Looking for good filtration that won't break the bank.

So I have been setting up a 125 display tank and have encountered a snag.....filtration. It's my least favorite thing to deal with when it comes to aquariums. I have a $100 budget to get all the filtration I can for this 125 that will be housing 8 geophagus red head tapajos, 2 severums and 23 angelfish. Now they are all juveniles right now. Angels are anywhere from 1-1.5", geos have not been ordered yet, but will be 1.5-2" and the two sevs are 2.5" and 4". The angels won't be added to the tank until they reach at least 2" each to limit aggression issues. I don't need something permanent immediately, but I do need enough to give this tank a few months of filtration until I can afford a better filtration system.

The snafu happened a month ago. I ordered two Aquaclear 70s with the intent to move to two Aquaclear 110s 6-12 months later. Well the 70s don't fit on the tank! One of them arrived broken too. Well I talked with the company that shipped them to me. They won't refund the money on the good one, but made an exception and refunded my money on the broken one. So one of my 55s got a new filter, which is good because I broke its filter trying to get it to work on my 125. LOL So yeah.....down to no filters for my tank.

I have been doing some research. HOBs seem to be the cheapest money can buy compared with canisters. Now as far as I can tell, canisters only have a few benefits that HOBs don't. Increased mechanical filtration and more flexibility in filter media seem to be the only differences I can tell. I also looked at sumps. Now I have no experience with these and I will admit.....they scare me. I am not a very handy guy, so all the PVC piping and the fact that is just looks complicated have kept me at bay. I have read horror stories of people who had these things malfunction during or immediately after a power outage and either stop filtering, which kills fish when people are on vacation, or lose suction and flood the floor with an extra 20+ gallons of water. However, I have been seeing people selling their sumps online for reasonable prices and have considered possibly taking the plunge if someone can maybe help put my mind at ease (I feel like a 3 year old asking his parents to check for the boogeyman).

So what would be the better way to go: 2-3 large HOB filters or maybe looking at delving into the sump world? If sump is the better way to go, can you give me some links to review that might help me better explain how they work? Also, what size sump would be better for a large 125 gallon tank? I see several 20-40 gallon sumps for sale right now.


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cbr600 said:

I'm in a similar situation. Thinking of getting my first real big tank but filtration is my bug bear too! I will be following this thread rather than starting my own. Lets hope we both get some good replies!


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Well hopefully we both get the answers we need.


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AQUAMONSTER said:

I cheap hob that works great would be the aqueon 55/75. Can be purchased on drfosters for about $32. Get 2 of them and a large sponge filter and you'll be fine

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I am looking to put some pre-filters on my filtration and the Aqueon 55/75 doesn't fit any of the adaptors. The filter I broke trying to put on my 125 was an Aqueon 55/75. I broke it trying to get the adaptor on.


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sincebeen said:

It sounds like you're scared of sumps, and that's fine for now. The foremost real benefit of sumps is the ability to keep equipment, like heaters, out of the display tank. There's a bunch of other cool stuff about sumps that you'll read about elsewhere, but it's okay to not want to go with a sump. The canister filter method has it's benefits too though, like quietness and less chance of flooding.

What you don't want to do is buy a little HOB that you'll eventually have to replace with a bigger HOB, and so on, in order to to keep up with fish growth. You want to ADD filtration, not replace filtration. Speaking just in terms of bio filtration, you need to understand that biological bacteria needs FOOD too, or it just wont exist, and their FOOD=fish waste. A handful of 2" fish isn't going to create nearly enough waste to fully colonize one or two big filters. Bio filtration grows as fish grow.

So, you need to save up $30 or $40 more and get a Rena 722 Filstar XP3. I haven't used one of these, but there will be plenty of guys following my post who will tell you they work great. Get the filter for $111 and fill one tray with Seachem Matrix, one tray with pot scubbies from the dollar store, and one tray with pillow stuffing from your local craft store.

It will be months and months before you need to add more filtration; and when that time comes, you should have saved enough funds to add one more filter as described above.

Understand how nitrifying bacteria works

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The biggest downside to the canisters seems to be that they are much more expensive compared to the HOB types and have similar flow rates. That Rena only has 350 GPH flow rate. I know the canisters filter a little better, but I can buy 3 HOB filters that each have around 300-350 GPH flow rates for the same price as that Rena. I am not debating that the canisters are better filters. I am just wondering if the higher cost of such a filter justifies the improvement in filtration (a fact I know many debate still). I can still get the carbon inserts for the HOBs and still have bio filtration as well (especially if the unit has spots for 2 filter inserts and i would just replace one every month without losing much of my bio filtration). The extra stuff just seems to polish the water a little more and that's about it.

I know that may people use a 30-50 gallon sump for a 125 size tank and its all the filtration they need with sponges, bio balls, hand made carbon inserts (that work out to be cheaper than buying a new filter insert for a HOB filter every month), and other media that will polish the water and it will cost me half of what two canister filters will. I guess I would rather learn about sumps and how to prevent floods (I think there is something called an overflow box) and go that route. I really like all the benefits a sump provides for a tank. Not having to see all those wires, heaters and tubes would be great.


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ska_kid said:

Have u try a diy
View attachment 898692
Cost me like 50 bucks with a diy overflow

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While I applauded the ingenuity and resourcefulness it takes to create something like that, I would not trust myself enough to make something I am counting on not to flood my entire home. LOL


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