Filtration for my 500

hi everybody. this will turn into a build thread after i decide which way to go with filtration.
i use to have a reef tank and took it down about a month ago. the electrical costs were killing me. i do have most of my equipment left from the reef. i'm not completely new to the hobbie as i did have my reef for almost 10 years and before that i had an africian cichlid tank.

fish i want- Arowana, south americian cichlids, oscars, catfish and ? (thoughts?)

i will have a gravel bed, drift wood and tunze 6200's for circulation.

filtration options that i have thought of:

1-no filter at all and just do about 100 gallon water change per day. i have well water and do not plan on adjusting pH or hardness. heating the tank might be an issue here?

2-use my Aquaclear canister filter with 100um cartridge and carbon dirven by a Mag 18. i have all this stuff already

3-use my sump, bioballs and filter socks. we have frequent power outages so i am worried about bioballs getting dry and bacteria dying with this option, they usually last less than an hour but i have had 4 hour outages . this will also be noisy, my wife hates that!!!!

4-buy Aqua UV Ultima II filter and drive it with a Ampmaster 3000 or 2100 pump i already have. has anybody used one of these? are they as easy to clean as they say? do they keep the water clear?

last question- should i get a UV sterilizer? why?

lots of questions, i know, sorry

thanks for your help,
rob

i like the idea of a trickle and having a continous change. i was thinking of using a timer with a spinkler valve and doing 15 minutes at a time 4 or 6 times/day. i can see an advantage to the trickle way as far as heating is concerned. i'm in Montana so heating is more of an issue that cooling. i heat 11 months and cool one and that was with my 4-400 watt Halides running.
i have a tank that keeps water flowing when there is a power outage but it only holds about 50 gallons and when it's dry so is my house....

what do you use to polish your water?

thanks

Egon said:

I still have filters for mechanical filtration and they are helping keep the water crystal clear.

Good luck! You’re going to love the fresh water simplicity and ease of maintenance.

Click to expand...

thanks. i just read your 450 thread. do you still have the bioballs in your sump? what do you have in your canister fliters? obviously you are doing it right!!!! thanks

i ordered bulk heads and a 2 3/8" drill bit from Glass-holes today. now i just have to figure out how to keep the glass and bit cool while i drill the end of my tank. it will be verticle so i can't use a plumbers putty dam.... any suggestions?

Get someone to spray water at it while you drill ?

that's the plan so far. i'm a little nervous to do this drilling job. i suppose if i go really really slow it should be fine. my glass is 3/4" thick, would you drill outside in or inside out?

rob