Water pumps

Question
Hello, I am in the process of setting up a new african cichild tank (my last one failed).  The tank is 88 gallons in size and is a deep tank (36"tall).  I have invested in an ehiem canister filter (the 2128 thermo model) and have been advised to purchase a water pump by many people.  My question is, what is the real purpose of the water pump and does is connect directly to the canister?  If is does connect to the canister, does this pump also act as a prefilter?  I was looking at the Eheim hobby pump line but am not sure what model I should go for (how many gph should i need for an 88 gallon tank)?

Thanks for your time, enjoy your day.

Answer
Hi Paul;

Eheim has excellent products. The filter you have is plenty for the tank. It's actually designed for a tank twice that size. You shouldn't need to add a water pump. The 2128 is a filter and it pumps plenty of water all by itself! Is it possible they mean an air pump? It will make bubbles and help to oxygenate the water more. The only other benefit to having a pump in there is as a back up if the main one fails. Doesn't really make sense to me otherwise.

Have fun with your new tank! Oh, and speaking of new tanks, here is a link to my article about them to help you through the first few weeks;

http://www.xanga.com/Expert_Fish_Help

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins