My 125g Tank- WIP

[HeyNow]

Hi All- I am pretty new to the forum, although I have been reading it for quite a while. Just decided to join yesterday.

I got a 125g tank plus stand and some equipment off of Craigslist and I absolutely cannot wait to set it up.

Its 72x18x22- pretty sure its an Aqueon All glass model

As of right now I need to get another filter, another heater, replace a piece of glass from one of the hinged tops (the former owner's giant Pacu broke it), replace a bulb in the light strip...once those items are taken care of I can start on the substrate, decorations, fish- etc.

BTW- if anyone knows where I can get a replacement hinged glass top I would appreciate the info- I've been looking everywhere. Its an odd size in that its 22" long and the back piece of glass is a lot wider than the front. I need something that will fit the braced frame of this tank. I was very tempted to walk out of Petsmart w one from the model they had on display...its just what I need.

I plan on getting black substrate from Aquariumplants.com, and setting it up as a planted tank.

For fish I was thinking Angels, Discus, some cats- maybe some live bearers...haven't really made up my mind yet. I am a big fan of snails too, and I love Bettas.

I have 3 other tanks a 20g, a 14g, and a 6g w an assortment of bettas, live bearers and Corys.

Between a very demanding job, 2 dogs, 2 rabbits, and 2 horses I need to find some time to get this set up. I go stare at the empty tank at night with all these plans in my head.

I'll post pics as the set up progresses- right now this is the tank as it stands now- cleaned out and ready to go

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa79/lscozzare/IMG00149-20100109-1955.jpg

Suggestions, comments, critique all welcome!

[Crispy]

Nice tank! Once you hit 100+ gallons, your stocking list really opens up. Can't wait to see discus in there! Congrats on the pickup! thumbs2:

[Northernguy]

Nice tank!

If your applying a background I suggest you do it first.I painted mine with a flat black and it looks great.The fish colors stand out much more too.
Get the glass for the lid replaced at a glass shop.They will cut it to size and polish it the edges .Price it out a few places.It may be real cheap.
I use a rena Xp3 canister filter and an aqua clear 110 for my 135.It works quite well but I do 50% water changes every week.

[Crispy]

If you're getting discus, I suggest a fluval fx5 and aquaclear110 for filtration.

[HeyNow]

It came w a Fluval 304 canister filter- which isn't rated for 125 G

I wanted to add a Marineland Emperor 400.

Haven't really thought about a background...now you have me pondering that.

I went to a local hardware shop and they cut me a piece of glass but it wasn't thick enough and the edges weren't rounded. They only charged me $1 so I don't really mind that I can't use what they made for me.

Home Depot by me doesn't sell glass that thick, but they told me to try one of their locations in NJ. I am always in Jersey anyway to see the horses, so maybe I will stop on my way to the barn.

[Northernguy]

You can get two Renas for the same price as a the Fluval.
They are both good filters.Not sure what they sell for in NY but definately cheaper than here.lol

[sailor]

I went to a local hardware shop and they cut me a piece of glass but it wasn't thick enough and the edges weren't rounded. They only charged me $1 so I don't really mind that I can't use what they made for me.

Home Depot by me doesn't sell glass that thick, but they told me to try one of their locations in NJ. I am always in Jersey anyway to see the horses, so maybe I will stop on my way to the barn.

Go to an automotive glass shop.

[LethalResistanz]

Nice looking tank. How was it to move?

[HeyNow]

I have a dodge ram 2500 truck so the actual transport was easy...but I really didn't participate in moving it. Thats why I have my BF thumbs2:

[HeyNow]

A few updates....

I discovered the other day that the previous owner never emptied out the filter (Fluval 304)... so imagine the very worst thing you have ever smelled, multiply that by the nth power- and then add 1 million to it.

When I went to see the tank prior to purchase it had 2 medium sized Pacus, 1 HUGE Pacu, and one medium Oscar. The water was kelly green w algae- it was pretty gross.

So the filter sat there w this gross water in it for about 2 weeks. It was the most disgusting and foul thing I have dealt w in a while.

