I'm gonna be buying a 125 gallon tank next week and am wondering if buying one with the built in overflows are worth it vs buying a standard tank and just putting some canister filters on it?Tank will be for mbuna cichlids.Thanks for any opinions.
are built in overflows worth it?
- Thread starter yamaracer5
- Start date
In my opinion/experience... overflows that only pull water from the surface are not worth it... If I'm going to to through the efforts of putting together a sump I'm going to make one that can offer thorough mechancial filtration.
I currently have a tank with internal overflows. It doesnt offer very good mechanical filtration so I ended up adding a FX5 to the mix. With both running, my water is crystal clear and looks great. I would probably just go with a canister filter or 2
I agree, they work great. The one in my 75 pulls water from the surface and about 2" above the substrate, it seems to work fine. A sump may be cheaper than a canister, but if you add in the extra cost of a drilled tank it may be worth it to just get an FX5.
FSM;3461685; said:
A sump is in no way cheaper than a canister, unless it's a DIY one.
Factor in the bio balls and the pump.
A sump will blow a canister out the water as far as biological filtration which is the most important filtration in a aquarium.