New tank came with 3 filters, which should I use?

[Mulletpullet]

I bought a 125 gallon aquarium, and as part of the purchase the seller gave me 3 filters. An Aquaclear 110 overflow filter, an trickle system/sump, and a Fluval 205 canister.

I'm not a huge fan of the trickle system. I never cared for the noise, nor the constant need to make sure the siphon is working on the overflow. The fluval is only meant for 40 gallons.

I'm making a community tank that will include discus, but I'm going to get everything else in it happy before adding the discus in February or so. I was considering starting out with the Aquaclear 110, because the fish population will be low initially. But when I add the discus I'd really prefer to have the proper filtration.

I considering simply adding a Sponge filter in the tank in addition to the Aquaclear, one of those that run with air, and are huge round and ugly. I think that should be adequate. But I'd love to hear some opinions on the matter.

Thanks.

[Second Hand Pat]

Add another AC 110 :)

[trungnguyen]

2 Aquaclear 100 are good to go

[Trier20]

I'd run the canister with nothing but bio media along with the AC the same way with just bio media.

[Mulletpullet]

After talking to my local breeder and seeing his set up, I feel like I should be running a hyrdo sponge. His stuff looked fantastic, and he said he's really happy with how they hold bacteria. It's rather unsightly, but I could hide it on one side with some clever rock arrangement.

A canister seems like a similar concept as the sponge except that it is outside the tank instead of inside.

I must say, I do like how cheap the sponges seem to be.

[Heyguy74]

I would run both the 205 and the AC110. Having two filters will help incase one stops working for some reason. Personally, I would run all three. I like to over filter my tanks. You already have a backup going. I pack my canister with bio media and my HOB's with sponges. Its easier to clean a HOB than open the canister. Putting a pre filter on the canisters intake will keep large debris from entering. Plus its easy to clean as well. You need some mechanical filtration. I rinse the sponges weekly with my water changes. I do like hydro sponges. They are great for biological filtration. I use them on small tanks. Adding one or two will def not hurt. They just don't look very good.

[Mulletpullet]

Currently I am running the 205 and the AC110. I'm not going to mess with the trickle system. I never did care for them. I'm considering ditching the 205 for a second AC110 when funds become available. I plan on installing a 30 gallon quarantine tank under the 125 where the trickle would have been, and using the 205 on that tank. (I could supplement with a small HOB filter I own for that as well). The main tank will end up with two Hydro Sponges. I really don't mind their look. To me, the beauty is in the functionality. (With the exception of substrate, I couldn't bring myself to go bare)

I still don't have any discus in the tank, they'll be coming in late Feb or March. 15 Tetras neons, 5 denison barbs, 2 otos, and a cory are calling the tank their home for now. I'm planning on adding some German Blue rams this week and that will pretty much end adding fish with the exception of the discus.

I do like your idea of the bio media in the canister and the sponges in the HOBs. I'm going to slowly change some of that stuff around before I get the discus.

Thanks for the reply.

[ericatdallas]

I would run two AC110's on that as well, I'm not a fan of canisters though. The 205 and the AC110 should be fine with a reasonable stocking level. You can also run the sponge filter off your AC110 or 205. Depending on the sponge and the filters, you might have to play with the fittings but I used to keep a sponge filter on the intake of my Fluval 405. It works as a pre-filter while also providing the surface area.