Recommended filter for a 125 cichlid aquarium

[JoeZ]

I am planning on going with some heavy hitters, so my first thought is the Fluval FX5. I assume I'd be shooting myself in the foot if I went with a hang on type....or even 2 hang on's.

Thoughts?

 

[Andrew McFadden]

Go with a canister or two

 

[josh7]

I would get 1 fluval fx5 or fluval 405 with a aquaclear 110 to go with them these 2 make a great combo

 

[Mogurako]

I would go with two Fluval FX5. That's what I have on my 125 an love it.

 

[JoeZ]

What is your fish load like, and how often do you have to open it?

Also, it doesn't come with any media? How do you have yours set up?

 

[gman42]

If you want to save a bit of money get two aq110's. Im not exactly sure wats the gph on them so idk if thats enough. But im very impressed with my aq.

 

[Mogurako]

What is your fish load like, and how often do you have to open it?

Also, it doesn't come with any media? How do you have yours set up?

I have a mix of 12 or so Lake Malawi Haps, my fish will grow between 10-14". If by open it you mean clean it, I clean when I notice the flow is slowing down. At that point I replace the poly fill and rinse the sponges.

I am not sure if they come with media mine were purchased used. I have poly fill, bio rings and crushed coral in mine.

 

[TankMan]

Two AC110's would give you 1,000gph

 

[HUKIT]

I would go with two Fluval FX5. That's what I have on my 125 an love it.

Best advice so far, I agree 100%.

Two AC110's would give you 1,000gph

GPH is great but a AC 110 has a low biomedia capacity when compared to larger canisters or even better would be a wet/dry and a Fluval FX5.

 

[Terrance]

For any aquarium with big fish, my overall best recommendation is to make minimum 50% water changes and cleaning out the filter pads every single week. Make it the top priority. Then everything else is meant to make those two things easier. Filtration is nice because it picks up waste from the bottom of the tank and collects inside your filter. But why spend so much time and money collecting waste when there are nifty siphons removing the waste? Any waste sitting in the filter will break down into dissolved waste and affect water quality. Perhaps it won't show up on test kits, but it does affect fish in the long-run.

Canisters are time consuming to clean and HOB is faster/easier. I preferred two AC 110 over 2 Fluval FX5 in my 120g tank. It took me less than 5 minutes to take the AC off, clean the pads, and put it back onto the tank. It took me 20-30mins for the same process for the FX5. Also don't waste your money on filter media. Its not needed.

 

[HUKIT]

Also don't waste your money on filter media. Its not needed.

I'd like to hear your argument for people "wasting money on media", so your saying your running only sponges in your AC's?

 

[Terrance]

Yup only sponges is needed. There is enough surface area on the those large AC110 sponges. Sales tactics often overestimates the benefits of media. They are only good as seeding material and absolutely does not affect water quality at all.

 

[HUKIT]

Media certainly does effect water quality especially in high bioload situations. Water changes are vital but without enough media to house bactiera 50% weekly water changes and low biomedia are not enough to convert waste through the nitrogen process, this is common with those like myself with large new world tanks. I think myself and the 95% of aquarists will disagree with you. Certainly in my lightly stocked breeders running air driven sponges it's fine it but when you start actually stocking a large 150g+ tank sponges won't cut it.

 

[Terrance]

If you run your tank without the media and only the pads, then you will see that it doesn't really change anything. If, for any reason, the pads alone are not enough, then the beneficial bacteria will grow elsewhere in the tank.

 

[Cichlid-dude]

I took the media out of my canister filter to seed another tank. I had a large ammo spike and couldnt get it back down till i put media back in. I did water changes everyday for a week and the ammo would not go down. After i put the media back in it was gone within 15 hours. So ime the media helps a lot, exspecially if you have a large bio load.

 

[jetajockey]

Well yeah, biomedia is in there for a reason. The surface area in good biomedia is huge and serves a very important purpose. Not that a tank cannot operate without biomedia, I run simple sponge filters on many of mine, but a large bioload tank can definitely benefit from a filter capable of handling large amounts of waste across the various filtration types.

And between canisters and hobs, canisters every time. They operate much quieter and maintenance is not that much harder than it is on HOB's. For those two particular filters against one another the fx5 obviously wins because it's way better on every count.

 

[Terrance]

I took the media out of my canister filter to seed another tank. I had a large ammo spike and couldnt get it back down till i put media back in. I did water changes everyday for a week and the ammo would not go down. After i put the media back in it was gone within 15 hours. So ime the media helps a lot, exspecially if you have a large bio load.

Im unfamiliar about your setup, but if you started all over without the media and cycled before adding fish, then it would have worked just fine. The media becomes more important for those severely overstocked tanks or tanks that does very little water changes.

 

[JoeZ]

I have always preferred the large canister filters over the HOB filters. That being said, there are a few things to consider...

1) Budget --- If you can't afford to buy the right filter, you are already starting behind the 8-ball in my opinion. You can absolutely run a tank with a smaller filter, and simply do larger, and more frequent water changes. That takes me to #2.

2) Time --- Who has time to do a 50% water change once a week????? I am lucky if I can do that once a month....and it's usually 2 x 5 gallon pails worth. For those who have tanks 100 and up, you're talking 50 gallons EVERY WEEK! While I think this will definitely help maintain a cleaner tank, sometimes you need to just let nature handle its business. I've found that the less you mess with an established ecosystem, the better and healthier it runs.

3) Fishload --- My plan is to stock this 125 pretty heavy. I am aware of the possible pitfalls going in. That being said, this is not my first rodeo (I really do hate that expression. LOL!!!). I've been keeping fish for almost 30 years. I have had set-ups that ranged from the most basic, to the most elaborate. I think if you're going to purchase a big tank that houses big fish (and a lot of them), you need something a with a little more power and capacity than a hang on the back unit. For those who disagree with that statement, please refer back to my comments #1 and #2.

Thoughts? Comments?......Let's have it

 

[gman42]

Im just saying that the fx5 seems very expensive. Why spend that much money when two taq110's are way cheaper? Its just me but i dont wanna spend that money on a filter when i coukd put that money into fish, or other items.

 

[JoeZ]

2 of the AquaClear 110's will run you about $150. An FX5 can be bought online for $240. In the grand scheme of things, what is $90 when you are already spending at least a grand on a proper set up for a 125?

I do understand your point though....