with aggressive cichlids i would say no to the aro, IME they get bullied easily by aggressive cichlids despite the big size difference. my 7" gt makes a fool out of my 24" silver aro before by constantly attacking its eyes.
Damn. Yeh if I were to do cichlids I dont think I would try the aro. How would 2, 2217 eheims work. Just reading about te eheims they sound like great filters.