Advice for filtration on 125 tropheus tank

Hello,
I am in the process of converting my drilled 125 from a reef, to house my colony of tropheus. This is my first drilled cichlid tank, as well as my first one over 55 gallons.


I have a 33 long that I am using as a sump, and will probably be using a MAG 9.5 return pump. For filtration, I'm leaning towards two of the DIY 5 gallon bucket wet drys. I will have each overflow going straight into it's own bucket.


I am really looking for advice on a couple of things.


1.I'm not absolutely sure what bio media will work best, as about 1/2 of the buckets will be submerged due to sump water level.


2. If the buckets don't provide enough bio filtration, could I rig up a vessel filled with matrix media inside,the sump and just use a power head to cycle water through the media?


Any advice at all would be greatly appreciated. Most of my experience is with reef tanks, so bio filtration has never been concern to me due to deep sand beds and lots of live rock. I definitely prefer to over-filter the tank. If its helpful I can provide pics of the sump or any equipment.


Thanks very much!

Good call on the pump. I looked at the Waveline and think ill go that route.

I still want to go heavier on bio filtration than just a bag of matrix, although ill probably use pond matrix on the submerged portions. For mech, im going to be using a few layers of various foam and mat at the top of the buckets. I feel like that will be sufficient for catching particulates.

Thanks David. The overflows will be using Durso standpipes that will be raised very high. Water level in the overflow chambers will be near the height of the tank level itself, mainly to reduce noise from the waterfall effect. Ill have to look up the tank youve mentioned and check his setup. My main goal is to be sure i have enough to handle a large bio load. Definitely want my prized Tropheus to have great water quality.

Coming from years of reef keeping, this is taking a lot more thought than id anticipated. That tank used to run 3 400watt metal halides, 200lbs of live rock, DSB, and huge EuroReef skimmer. Grew enough corals to practically make a living. Now i feel like a noob converting it over to cichlids, and knowing squat about filtration lol

just thought of another question. If i used this 33 gallon sump (i do have access to another that higher capacity but only 40 inches wide, no baffles) i could hang a filter sock on each far end with the overflow drains going straight into them. If i placed the bags of pond matrix in the middle wouldn't i need to devise a way to ensure they get good flow through the media bags, or would they be just as efficient laying there submerged? The 33 sump is roughly 48x13x13, with no baffles.

I have some 16qt sterilite boxes that fit very well in the sump. How does this sound...

boxes stacked two high, with an overflow draining into the top of each stack. The top box filled with various pads to provide mech filtration, and then emptying into the bottom boxes (drilled similar to a drip plate) that are filled with submerged pond matrix. I could drill holes around the bottom edge of the matrix containers to ensure an even flow through the media.

Does that sound efficient and able to support a heavy bio load?

also, thanks very much for your time and advice. It's greatly appreciated.