Filter help?

[jrein40806]

I bought a 125 gallon tank this week. It came with an Aquaclear 500 filter. I want to set up a fish & lr,ls system. Would the 500 work well with an Aqua Clear Aquatics Model 200 Wet Dry Filter w/ a dual-inlet prefilter and (2) CAP 2200 pumps?
The wet/dry does have bio balls, and from what I have read, they aren't too popular. If I replace the bio balls what would I replace them with? Also, what is the difference between the Aquaclear 500 and the trickle down that sits underneath the tank?
I have read that lr/ls with a protein skimmer will do just fine,but I don't want to spend the $$ on that much lr right now.
Thanks for any help!

 

[jumpfrog]

Short answer, yes the both would work fine together. Don't know if you need both. If it was me I'd just go with the wet/dry to reduce the things you have in the tank. As for bio balls. They get there bad press from reef systems as they can trap materials and serve as a nitrate factory over time. Not as much of an issue with fish only systems. In fact, they allow a larger bio load than what would be otherwise safe.
As for the differences between your two filters? Not really that much, they all provide mechanical and biological filtration by design and can each provide chemical filtration if you like.
Good Luck in setting up your tank.