that can fit in the stand is 22", so I'm probably going to use a 10 gallon sump. :frustrat:

Is there a standard 20" tank I could get at petco that would be a bit wider than a 10 gallon?

10" for the skimmer area, 2" for the bubble trap, 4" for the fuge and 4" for the return??? :frustrat:

Is a bubble trap that important? If I took it out it would give me 2 extra inches for the fuge.