filtration

[dougzfresh]

thoughts on filter for 125 gallon aquarium ?

 

[hoffmeyerz]

That can be fine, many people use canister filters. Just make sure to keep the sponge filters inside clean as they have a tendency to become nitrate factories!
Happy reefing!

 

[JumboShrimp]

Just curious: Do you not have a sump (or are trying to avoid a sump)?

 

[hoffmeyerz]

I run a sump but when I first started I had a canister filter on my first tank.
It worked fine but I did struggle with high nitrates at times.

 

[KrisReef]

thoughts on filter for 125 gallon aquarium ?

I used a similar canister for many years before trickle filters and sumps were a thing, and it worked fine.

But, are you looking to keep fish only or do you want corals?

A skimmer and live rock has made the canister the “old way” for many people, especially coral reef enthusiasts.

 

[JumboShrimp]

The ironic thing is, if it begins to leak at any one of several points, then you basically have to sit it in a small glass tank so your floor doesn't get ruined. At that point, you've defeated the purpose of not having a sump in the first place. Lol. (That's just my two cents.)

 

[dougzfresh]

Just curious: Do you not have a sump (or are trying to avoid a sump)?

i have a 75gallon that him have been using a hob, i just want to upgrade my filtration when i start my 125

 

[dougzfresh]

what would u guys reccomend for filtration for 125 then?

 

[Garf]

I used a similar canister for many years before trickle filters and sumps were a thing, and it worked fine.

I use none of these, actually nothing. I'm my mind it is not required.

 

[exnisstech]

Do you not want a sump or are you unable to accommodate one?
Drilling a tank is best but I ran this 180g for over six years using two eshopps hob overflows. People will say they are prone to loosing syphon and causing flooding but IME that is BS. The only time mine would cause a flood is if i cranked the return up so it was pumping more water than the overflows could handle. Never lost a syphon and I shut the return off every time I fed.

 

[JumboShrimp]

For a sumpless tank that size, I would go with two (2) HOBs over a canister; I would get the best-designed ones that people on R2R can recommended as having had experience with, and listen to how they have set theirs up for reliable, optimal performance. People like @exnisstech.

 

[exnisstech]

Just kicking this around some more because I'm bored. If we are talking a standard rimmed 6ft 125 before I would chose to deal with a canister I would run three aquaclear 110 hobs placing one in each opening between the cross braces. There's so much more you could do with them vs a canister. You could run media in one, fuge in another etc.
This is one of my aquaclear 110s on a 40g breeder. I used part of one of the hob overflows from the tank above to turn it into a surface skimmer. It does a pretty decent job.

 

[PapaFishRocks]

Go for it. I run an FX4 on my 90.

I vodka dose, so Nitrates have never been an issue.

 

[Blue Ring Octopus]

Since you are starting new, get a sump?
What are the dimensions of the tank?
Have you purchased the tank yet?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I guess the question is what do you want the cannister to accomplish.

I have a 120, and my sump system is extensive (4 x 44 gallon Brute cans).

If I think through all of the things I do in my sump, the only one that is readily done in a cannister is granular activated carbon.

Everything else is impossible or poorly done in a cannister:

AWC
ATO
auto dosing AFR
auto dosing phyto
heating
cooling
skimming
growing macroalgae
place to put excess live rock
place to put bad actors if encountered (e.g., mantis shrimp)
sampling water and manual dosing of other chemicals