Got a 225 gallon tank... for fifty bucks! Now to set this thing up... help

Hey everyone - so as the post states I scored this huge tank from my gf's old landlord for $50! He has it empty, isn't in the hobby any longer and just wants it gone, so its a total score for me. Its 72 inches long x 24 inches deep. I currently have a 130 gallon set up which I have a Fluval FX6 going, which I must say I love. Its quiet, and keeps the tank crystal clear.

I also have my floor beneath the tank (basement is below) braced. Had a Structural Engineer come in and he put up a basic support structure but its strong, essentially adding support to the beams and bracing those with additional poles running under those beams from the ceiling to the floor. Will prob check with him but I recall him saying that it was overkill and should easily hold more weight... think I should feel comfortable knowing I already have a system for support in place or should I have the guy come back out and make sure or add to it?

On to the filtration... Tank will be fresh water but I'm wondering can I just get another fluval canister and call it a day? Or do I need to run a sump on a tank this large? I know NOTHING about sumps and the idea of it is intimidating to me because I don't want to screw it up and make a mess or get in over my head. Plus everything I can find to read up on them is for salt water set ups and it sounds like there's drilling and overflows involved or something, or maybe I'm confusing that with other stuff altogether. Is there a simple way to set up a sump? Because I'm def not drilling or doing altering the tank in any manner.

Another thought I've been considering... would be the cheapest... just get a bunch of large Hydra sponge filters and strategically hide them around the tank. I've been reading up on this and seems like people do keep large tanks this way with success. Thoughts?

So, basically how should I filter this thing and if you can answer any of my other questions about sumps etc that would be great!

Also - anyone ever use the Rocket Filter as seen on Aquabid? They seem pretty solid - anyone have one?


Thanks!

Will be a while before she's up and running but I'll post pics when she is. For now though here are a few shots of the 130g and its residents. I just changed the background to black and I love it. Really makes the colors pop especially against the white sand.


S. Daemon


Threadfin Acara








Tank with wine rack

Currently, I have a few tanks going with stock spread out among those tanks. I'm a little overstocked now in my 130g and I know it so I knew I had to do something and luckily this came along. I still may need to re-home some fish in the long run though.

I've got the following spread out amongst several tanks at the moment: 5 Threadfin Acara, 3 Red Severums, 2 S. Daeman, 1 Chocolate Cichlid, 2 Jurupari, 5 Geo Altirfons (sub adult) 7 Red Head Tapajos (sub adult), 2 G. Surinamensis, 2 Red Hump Eartheaters (sub adult) 2 Rainbow Cichlids, 1 Blue Acara 1 Green Phantom Pleco, 1 BNP and 1 Blue Phantom Pleco

These are all spread out among several different tanks at the moment. The idea would be to get what I can comfortably into the 225, and then the remainder into the 130 gallon, again assuming a comfortable stocking level and either re-home the rest or possibly keep one more tank, (maybe a 75 or 90 gallon depending on whats left over). Trying to condense though and don't really want to keep running 5 or 6 tanks.

Some of these fish I came into as juveniles by chance and couldn't believe I found them, so I snatched them up when the opportunity presented itself because they're not common where I'm from. I knew I had some good sized tanks I could set up for now, but they are growing and I'd like to get what I can into a nice mostly SA Geo. Sp. type tank with some other compatibles that I have.

So basically, as much as possible in the 225, the remainder, as much as possible in the 130, if there's any additional from there, I'll either re-home or run one more big tank.

Not sure at the moment how much I can get into a 225 as I've only dreamed of having a tank this big. Yes I know, that's a lot of fish but I'm hoping to work it all out.

Thoughts?