Hi, first time poster here.

I came into possession of a 125 gallon tank that has a wet dry filter hard lined into the bottom of the stand. I want to remove the bio balls and replace it with bio glass media, carbon and a polyfiber filter, and I want to also give it a really good clean, as it looks like the previous owner neglected to do any routine maintenance on the sump. However, because the sump was hard lined into the bottom of the stand, and because the sump is actually larger than the size of the access door in front, there doesn't seem to be any feasible way to do routine maintenance on it.

Here's a picture, to give an idea. Don't mind the highly cloudy water, that part isn't actually going to be an issue.



Any thoughts or ideas on how to get into this thing to make it more to my liking, and to be able to maintain it regularly? Any ideas would be greatly appreciated!

dude, thats a tough one. i suggest unhardlining it and put a proper bottom on it so that you can remove it when needed. and btw, i totally agree with your chosen media changes.

one question is why is the water in the sump so high?

Mine is located behind my tank with ZERO way of getting it out but it is crystal clear. I clean mine in place with less room then you have. Just use a gravel vac's hose to clean it out, then a towel to wipe it down inside the sump.

Carbon if not maintained will leech toxic crap back into the tank. new bio balls and new filter pads are great, might want to get a new sponge for the sump itself(seperates the bio area from the pump area.