Equipment advice for a 120+ gallon setup

[McFish]

Hi there,

I've been running a 30 gallon planted community aquarium with a Coralife light and CO2 (regulator w/ needle valve only - no ph) for a couple of years & now I'm looking to upscale to a similarly stocked but much larger built-in unit.

What are everyone's recommendations on 'must have' & 'nice to have' equipment once you move up in size? I'd also appreciate any comments you all might have on the pros/cons of different suppliers - are some more reliable, quieter, not worth the cost vs features, etc?

Thanks for your thoughts!

[Eb0la11]

Have you bought your tank yet? I have a 120 gallon setup I might be looking to sell. Has about 10-12 nice size and nice fish in it. Cichlids and some Plecos.

Also two show pieces of driftwood and I mean show pieces. Never seen nicer.

[cichlidguy]

I usually run a sump on anything larger than a 90 gallon. I just figure if going to spend that much money on a set up to begin with i want it to look clean with no heaters or filters showing in the main tank . Its totally up to you though :s

[tang daddy]

I second that, run a sump as for High end equiptment, there isn't too much for freshwater.... It depends on what your trying to achieve!

The most costly thing would be the lights If your doing a planted 120 then get some tek t5's or Hqi pendant lighting, return pump and filter you could essentially use the sump with bioballs, or filter floss. If your going sumpless go for 2 fx5 I love those filters...