My substrate came from aquarium plants.com- and we got some drift wood pieces, rocks, and coconut shells for decoration. Still have to add the plants, but we filled the tank and started running the filter last night.

I know I have to get another filter for it- as the 304 is not rated for 125g, but while there are no fish in it, this will be fine.

Here are some pics- this is still very much WIP, and we haven't quite decided on the decoration placement.

Prior to filling
http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa79/lscozzare/DSC_0001.jpg

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa79/lscozzare/DSC_0002.jpg

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa79/lscozzare/DSC_0003.jpg

It got too cloudy during filling but here are some starting to fill it pics- the way the dust smoked off the substrate was actually pretty cool

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa79/lscozzare/DSC_0004.jpg

[Bristley]

Nice tank. Can't wait to see the pics as you progress.

[HeyNow]

We added fish yesterday! 15 common platys of assorted colors. I think they are liking the big huge space.

We decided to upgrade the lights too. We bought two 36" Solarmax HO T5 dual bulb lights. This is in addition to the 48" Coralife T5 dual light strip that came with the tank. So we have the two new lights towards the front of the tank and the 48" strip at the back, centered.

My new filter also arrived, so we have that up and running, (Fluval 405, added to the Fluval 304 that came with the tank) We added a second heater also (came w a 200w, added a 300w)

I got a bunch of plants for the tank at a LFS (Water wisteria, some sword plants, and two giant marimo balls- I also have 2 plants in there that I can't remember the names of)

Will get pics up shortly...gotta get them off of the camera.

Water parameters are good- ph about 6.8, ammonia starting to go up ever so slightly, no nitrite yet. I have been adding Nutrafin Cycle according to label directions and testing at least 2x/day

My next big purchase for the tank, equipment wise, will be a CO2 system.

I can't wait to start adding more fish!:fish:

[HeatherB]

That tank looks great!! Can't wait to see new pics!

[HeyNow]

Here are some new pics

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa79/lscozzare/Fish%20tank/DSC_0038.jpg

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa79/lscozzare/Fish%20tank/DSC_0041.jpg

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa79/lscozzare/Fish%20tank/DSC_0055.jpg

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa79/lscozzare/Fish%20tank/DSC_0056.jpg

[HeyNow]

This is the center of the tank- I think the volcano is pretty cool. One of the platys loves the bubbles and will swim in at the base, ride them all the way up, then come back for another ride

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa79/lscozzare/Fish%20tank/DSC_0066.jpg

One of the plants that I didn't know the name of is moneywort. I also forgot that I have some Java fern in there.

[rich311k]

Nice looking tank!

[HeatherB]

I'm loving it!

and sitting her very jealous b/c I want a cool volcano that has red lights at night! And some moon lights. But my parents think I am fish crazy already. So..

But it looks great!

[kathymac]

I just love your tank. Now I want a volcano too.//

[Crispy]

Looks good... you still going to add discus?

[HeyNow]

Looks good... you still going to add discus?

I was pretty much talked out of Discus this weekend during my visit to a few LFS's. That is not to say that I wont add them in the future, but I think for right now I am going to stick w angels as my main fish, and then build around that. I was basically told that if I want discus, it should be a discus only tank, and that they were difficult fish to keep alive and healthy. I want to have a variety of fish in the tank, and while I am not opposed to learning how to care for them and doing the extra work involved, I just don't want to get into that at this time. Also- they are pretty expensive at all of the stores I went to. So I might try them in the future, but for right now I don't have plans to add them.

HeatherB and kathymac- I was against the volcano at first. My BF wanted it, and I thought it was silly to add to the decor of natural rocks and real plants- but now I admit that I like it. Its not too over the top obnoxious and fake. Petsolutions.com sells them- as well as another version which is a crater type rock w Blue light and bubbles.

[Crispy]

Fair enuff Heynow... at least you're doing your research.. you already have 98% of fishkeepers beat there. :fish:

[Northernguy]

Thats a great looking tank! Nicely done!
I kinda like the volcano as well.

