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What is the best filtration for a 125 gallon aquarium? (Saltwater)?

I am starting another SW aqaurium soon it will be a 125 gallon aquarium, I want to know what type of filtration is best? Also send links, for protein skimmers, filters, light, anything! How much live rock will I need? How many powerheads, what type? What should I be expecting to pay for JUST the aquarium and stand? Are overflows the way to go??? Most extensive and overall best recives 50 points yes 50, if you would like me to explain how I am going to do this e-mail me I will explain. Thank you very much! ~Kyle Also do over flows need to be built in from the factory or can you buy one to just insert? I will probaley start out with a F-O-W-L-R system firs then slowly go into reefs.

Public Comments

1. definitly google that
2. dang 125 gallon thats just alittle bigger than my shot glass
3. your going to be looking into 2 canister filters. personally i like ehiem pro 2, but they recently came out with a pro 3 series so you might want to look into this. generally....generally it is recommended to have 1 1/2 to 2 lbs of live rock per gallon, so 125 pounds at least is suggested. again it is up to you the total ammount but that is the general guidline. So that is a night mare to even think about hitting the walet. powerheads... 6-8 should be enough, you dont want them all facing the same way for reef tank, which im guessing your creating. i personally like aquaclear powerheads as they have a reverse feature which is good as you can create and add to a current which is needed for corals. i personally dont like over flows and wetdry systems but if you have some cash then go for it. i would just rather use canisters. lighting is key, are you planning reef? then you should look into a good lighting system that has lunar lights. so the tank is on a 24/7 time period system. corallife seems to be my favorite, but mines is for a 20 gallon. So imagine that to be expensive as well. substrate.. i personally use live caribbean sand from oceans direct. Again personal liking, but you can use many other types of brand, i would stay with sand instead of crushed coral so your fish selection isnt limited as much. This isnt overall that expensive. i believe i get 20lb bags for 20 ea. not bad! your going to need to set the tank up and allow it to become established for about 6-8 months before getting corals, so allow that much time before getting fancy corals, but live rock is fine to get soon after the tank is set-up. Depending on your saltwater experience, you will need basic gear like a hydrometer which you use to measure the specific gravity which should be 1.020 to 1.024 for saltwater. Also a heater. and basics like you would find in freshwater fishkeeping. the tank and stand only will vary from place to place so shop around, but like you know(guessing) saltwater of this size, expect to spend in the thousands for all of the supplies, fish, live rock, and tank cost. um.. if you need anymore help please feel free to let me know, and for links. i buy some of my fish supplies from http://www.drsfostersmith.com which is where i got my saltwater lighting and some other products. for fishes, i personally like http://www.blueocean.com
4. Is it going to be a REEF tank or Fish Only With Live Rock(FOWLR)??? Need to Know which one before anyone can answer this question Correctly.
5. Live sand and live rock should be your main filtration. 125 lbs rock and 80lbs sand minimum. Try to find a tank and stand on ebay/craigslist/newspaper/etc. to save $$$. The best filtration system could go into thousands of dollars. So I'll give you an example of my 125. 160lbs rock, 50lbs crushed coral/100lbs live sand. I run 3 powerheads 1 AC50, 1 Lifetouch 1500, and 1 Powersweep. I also run 1 Fluval 404 as another watermovement source, but the canister only has sponges and floss= no bio material. A skimmer is a must and I went with the Coralife 125, much better out there, but I got it for $80 and it works great. My setup is very low end on cost, but houses 2 Dwarf Zebra Lionfish, Yellow Tang, Black banded cat shark, and 2 Damsels left from cycling(1.5 years ago). You could go as high as $5000 on a 125 setup, but I'm poor so all my $$$ went to LR/LS. The rest is from my FW collection. BTW my setup is FOWLR( few easy corals).Shop around for everything you decide on and save alot. I own 11 tanks and my best deal was one of my 125g for $75 tank only. I scored another 125g tank/stand/tons of extras for $350. Have fun with it, I was edgy at first but with 5 years FW exp, it went very smooth. Best of luck.