Hi from a new member; I've had Discus / Amazon-themed aquariums for 30+ years (basically since childhood), mostly 200-400L low-tech.
We recently moved to a new house and am now planning my dream aquarium build - a ~1.200L aquarium (240x65x80cm or maybe 240x65x70cm) with a "wild" nature aquascape hopefully catching the atmosphere and concept of something close to Josh Sim's "Congo". There will be many technical hurdles to overcome and figure out how to do this project and I look forward to learning and hopefully getting some good tips and guidance from experts here.
I have several initial construction concepts first I need figure out and your help would be greatly appreciated. Overall I would like to (a) keep aesthetics of as clean as possible with minimal intrusion of hoses and devices in the display area (using ADA glass accessories where needed etc.), and (b) design a system that is a quiet at possible - this will be in the main living/reception area so continuous humming sound of filter pump gets really annoying. This brings me to the 1st key decision I need to make in terms of construction: will I go with a Canister or Sump for filtration? ...one VERY important factor in this decision is not only efficacy for filtration, but also quiet operation; we currently have Eheim Professionel 3 XL for our 400L aquarium and my wife complains that it is much too loud (it vibrates through entire current wooden cabinet below the aquarium) and wants something that would be able to run quieter.
I like the simplicity and ease of use and maintenance of canister, but I may need to canisters to ensure enough flow for 1.200L and that would raise the noise further. I am thinking Fluval FX6 or Oase Biomaster Thermo 850. Any experience with these in terms of noise? Perhaps if I use anti-vibration pads underneath and use a good soundproofing insulation of the inside walls of the cabinet that could do the trick?
With a sump, I think noise is often even bigger problem and I also worry about troubleshooting the sump and all the complexity it brings, but at the same time it would allow me a lot of added flexibility in terms of adding all the other devices incl. CO2, UV, etc., but most importantly, it would allow me an automated water exchange & top-up (e.g. on timer, each day 50L water would be drained from the sump and refilled back; also with a floater, water level would be continuously maintained, as I would expect a lot of evaporation in case of open top design.
Any tips and suggestions at this stage would be very very helpful!!!
