Back in the game after long aquarium hiatus...ready to start a brand new 150 gal set up, and this guy=overwhelmed so bear with me
I am starting from scratch and I own absolutely no fish related equipment. This tank will be my living room show tank so I decided I like the footprint of a 125 with a few extra inches of height, hence the 150 gal. System must be quiet and clutter free when being viewed (do not want things hanging off of or out of tank) and I would like the easiest method of filter maintenance (IMO canisters are a pain in the ass, but I have never dealt with a sump so I can't really compare).
First dilemma, I need to buy a tank...good god have they gotten expensive (and elusive it seems). But to do that I need to decide if I i am going with a sump system (and therefore need tank predrilled with built in overflow boxes) or do 2x Fx6's/2x 2262's. Never had a sump system and am essentially clueless, but I like the idea of limiting tubes/equip inside the tank as well as potentially perfect filtration (if i figure out what I am doing). But I also like the idea of the 2 canisters because they are quiet and I could clean the hell out of them on a rotating basis and hopefully not worry about screwing up my bio.
Next dilemma, store bought stands terrify me...I have no idea how they can support so much weight made out of 1" boards stapled together. The store bought stands also don't seem like I would be able to fit a big enough sump system into based on the opening widths, but I don't really know. I could build my own stand/canopy but I would have to buy a few tools to do the finish work in order to make it look "living room nice." And by making it sturdy I could probably work in bigger front openings which would allow me to insert bigger equipment.
If you've made it this far I appreciate it! Really want your opinions because at this point I am stumped and I would really like to get things rolling. I can get the tank size i want that is drilled at both ends with boxes, but supposedly the holes are only 1" and I'm worried that will not allow for enough flow...but again I have no idea about sump systems yet.
Thanks all, i appreciate your thoughts as I am sure I have not thought about all the angles yet!
I am starting from scratch and I own absolutely no fish related equipment. This tank will be my living room show tank so I decided I like the footprint of a 125 with a few extra inches of height, hence the 150 gal. System must be quiet and clutter free when being viewed (do not want things hanging off of or out of tank) and I would like the easiest method of filter maintenance (IMO canisters are a pain in the ass, but I have never dealt with a sump so I can't really compare).
First dilemma, I need to buy a tank...good god have they gotten expensive (and elusive it seems). But to do that I need to decide if I i am going with a sump system (and therefore need tank predrilled with built in overflow boxes) or do 2x Fx6's/2x 2262's. Never had a sump system and am essentially clueless, but I like the idea of limiting tubes/equip inside the tank as well as potentially perfect filtration (if i figure out what I am doing). But I also like the idea of the 2 canisters because they are quiet and I could clean the hell out of them on a rotating basis and hopefully not worry about screwing up my bio.
Next dilemma, store bought stands terrify me...I have no idea how they can support so much weight made out of 1" boards stapled together. The store bought stands also don't seem like I would be able to fit a big enough sump system into based on the opening widths, but I don't really know. I could build my own stand/canopy but I would have to buy a few tools to do the finish work in order to make it look "living room nice." And by making it sturdy I could probably work in bigger front openings which would allow me to insert bigger equipment.
If you've made it this far I appreciate it! Really want your opinions because at this point I am stumped and I would really like to get things rolling. I can get the tank size i want that is drilled at both ends with boxes, but supposedly the holes are only 1" and I'm worried that will not allow for enough flow...but again I have no idea about sump systems yet.
Thanks all, i appreciate your thoughts as I am sure I have not thought about all the angles yet!
