I have a 240 gallon tank and I have two FX5's and a DIY wet/dry for filtration...it works great.
dual fx5's or sump tank
- Thread starter Jeb77
- Start date
My tank's not finished yet. If anyone has any ideas on how to build a simple plain black background please contact me. I'm also looking for some huge pieces of drift wood. And well this is my 210 gallon tank. It's not the greatest but I'm working on it 
Jeb77, nice tank. I really like the rocks (slate maybe??) Being stacked the way they are to make caves and hiding places for the fish. Plus it just looks cool lol. Very nice
juneblood3;4425516; said:
That or a lot of lfs will have those backgrounds by the roll and usually have a solid black, atleast mine do, painting a tank makes me a lil nervous, what if I don't like it? Gonna be a pain to take down lol
dirtbikerider;4425528; said:
You could probably take it off with your finger nail if you dont like it... im afraid to try it with mine or i'd test it for you.
Also black paint ( I used Krylon) looks a 100,000,000 x better then a stick on the back one. imo at least...
in my 265g I have a 30g sump that came with the tank (used), and just recently upgraded to adding on fx5. I LOVE this combo. I set up the fx5 just for bacteria....only foam and bioballs in there. Rest of the media and more bio balls in the sump.
My personal experience/opinion is that the sump is MUCH easier to maintain. You can see right into it, see what needs done without shutting it down and tearing things apart. I can't even budge my fx5's to bring out for cleaning (have a fx5 and 404 on the 125gallon)...I have to call dear hubby to lift them out of the stands for me...that's my only complaint is how heavy they are.
but, you could always get a cheap fx5 on ebay (as I did), hook that up and run all 3 fluval until you decide on the sump idea...You can never have too much filtration
or, if possible, get the biggest HOB filter, if room allows. I just retired all my aquaclears
My personal experience/opinion is that the sump is MUCH easier to maintain. You can see right into it, see what needs done without shutting it down and tearing things apart. I can't even budge my fx5's to bring out for cleaning (have a fx5 and 404 on the 125gallon)...I have to call dear hubby to lift them out of the stands for me...that's my only complaint is how heavy they are.
but, you could always get a cheap fx5 on ebay (as I did), hook that up and run all 3 fluval until you decide on the sump idea...You can never have too much filtration
or, if possible, get the biggest HOB filter, if room allows. I just retired all my aquaclears
IMO a painted black background looks better than anything else, BUT with the tank already setup and against the wall you may have to settle for a solid black plastic background from the LFS.
For filtration in fw I think canister are the best way to go. Their mechanical capacity is beyond any open filter since it is a closed, pressurized system. However, since you already have an FX5 (which I have seen run heavily stocked 210s as the only filtration), I think a sump is a good idea. I wouldn't drill it, that would require a lot of work and risk. I would just add a HOB overflow box. Use the largest tank you can fit under there as a sump. One of the biggest benefits of a sump on a tank like that is, depending on how it is setup, you can use it as a place to put fish that are too aggressive for the main tank or are getting picked on.
For filtration in fw I think canister are the best way to go. Their mechanical capacity is beyond any open filter since it is a closed, pressurized system. However, since you already have an FX5 (which I have seen run heavily stocked 210s as the only filtration), I think a sump is a good idea. I wouldn't drill it, that would require a lot of work and risk. I would just add a HOB overflow box. Use the largest tank you can fit under there as a sump. One of the biggest benefits of a sump on a tank like that is, depending on how it is setup, you can use it as a place to put fish that are too aggressive for the main tank or are getting picked on.
