# 120 gallon fish tank need filter recommendations (help)



## ELEMENT559 (Dec 15, 2010)

I have a 120 gallon tank and I am currently running a fluval 304 and a fluval 404. My cichlids are growing bigger and I believe the tank needs more filtering because the water is discoloring faster now. I have been looking at the eheim 2080 and the fluval fx5. I need the water to be really clean because I plan on putting in texas holey rock soon. If anyone has a recommendation please let me know. I may also be taking the fluval 304 offline when I purchase the new canister filter because of too many hoses. I am a novice cichlid owner and need help any comments or suggestions are wanted. thank you


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## BillD (May 17, 2005)

What do you mean by discoloring? If your ammonia and nitrite readings are zero, you have adequate filtration. Adding more filtration will not change that. Not sure what holey rock has to do with the water needing to be clean.


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## ELEMENT559 (Dec 15, 2010)

I just tested my water and the ammonia and nitrate is at zero since my tank has been established for 3 years. My cichlids have been having babies and from reading the other posts that must mean the conditions in my tank are good. I might need to do more frequent water changes or clean my canister filters more to change discoloration in water. When I say discoloration I mean unpolished. The water almost looks dirty not clear and clean like I wish it was. Maybe I can put in a aqua clear powerhead 110 to move the water around more for the canister filters. I brought up the texas holey rock and it is white so I was worried about the water color affecting the texas holey rock color (staining it). I currently have 10 full size cichlids in my tank and a few babies quarantined. How many cichlids could possibly fit in my tank. I beleive the rule of thumb is one inch of fish per gallon of water. I was also wondering if anyone has experience with putting rock in an aquaruim. I was wondering how much to put in my 120 gallon tank. Thanks for any comments and advice. :fish:


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## KaiserSousay (Nov 2, 2008)

* I might need to do more frequent water changes or clean my canister filters more*

See, you already knew what was needed.
Guess you wanted somebody to talk you out of some extra work.
Won`t be me.
Get off your duff and do some cleaning and see if that dosent make a big difference.


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## nodima (Oct 3, 2002)

ELEMENT559 said:


> I currently have 10 full size cichlids in my tank and a few babies quarantined. How many cichlids could possibly fit in my tank. I beleive the rule of thumb is one inch of fish per gallon of water. I was also wondering if anyone has experience with putting rock in an aquaruim. I was wondering how much to put in my 120 gallon tank. Thanks for any comments and advice. :fish:


throw out the rule of thumb when dealing with Cichlids. That "rule" is really aimed at small community fish. Here's why. Take the mass of 5 1 inch cardinal tetras and the mass of your average 5" cichlid. Which has more mass, and which is likely to **** more? Exponentially so.

Some other rules of thumb for keeping Cichlids is more like one FISH per 10 or 20 gallons of water. Your tank is likely pretty close to "full", the fact you water is dirty/yellowing should be a indicator of this. As previous poster said, step up your water changes and filter cleanings, anyone who successfully overcrowds tanks does so by increasing water changes and keeping ahead of filter cleanings.


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## WaWaZat (Dec 27, 2007)

Also a novice aquarist just now setting up a 120 that I will stock w/Oscars & other large cichlids. So far it seems that everyone is saying that no amount of increased or be better filtration will help the scenario that Element has laid out. Let's assume that Element, or others taking the time to put a little thought & care into this, are not lazy people but are looking for an ideal canister filtration setup to minimize any EXTRA manual maintenance. What do people experienced in a similar situation recommend as the ideal canister setup for mechanical, biological & polishing duties for a tank this size stocked with large, messy fish?


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## smilepak (Aug 9, 2004)

ELEMENT559 said:


> I have a 120 gallon tank and I am currently running a fluval 304 and a fluval 404. My cichlids are growing bigger and I believe the tank needs more filtering because the water is discoloring faster now. I have been looking at the eheim 2080 and the fluval fx5. I need the water to be really clean because I plan on putting in texas holey rock soon. If anyone has a recommendation please let me know. I may also be taking the fluval 304 offline when I purchase the new canister filter because of too many hoses. I am a novice cichlid owner and need help any comments or suggestions are wanted. thank you


I have approx 100 gallons and this is how I setup the filter.

I have the AquaClear 110 being my primary bacteria filter. I rarely place the filter there, once every 6 months. Mainly it has stuff for bacteria growth.

I have Magnum 350 Canister that I replace every 3 months and use the Ammo Carb mixture (http://www.fosterandsmithaquatics.com/p ... catid=4255). This is my chemical filter.

I have the Rena XP4 (http://www.fosterandsmithaquatics.com/p ... =3602&r=63). That is my primary mechanical filter. I layer it with several layers of filter and top tray use a bag of Ammo Carb. Do clean it once every 3-4 months in between of the Magnum.

Been doing it for 3 years now. Going strong. Rarely have to change water. I usually replace 1/3 of water once every 9 months. Water never discolor. Only alge issue. Fish lives for awhile. I have a few 6" - 8" clown loach that I started from small size


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## nodima (Oct 3, 2002)

oh boy...

opcorn: opcorn: opcorn: opcorn: opcorn: opcorn: opcorn:


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## KaiserSousay (Nov 2, 2008)

*anyone who successfully overcrowds tanks does so by increasing water changes and keeping ahead of filter cleanings.*

Say it louder.


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## fox (Jun 11, 2009)

I was never one for using a can as the primary means of mech filtration. Too much work. You would have to open it every week or let the detritus liquify and return back into the water collumn. I have a 2080 and open it three times a year. I have a few ProII's and they get serviced about four times a year.

All of our tanks use more than one filter with a HOB stuffed with floss serving as the mech filter for the most part and the cans acting as the bio filter. We also have sponge filters in some of our tanks and they are just fantastic at polishing the watercollumn and a quick weekly squeeze is not much of a PIA as opening a can for mech maintenance.

On our larger tanks we use cans for bio and sumps for mech.


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