Larger aquarium filtration

[B055429]

Really itching to get into the hobby again

We got our 3-1/2 year old a 29 gal aquarium set up for Christmas and its really getting me interested in the hobby again and my wife is becoming interested as well.

When I was younger, my sister got a 55 for her birthday or something. She had a Pleco, some guppies, mollies, platies, a pair of Gouramis, and I can't remember what else. (Also a 10gal we would transfer pregnant fish into to let the fry grow a little before we re introduced into the 55) I always helped her with things on her tank, since i was bigger and she didn't understand how a siphon worked.. usual big brother stuff blah blah blah. 

When she got into middle school she became more interested in "pre-teen/teen preppy girl stuff". I noticed her aquarium had a BLANKET of algae so thick all over the glass you couldn't see inside. I spent the day cleaning and changing water till i got it cleared up some, then closed the shade on the window it sat near that was blasting it with direct sun 10+ hrs a day for a month with no attention, feeding, cleaning, testing, gravel vacking or water changes. (NO FISH LOST thankfully).

Anyway it basically became mine for the next few years until I was nearly out of High School and had other things coming in my life. I ended up donating it to someone on Craigslist. Long story short I'm really getting a bug to get an aquarium going for my wife and I. 55, 75gal have crossed my mind, but i REALLY like the dimensions of a 120. Not quite as long as some of the larger tanks, but you really get a lot with the 24" width and depth over a 55 or 75 without having a TON of water volume jumping to a 180. Also think it creates a lot of options for fish and serious aquascaping,(The old 55 was not planted at all) which is a HUGE driving force behind my wife and I wanting one.

Question is filtration.

I've only ever used HOB's. I've been reading and watching all kinds of videos about filtration for the last 3 weeks, and still find them very appealing, though I love all the benefits of a sponge and will be adding one to my sons 29 as well as a couple to whatever my wife and i end up with.

Seachem

PrimeTime aquatics has a video about the Seachem Tidals and from what he explained as well as others it has a lot going for it, but the 110 says a max 110gal aquarium. Then you get some people who say gph 4x of total tank volume all the way up to 10x for HOBs. We will be doing a "planted fishless cycling" if you even want to call it that. Basically want to aquascape the heck out of it with all kinds of plants, rocks and wood and playing with that for awhile then add fish slowly until a nice balance exists. Do you think the Tidal 110, coupled with all the plants and a couple sponge filters hidden in the back for surface area and aeration would offset the shortcomings of lower gph? Should i run 2 Tidal 75s? 

Other HOBs?

Am I being over sold on the Tidals? You can check around all different places and every filter, type and brand is hated AND they are all loved. any others people would suggest for such a set up?

Other types of filtration

I've seriously been talked out of canisters and sumps. Would they be necessary for this size though?

 

This is just the beginning 

We aren't in a huge rush to get this going practically speaking. We really WANT to jump on it but we just moved and need to replace our floors etc. So we will be doing a ton of research and reaching out for advice for now. Any thoughts appreciated.

[MJV Aquatics]

There's almost always a debate when it comes to filtration, often with 'there's no such thing as too much filtration'. HOWEVER, good filtration is about how well water is filtered, not how much or how fast water is pushed through media.

I think the Aquaclear and now Tidal HOB's are great as the hobbyist controls the media used and servicing is so easy. So there you go either a single 110 or two 75's would work....and remember, once a tank is established, there's far more beneficial biology in the substrate than any filter. Got some great articles on my blog about this. 🙂

[B055429]

4 hours ago, MJV Aquatics said:

There's almost always a debate when it comes to filtration, often with 'there's no such thing as too much filtration'. HOWEVER, good filtration is about how well water is filtered, not how much or how fast water is pushed through media.

I think the Aquaclear and now Tidal HOB's are great as the hobbyist controls the media used and servicing is so easy. So there you go either a single 110 or two 75's would work....and remember, once a tank is established, there's far more beneficial biology in the substrate than any filter. Got some great articles on my blog about this. 🙂

That's just what I needed to hear. Definitely wanting to build up the natural bio filter. Found your blog, another hole I'm going to dive into now. Thanks