[HeyNow]

Fair enuff Heynow... at least you're doing your research.. you already have 98% of fishkeepers beat there. :fish:

:ssmile: Research is in my nature. I have a masters in cellular and developmental biology and all of my science training makes me want to read up on everything before starting out on any project.

A lot of info out there is crap, and you have to watch your sources, but there is a wealth of knowledge out there if you know where to look

[brianyu]

thumbs2: good choice to go with angel first , you have a nice tank there, be patient before the plant grow .

[HeyNow]

I have one confirmed Platy death. And I am pretty sure its the one that I thought didn't look too hot when I added them to the tank. As you can imagine- its hard to count 15 fish, mostly of the same color- darting around a 6 ft tank. But yesterday my BF and I were fairly certain that we only counted 14. We found the body today and removed it.

I have been adding Nutrafin cycle according to label directions (maybe a bit over) and my Ammonia remains between .25 and .5 ppm- no nitrites, and low pH

I had a "Molly Problem" in my smaller tanks. I originally bought a pair of fairly large sail fins from a local store, for my 14g (I know- too small for them), and the female was SO aggressive that I had to move her to the 20g. She ruthlessly picked on her mate and constantly picked fights w the 14g tank's Betta. So into the 20g she went- where she continued to harass the occupants of that tank. The one saving grace was the male Betta in the 20g who didn't put up w her crap, and would defend his tank mates. For whatever reason, she didn't fight back when he challenged her. There was an uneasy peace.

I then went out and got 2 non-aggressive females for the male in the 14g, and they have been living in that for the last few weeks. Not ideal- as I know that tank is too small. Its the same dimensions as a 10g, but just a bit taller.

So today I decided to move all of them to the 125g. I moved the 3 "good" fish first, let them settle in, and then added the mean female.

So far so good- the male was immediately all over her, and I see non of her former aggression. I am keeping a close eye on them, but they all seem to really like the increased tank space.

I'll see if I can get pics of them later.

[HeyNow]

Its been a while since I posted... a few things have happened since I moved the mollies.

I lost my silver/white molly- he/she (I could never really tell what it was- it had ambigious finnage, but the LFS told me it was a female) It started acting neurologic and died sometime between Monday afternoon and Thursday afternoon (I was away on business and returned to find it dead)

My male sailfin Molly also developed the same behavior and sometime overnight between Friday and Saturday.

The two remaining female Mollys look fine and are acting fine.

Some of the platys had babies in there- I spot a fry every now and then but I doubt any will survive.

Did a big water change on Friday and yesterday we went shopping and picked up 4 angels, 3 of what I believe to be Pictus catfish (but the guy who sold them to me said they were Angelica's- there were two catfish stickers on the tank I think he just looked at the wrong one) and 2 Otocinclis (sp?)

I tested today and I have a slight ammonia reading (but with really low pH) no nitrite and about 10ppm nitrate. I am adding more bacteria to bring the ammonia back down (hopefully) and if its still present I will do a water change tomorrow

Here are some pics-

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa79/lscozzare/Fish%20tank/DSC_0093.jpg

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa79/lscozzare/Fish%20tank/DSC_0094.jpg

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa79/lscozzare/Fish%20tank/DSC_0080.jpg

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa79/lscozzare/Fish%20tank/DSC_0106.jpg

[HeyNow]

Are these pictus cats? I am pretty sure they are

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa79/lscozzare/Fish%20tank/DSC_0105.jpg

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa79/lscozzare/Fish%20tank/DSC_0103.jpg

One of the cats picked this place to hide- is that normal behavior for these fish? I haven't ever owned them

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa79/lscozzare/Fish%20tank/DSC_0108.jpg

My two little Otos get lost in that tank but I tried to snap a pic

http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa79/lscozzare/Fish%20tank/DSC_0099.jpg

[flyinggators]

How is your Solarmax light fixture holding up?

I am considering new fixtures for my 180 gal fish only (freshwater) tank.

[Brhino]

This thread hasn't been updated in a year and a half, and the owner hasn't been to the forums in five months, so she probably won't be able to field your questions.