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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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.
Sent from my iPad using MonsterAquariaNetwork app