Filtration System for 125 gallon??

[TajHQ]

I have recently decided to set up our old 125 gallon aquarium, with fish (it formerly housed two now deceased bearded dragons), and am having a hard time trying to decide on an appropriate filter. The two that I'm thinking of right now are either the Magnum 350 Pro System (with the biowheel), or the Eheim Pro 2228 or Classic 2217 (I think thats right... whichever ones are big nuff' for the aquarium, basicly). If anyone has any experience with either of these systems (or ones close to them), or has any other suggestions I would be greatly appreciative. Thanks in Advance!!

 

[Jchillin]

I'm not a big fan of HOB's on large tanks like the 125 you have. Canister's are a lot neater (hide's under tank stand). This also saves you some room with your footprint.

Fluval's 404 is an excellent canister filter. I think two (one on each side) will give you sufficient filtration and less worry. If you want to get an idea of what the fluval looks like, take a look at the tank pics in my sig.

 

[greenmaji]

You have alot of choices with canister filters the Magnum 350 is my least favorite of them.. and as JC said, you might want to go with two of the larger canisters for a 125gallon tank.. I think that a wet/dry in a sump would be a good option on tanks that are 100gallons+

 

[greenmaji]

btw.. I have experiance with the Magnum 350.. I had one given to me, because it was loud and leaked.. I fixed the leak by replacing the gasket.. but as far as the loud was considered thats not fixable.. the Magnum 350 is just plain loud..
the eheim and fluvals are good running filters in my experiance.. I have a fluval 403(no longer on the market) and it is quiet good running filter.. Other members have had great luck with the cascade line of canister filters as well.. I personally would just avoid the Magnum line if I were you, they are outdated and loud..

 

[Fishyfanatic]

I agree that 2 filters are going to be better than 1. If you hook one up on one side of the tank and the other filter on the other side, you will have a more even filtration. The problem with the larger tanks is that if you put the intake and the output on one side, then the other side doesn't filter as frequently, thus making an uneven filtered tank. I'd go with the 2 canisters (brand varies from person to person) over any hob's. The canisters can be tucked away and hidden. HOB's are always visible. When you're going to invest all of the money into a 125 gal tank, it should look like a masterpiece. Not a masterpiece with two things sticking off the top.

 

[RabidChild]

I have the Magnum 350 It doesn't seem all that loud to me but I have it pretty well enclosed. I would go with something a little more flexible if I had a choice though. A lot of other cannisters come with 3 or 4 seperate media containers where as the Magnum has one bigger one. The only thing I think it will be nice for is using the micron filter to polish the water from time to time.

 

[m249saw]

2 Eheim 2026s or 2 Eheim 2017s would be my pick.

I second Greenmaji's idea of using a sump on a tank that size.

 

[mrcrazypants05]

I'm about to setup a 125 gallon tank as well... I might go with two fluval 404's. What exactly is a sump, and can you point me in the direction of setting one up? A thread or link?

 

[Blazeherd2306]

http://www.melevsreef.com/what_sump.html

 

[PaulandKeri]

The Rena XP3 is rated up to 175 gallon tank. And can filter up to 350 gph. It also has 3 compartments which is for filter media as chemical, biological filtering, and mechanical filtering. If you get one for each side it would work very efficiently. And I agree with Fishyfanatic, for all that money this should be your masterpiece.

 

[m249saw]

A single XP3 would be way too small for a 125gal. Canister flow rates are at the pump which is usually a couple feet below the aquarium.

I had an XP3 on a 55gal tank and it was WAY underpowered.

Like I said go with the biggest filter you can afford or better yet two SLIGHTLY smaller filters

 

[Fishyfanatic]

Two is the best way to go. The actual filtration rate is lower than what the manufacturer says (most of the time) so its best to double up.