First Large tank.....

B

Bowserfins

AC Members
Feb 25, 2005
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Hey all,

Im not exactly a newbie to the hobby, Ive been keeping cichlids for a few years in tanks up to 55 gallons. But I just purchased a 125 gallon and so Im diving deeper into this hobby and I bring several questions with me...........



The tank was bought used(on Ebay) and came with lots of goodies and extras :) But the few things it didnt come with was a canopy or glass tops.
This kind of baffles me somewhat. It came with 2 36" light strips which were hung from the ceiling previously. I cant do that, so I am kind of wondering what I could get to support the lights, or if I should toss the lights and just go with some kind of hood system.....


It came with all kinds of reef starter stuff(instant ocean, kent kits, substrate, corals, etc... etc..) The only thing is...... Im setting it up as freshwater tank. So Im stuck on choosing a substrate right now. I want the tahitian moon sand and/ or Eco-cichlid complete(mixture of both sand and gravel bags)I have tons of questions on this issue....................... First, has anyone used a combination of the moon sand and the Eco-Complete, and if so how does it look and what were your results??? Second, Does anyone have any links or know any stores in the midwest(Illinois preferably) where I could pick this stuff up??? I hate paying shipping fees in general but the only few places I can find this stuff tag on an extra weight shipping fee too.... Im not paying 25.00 for 20lbs..... Id much rather drive somewhere and check out a store up close and personal. Next, about how many lbs of substrate would I need to get nearly an inch above the bottom trim?? Just a ballpark idea will do..................

Finally, Ive never had any troubles with my parameters in the tanks I do have(55g. 46g. 29g. 10g.) I use HOB filters(mainly emperors), and just use pool filter sand as substrate. No buffers, no nothing else. But now Im jumping to a tank well over double the size. Should I anticipate some tweaking to get my parameters correct. Or should I just fly by the seat of my pants and hope to get lucky like the rest of my tanks?? This 125 came with 2 emperor 400's and was said to have worked excellent, but I run the same filtration on my 55g. and have a small problem with excess feces build up(due to the sand.) I have no problem going bigger and getting an eheim of some sort, but Id just like some general opinions on what kind of filtration would keep my water clear and do the best cleaning poop off the bottom. Ive never used a canister filter so I am kind of reserved on getting one(especially going over $200,) but if thats what it takes Im all up for it.

Im sorry for this long a post, but I want to do things the correct way before I have a disater. I appreciate all the time and replies I may receive.....
Luke
 
I'd go with a big canister filter like an eheim professional, or a wet-dry filter, depending on what you plant to keep.

If your going to plant seriously, you'll want a planted substrate, but if you just want some plants, you can use pots to plant them in or make planting beds where you want the plants.

I think eco- complete or flourite would cost a bunch in that big tank. You could try someting like 'terralit', a fortified aquarium substrate, that you mix in with your choice of substrate. Or laterite layered under your tahitian moon sand can work too. I used it in my 66g planted (5 pounds, mixed in with volcanic detritus) and good quality aquarium gravel and the plants are doing just fine.

Will it be planted? Remember large cichlids will destroy plants and rearrange your tank ;) It depends on what you plan to keep :)
 
reply

Thanks for the reply Swimfins...

I havent reached the "to plant or not to plant" mountain yet.
I wouldnt consider any of my current tanks as "planted." When I had all gravel as substrate I did have three amazon swords in my largest(55g.) tank. I purchased them live and growing, and they thrived excellently with my african(mbuna) cichlids, to my surprise. Eventually I purchased some very large apple snails and within a few days it was the end of my amazons. Since then I switched to all sand substrate, and I moved my snails to another tank, but wasnt sure how plants would do within the sand( my mbuna love to dig, and they love to super dig in the sand substrate.)

So now I am left with all bare tanks.... Honestly, I at least need some decent plastic plants to fill my smaller tanks. My question is... Is it better to set up my 125 g. first and once everything with the fish is all good, then should I go ahead and plant..... Or should I plant right away...... ???? Thats where I am at. I despise the plastic and fake plants because of the nasty build up of algae, and I really planned on going the same route as my 55g. and buying some live plants and adding them down the line after a few months. But I have no experience with proper lighting, CO2, and everything else needed for a planted aquarium. Any other suggestions on this matter are appreciated as well..............

Thanks for the hit on the filtration, Ive pretty much decided on an eheim to begin with, can I run the emperors along with the eheim with success? Do I need the emperors anyway?? etc... etc... etc...

thanks again
Luke
 
If you've got a nice big eheim professional, I doubt you'll need any other filtration. If you are planning a planted aquascape, I'd do the layout with all of the plants first on paper, and arrange for co2, and then follow your plan at setup. Add all your planted substrate, rocks, wood, etc.... Add about 6 inches of water, plant your plants and filll the rest of the way. Get your filter running, turn on your lights and co2, and away ya go. It makes cycling alot easier and faster too. The co2 and lights can be on a timer, co2 to come on when the lights do. For a big tank you'll need a compressed air system for co2. See the aquatic plants section in this forum. Lucky you.... I have to make do with the sugar and yeast method. But if your going 'whole hog', you might as well get the compressed air system too. ;)

It really all depends on what you'd like to do of course. AGA website Click here for some beautiful tanks.
 
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