# Filtering a 125 gallon



## sheldon_goldwing (Sep 27, 2010)

I have not had much luck posting as no one seems to answer my questions so IÃ¢â‚¬â„¢ve postponed the Wet/Dry DYI Sump and have decided to go with a Canister. About the best I can afford is the ones listed. Can anyone tell me if any of these should come off the list and which one of these BEST fits my application? I have a new 125 gallon 72Ã¢â‚¬Â


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## juststayinthecave (Dec 23, 2010)

I'm new to this forum but one thing I've noticed is that most members recommend a 6-10 X tank volume circulation per hour for a cichlid tank. ie recommended circulation for 125 gal would be 750 to 1250 gph depending on stocking.


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## Glaneon (Sep 27, 2010)

If that's what you can afford, I'd get 2 AC110s (HOB) honestly.

I got an FX5 for my 125 and love it... but it's a bit more than a 405.


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## Guest (Feb 27, 2011)

on my 125 i have a fluval 405 canister and a marineland 350 hob filter.. and 2 sponge filters... the sponge filters take care of your biological filtration breaking down the nitrates ans such and the canister jus makes good waterflow and i find that canisters are really good at removing debri from floating in the tank it all ends up in the bottom of the canister.... i like the eheim ones tooi have 2213 on 2 of my other smaller tanks also with hob filters and sponges.. you cant ever over filter... sponge filters are like 8 bucks online and they basically need no servicing (squeeze em out once in a blue in a bucket of tank water) i have an ac110 on my 75g ca tank... i jus recently stopped using carbon in it jus put extra bio balls in it and have a sponge in there and the water is good.. i stopped using carbon in my fluval too and jus am using the clearmax and probly gona get some peat for it too.. def more particulate floating in that tank than in the other 3 tanks with canisters thou... and theres some sponsored sites on here that have canisters and basically everything else cheaper than you will find anywhere else... *** done extensive window shopping... i kinda lucked out cuz all my used tanks i bought on cl came with filters and heaters and i got the 405 from a friend for free it was a lil beat up and i had to buy new parts for it but it beats paying for a new canister... i hope this huge paragraph of not so useless info (or maybe useless) has unsoured you from people not responding to your posts lol


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## kyoshi (Mar 12, 2010)

I have 3 xp 3s on mine, my stock is on the heavy side I do 50% WC every week and have no problems[/img]


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## M&amp;S (Feb 16, 2011)

sheldon_goldwing said:


> IÃ¢â‚¬â„¢m looking for easy, quiet, and cheap to operate. The specs sometimes say they will work but real world proves otherwise. Please help thanks much
> 
> Cascade	1500	350 GPH	200 gal	45.5 Watts
> *Eheim	Eheim 2217	265 GPH	to 135 gal.	20 Watts*
> ...


I'd go for an Eheim Classic. Personally I don't like the Fluval 205 or 305, so doubt the 405 will be better.

What size is your tank in litres? The 2217 will turn over 1000lph.


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## zimmy (Aug 13, 2010)

sheldon_goldwing said:


> IÃ¢â‚¬â„¢m looking for easy, quiet, and cheap to operate.


If you can afford it I'd go with two Eheim 2217s. They meet the criteria you've indicated.


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## noddy (Nov 20, 2006)

Agree with Zimmy, I have two 2217's and two big sponge filters stacked on top of each other, powered by a maxi-jet 1200, on each of my 5' 120's. There are koralia # 4 water pumps in the tanks as well. The sponges are probably overkill.


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## DrgRcr (Jun 23, 2009)

FWIW, I have an FX5 and AC110 on my 125. Heavily stocked with 35 mbuna and 7 syno cats.


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## sheldon_goldwing (Sep 27, 2010)

When my wife said I could move a "big" tank into our living room she had one condition: "no ugly things (filters) hanging on the back." I made a nice cabinet and hope to keep the filtering inside that cabinet both for sound and looks. So, HOB are out.

As long as I use a a couple power heads to move some water can't I get away with only one filter?

I really got confused researching these filters. I can see why it is so hard to pick one as most of them have pretty good reviews. I picked ones on the chart that say they can handle a 125g and Except the Cascade, Most of those were all $179.99 give or take a few dollars.

FX5 is like $300 and I really liked the looks of it but price is really high. I'm not sure how accurate the measurements are but it says it is 16" in diameter and my front cabinet door is 15-3/8" wide x 19-1/2" high. It would need to be less than the 15"ish without the lid to work. I could add a larger door on the side....... I dont know.....

One Question WHAT IS A SPONGE FILTER?

On the plus side, I never had so many responses, Thank you.


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## DrgRcr (Jun 23, 2009)

E-bay has several FX5's for much less than the LFS sell them for. I honestly don't see how the LFS sell any at the price they ask! I paid under $200 for mine almost 2 years ago.

Here ya go.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Hagen-Fluval-FX5-Ex ... 5642d24e9e


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## sheldon_goldwing (Sep 27, 2010)

Here is an interesting review of the FX5 - A side I never heard before.

http://www.discusforums.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=7080

http://www.discusforums.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=7080

Hope I did that right.

The FX5 seems nice. (less that review) but it still would not fit through my cabinet doors. Not sure I'm up to all the modifications needed. The nice thing about a LFS is when you have an issue, they back you up. I really like that.[/url]


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## zimmy (Aug 13, 2010)

sheldon_goldwing said:


> One Question WHAT IS A SPONGE FILTER?


Here's some info:

http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com ... ilter.html


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## zimmy (Aug 13, 2010)

sheldon_goldwing said:


> As long as I use a a couple power heads to move some water can't I get away with only one filter?


It depends on your stocking level. If you have few fish and they're small, you might get away with one 2217. As they grow maybe you could add a second one.

This isn't foolproof but if you enter your information (stocking, tank size, filtration) you can get an idea of what percentage filtration you would have with each option:

http://aqadvisor.com/AqAdvisor.php?AqVo ... hUnit=inch

I understand your struggle with fitting the filter into the cabinet. I have an Eheim 2262 which stands almost 24". I had my cabinet height built partly to just accommodate the filter.


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## sheldon_goldwing (Sep 27, 2010)

Zimmy,

WOW that was a great web site. I currently only have one Lace Catfish. All my Cichlids died a few months ago. They went really fast and I still dont know why. (I posted in the other area)

Anyway, I'm going to have to restock some new fish. SAD


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## punman (Oct 24, 2003)

I have two AClear 110s on my 135 gallon. But is sounds like you want canisters. When I was using canisters, I had Eheim 2217s. I'd use two on a tank your size. Don't know how they compare to other brands but reliable and quiet.


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## sheldon_goldwing (Sep 27, 2010)

WOW I won a FREE Marineland Magnum 350 Pro Filter System!

After reading up I think you guys are right, better to have 2 smaller filters than one big one (like an FX5) so I'm going with the Filstar XP4 and the FREE Marineland Magnum 350 Pro. The two should be a good blend. My total cost is 179 so that is really nice for a couple filters. I'm going with an inline heater to. (Haydo ETH) I'm pumped, can't wait to get fish!

What kind of filter media do I need for the Marineland? Any suggestions or things to watch out for?

Thanks


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