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hi guys just a quick question for all u breeders out there

i just aquired 15 3x18x18 tanks
going to start breeding more seriously just wanna no every1's opinion on the best way to filter all the tanks,heat and airate them. most will be catfish but some will cichlids due to the popularity around here and for something different.

any info and opinions would be great

"Best" is a subjective matter.

Let me describe what I am doing:
I have 10 tanks, 7 @ 24 x 18 x 15, 3 @ 48 x 18 x 15.

Filtration:
I have several of my tanks on home-made sump filtration built from solvent weld waste-pipes (from for example Screwfix) and 4gal header-tanks (Wickes do a good one), and a pump. This involves drilling the tank to allow overflow from the tank back into the sump. It is not VERY hard to drill a tank, but you may want to practice on some "worthless" piece of glass first. You can get a diamond glass hole-saw from B&Q (and other large DIY stores, I'm sure) here in the UK - they are labeled as for use to cut ceramic tiles, but they are fine for glass.

All sumps have an overflow out to a drain, so any "extra" water will drain away.

8 of the tanks are on three different sumps.
sump A:
for four of my 24" tanks, which also uses the waste-water from RO-system for "continous water change".
Uses 3 x 4gal tubs with ceramic and bioballs in the middle tub.

sump B
for two of my 24" tanks. Running RO water. I siphon out some water from time to time for water changes, but also "top" up now and again.
1x 4gal tub, partitioned into three compartments. Using "pre-owned" plastic media from LFS's old marine tanks.

sump C
for two of my 48" tanks. Running RO water, using overflow from RO reservoir.
2x 4gal tub, with one partition on the output side. Ceramic media.

Both of the 48" tanks also use external filtration TetraTec EX1200 and Eheim 2217 respectively - this aids water movement as well as adding filtration.

Heating:
If the room is already heated otherwise, then heating in the sump would be fine. If you haven't got any heating in the room, then you probably need a heater per tank - I have a pretty poorly insulated shed, so I use oversize heaters to keep the temparature on those cool winter nights. 300w for the 48" tanks, and 150w for the smaller 24" tanks.

Air:
For air, I have a large air pump that I bought for about £60 - it covers ALL of the tanks that I've got, it has 10 outlets on "multi-T-connector". It's actually a bit too much, so one of the lines is just letting air straight out into the fish-room. You don't want one of these pumps in your house tho', as it is quite noisy.

--
Mats

If you plan to breed catfish(what Kind?). The recommendations may be different.
Sounds like Cichlids are in the plans but African, CA or SA. Large or Dwarf Cichlids.
Breeding and raising fry is best done in tanks set up for utility over aesthetics. With this in mind, I would go with a simpler set up than how Mat has gone. He has a great system but I don't know how much glass drilling appeals to you so I assume it doesn't and will recommend a different method.
Your tanks are 50 gal approximately.
I would use 2 sponge filters similar to the HydroSponge IV. I would connect one of these with a MaxiJet 600 power head or equal.
The other sponge filter would be run off supplied air. In addition to these 2 sponge filters I would recommend equipping each tank with an HOB AquaClear #70, a 300 gph outside hang on the back power filter. The AquaClear filter design allows for many more options when it comes to media composition and they do not require expensive filter cartridge pads most other HOB filters use these days to get you back into the shop to buy tons of replacements. The AquaClear filters are also among the easiest of the available HOB filters to clean Don't bother using the carbon once you use what comes with them. Carbon serves no great importance; you should be making large and frequent enough water changes for their to be no need for carbon.
Between the AquaClear and the power head driven sponge filter, they will provide about 460 gph in power filtration and the airlift driven sponge adds both more filtration, water circulation but also bubbling aeration. This system only requires 3 air driven filters but I would provide an extra air valve per tank in case you wish to add an air stone for more aeration. You would have a nominal combined filter turn over of 10 tank volumes per hour. Believe me, that is good. Naturally the actual amount of water in circulation is a little less because recirculation is different from flow through but that is splitting hairs. I mention it for those with who grasp how water filtration systems work in aquariums so they know that I know the difference. The suggestions I have presented provide a good deal of filtration without any extra work and shouldn't be a budget buster.

I leave heaters up to you since you know what your room temperatures will be.
Please try to be more specific about what species of fish you hope to breed. It would be helpful to all those who wish to help you.

I am not new to catfish, but I am new to breeding catfish. I have been reading different books on breeding cichlids, and am wondering about my setup. I have purchased 5 tanks to begin with, but think I need more. I do have two sponge filters. I am curious on the carbon filters, I was told they were really important in the removal of chlorine, is this accurate or not? I think I will not need the carbon since I have the ro water. Where should I look to purchase the pump, I see someone mentioned a homemade one, how is this done? Appreciate all of your tips and advice! Thanks.