What kind of filter should I setup for a 125 Oscar tank?

[MaseBoogie]

I am in the process of setting up a 125 gallon central America South American tank. What would be the best filtration to go with? A canister filter? 2 HOB and a sponge? Currently have e fish growing out in a 65, with a AC 70 and a sponge filter setup. I have no experience with canister filters, and am very fond of the aqua clear filter ( every tank I have has a version of an aqua clear) and HOB in general. But I know canisters are more effective in larger aquariums but idk if I can fork that money over for one filtration system. Any suggestions would help! The fish going in the tank would be 4 oscars (around 4” average between all of them), 2 Jack Dempseys around 3”, 1 green terror around 4”, 1 Carpintis around 3”, 1 Firemouth around 3.5”, 1 common Pleco around 5”, and 1 striped Raphael catfish around 4”. Either way I plan on having a large sponge filter in the tank bc I love sponge filters and it would help the cycle.

 

[Rocksor]

Do both canister and HOB. Use the HOB primarily for mechanical filtration with Poly-fil (quilting floss from Walmart), and change it out a few times a week or as needed. My preference is to use 2 canisters versus 1 big one, since you still need to remove it from under the cabinet, and when filled with water and ceramic media, it gets pretty heavy. I really don't prefer sponge filters with oscars since they have a tendency to want to shred it into pieces.

 

[lp85253]

i don't like canisters .. jmo.. a couple of ac110's will suffice ... i've said it before , overfiltration isn't necessary .. double sponge the ac110's and with the addition of the interior sponge you won't have ammonia or a mechanical filtration issues .. i'm sure there a a couple people that will jump on my opinion as unworthy of mfk standards .. but they are welcome to their own opinion.. my style of filtration is tried and true... example: i have a 5 ft. normally stocked 90 filtered with 2 ac70's and a sponge filter .. no issues at all , long term (10 years)...

 

[MaseBoogie]

i don't like canisters .. jmo.. a couple of ac110's will suffice ... i've said it before , overfiltration isn't necessary .. double sponge the ac110's and with the addition of the interior sponge you won't have ammonia or a mechanical filtration issues .. i'm sure there a a couple people that will jump on my opinion as unworthy of mfk standards .. but they are welcome to their own opinion.. my style of filtration is tried and true... example: i have a 5 ft. normally stocked 90 filtered with 2 ac70's and a sponge filter .. no issues at all , long term (10 years)...

awesome! I was thinkin about doing that bc I’m such a fan of ac filters. Now when u say double sponge u mean put 2 sponges and bio media in both the filters? I usually run a sponge and 2 bio bags,i rarely run chemical media

 

[esoxlucius]

i don't like canisters .. jmo.. a couple of ac110's will suffice ... i've said it before , overfiltration isn't necessary .. double sponge the ac110's and with the addition of the interior sponge you won't have ammonia or a mechanical filtration issues .. i'm sure there a a couple people that will jump on my opinion as unworthy of mfk standards .. but they are welcome to their own opinion.. my style of filtration is tried and true... example: i have a 5 ft. normally stocked 90 filtered with 2 ac70's and a sponge filter .. no issues at all , long term (10 years)...

Your 5ft "normally" stocked tank, whatever "normally" equates to these days, may well work perfectly for your situation. But have you seen how many fish the OP is putting in his 125? Soon he will need all the filtration he can get with the bio load that lot are going to be pushing out in the coming months.

MaseBoogie , is this 125g just another grow out tank on your current 65g with an even bigger tank further down the line, or is it a more permanent arrangement for those fish?

 

[MaseBoogie]

Your 5ft "normally" stocked tank, whatever "normally" equates to these days, may well work perfectly for your situation. But have you seen how many fish the OP is putting in his 125? Soon he will need all the filtration he can get with the bio load that lot are going to be pushing out in the coming months.

MaseBoogie , is this 125g just another grow out tank on your current 65g with an even bigger tank further down the line, or is it a more permanent arrangement for those fish?

Kind of another grow out tank yeah lol. The oscars will remain in there by themselves once I get another 125 to move the other fish. But for now all of them are going in there. So they will all be in there for at least 6 months or so until I get another 125

 

[Rocksor]

...The fish going in the tank would be 4 oscars (around 4” average between all of them), 2 Jack Dempseys around 3”, 1 green terror around 4”, 1 Carpintis around 3”, 1 Firemouth around 3.5”, 1 common Pleco around 5”, and 1 striped Raphael catfish around 4”. Either way I plan on having a large sponge filter in the tank bc I love sponge filters and it would help the cycle.

I missed the stocking part.

Yeah all of those as adults will overstock the 125g tank easily. I had half that amount of bioload as adults on my first big tank a 125g, and guess what 2 x 403 fluval canisters (with prefilters) and one dual biowheel HOB put me on borderline for biological filtration. 2 AC110 and large sponge filters won't be enough long term (like past the 3 year mark) simply because the oscar and pleco will start to shred the sponge filters. The 125 is about right for only 2 adult football size oscars (if you get a pair).

 

[MaseBoogie]

Do both canister and HOB. Use the HOB primarily for mechanical filtration with Poly-fil (quilting floss from Walmart), and change it out a few times a week or as needed. My preference is to use 2 canisters versus 1 big one, since you still need to remove it from under the cabinet, and when filled with water and ceramic media, it gets pretty heavy. I really don't prefer sponge filters with oscars since they have a tendency to want to shred it into pieces.

That would be a good idea too. I was thinking like an AC 70 and a 100 gal rated canister filter. Or like the other guy said two AC 110s and maybe a ziss bubble filter since the oscars could tear up the sponge filter which I didn’t think about

 

[MaseBoogie]

Your 5ft "normally" stocked tank, whatever "normally" equates to these days, may well work perfectly for your situation. But have you seen how many fish the OP is putting in his 125? Soon he will need all the filtration he can get with the bio load that lot are going to be pushing out in the coming months.

MaseBoogie , is this 125g just another grow out tank on your current 65g with an even bigger tank further down the line, or is it a more permanent arrangement for those fish?

What about a 150? I have about 2000 dollars to spend

 

[esoxlucius]

What about a 150? I have about 2000 dollars to spend

All those fish, for life? I'd say you need to be around the 300g mark, with some good filtration too. The four oscars are your biggest problem, there's lots of members on here, myself included, who would say a 125g is a nice size, for life, for ONE oscar. And you've got FOUR, plus all the others. Can you see the problem?

Even if you got rid of three of the oscars from your wish list, i'd still say you'd need to around the 220g mark to house your remaining one oscar and all the others too.

If you are limited to tanks around the 125g and 150g mark then you need to have a bit if a rethink imo. Good luck.