I've got a list of products for my next aquarium, feedback appreciated!

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Lou_Reedfish

Registered Member
Aug 8, 2013
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Northern California
You guys are welcome to criticize or tear apart this aquarium setup if you'd like, after all, I don't want to make the same mistakes as I did when I first started my smaller tanks on my new 125 gallon freshwater I'm starting.

It's either going to house my reedfish and some assorted bottom feeders, or a cichlid tank. Leaning more towards my reedfish with other compatible fish.

So here goes nothing!

I have a $1500 budget for starters. Will invest more later on.

Aquarium: Glass, rectangular, 125 gal, a wider and shorter tank, not a huge fan of tall tanks. Will have a screen over top, reedfish love to escape! $200
Stand: Building myself, I have furniture building experience and there are a lot of GREAT blueprints out there! $150-$200
Filtration: 2 Fluval 305 External Canister Filters $275-$320
Air Flow: 2 Tetra Whisper 60 air pumps, attached to a "T" adapter with 2 round air stones on each $40, along with the help of the output from the filters.
Substrate: Natural sand from Lake Tahoe itself, mixed with some play sand. $10
Lighting: An over the top LED lighting system, not sure what type, input would be great! Preferably with a timer. It will be a heavily planted aquarium. $100-$150
Heater: 2 Hagen Fluval 200 Watt E-Series Electronic Aquarium Heaters. $80
Plants: I like the sword varieties, moss balls, and some sort of grass. $40
Skimmers: I don't have any experience with these... are they really necessary for my tank type?

Comes out to about $1200 with what I have listed, and I think it's a decent setup.
Let me know what you guys think!

[h=3][/h]
 
jasonfishaddict

jasonfishaddict

AC Members
Jun 18, 2010
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I live in King William county Virginia, USA
Real Name
Jason
Lou_Reedfish said:
You guys are welcome to criticize or tear apart this aquarium setup if you'd like, after all, I don't want to make the same mistakes as I did when I first started my smaller tanks on my new 125 gallon freshwater I'm starting.

It's either going to house my reedfish and some assorted bottom feeders, or a cichlid tank. Leaning more towards my reedfish with other compatible fish.

So here goes nothing!

I have a $1500 budget for starters. Will invest more later on.

Aquarium: Glass, rectangular, 125 gal, a wider and shorter tank, not a huge fan of tall tanks. Will have a screen over top, reedfish love to escape! $200
Stand: Building myself, I have furniture building experience and there are a lot of GREAT blueprints out there! $150-$200
Filtration: 2 Fluval 305 External Canister Filters $275-$320
Air Flow: 2 Tetra Whisper 60 air pumps, attached to a "T" adapter with 2 round air stones on each $40, along with the help of the output from the filters.
Substrate: Natural sand from Lake Tahoe itself, mixed with some play sand. $10
Lighting: An over the top LED lighting system, not sure what type, input would be great! Preferably with a timer. It will be a heavily planted aquarium. $100-$150
Heater: 2 Hagen Fluval 200 Watt E-Series Electronic Aquarium Heaters. $80
Plants: I like the sword varieties, moss balls, and some sort of grass. $40
Skimmers: I don't have any experience with these... are they really necessary for my tank type?

Comes out to about $1200 with what I have listed, and I think it's a decent setup.
Let me know what you guys think!

[h=3][/h]
Click to expand...
Why a screen, why not a DIY plexi top?
By "air flow" do you mean circulation? 2 small power heads would be the way I would go.
Many questions concerning LED's and planted tanks. I've got an experiment going with a 29g. I'm sure you'll get a lot of advice with this.
Low light plant varieties such as Java Fern and Anubias are very rewarding.
You don't need a skimmer on a freshwater tank.
I'm envious. I want a 125g or 150g myself but a guy from work gave me a nice 29g and I'm running out of room since this is my 3rd tank. You're doing the right thing with the list, better to screw up on paper than to buy stuff you don't need.


Sent from my iPhone using MonsterAquariaNetwork app
 
L

Lou_Reedfish

Registered Member
Aug 8, 2013
3
0
0
Northern California
Hey thanks for the advice Jason! I like the idea of the screen because I read something about the plexi tops making it hard for the light to break through, and something else concerning gasses and heat. Yeah I've got a 29 and a 30 gallon tank, I want to just reserve that one for feeders. My reed fish are young now, but they're going to need a huge tank when they reach full potential, and plenty of little fish to feed on. I thought about maybe doubling the LED with a small lamp and bulb meant for planted aquariums. A ton of thinking to do, but I'm getting close to figuring it out. I've heard A TON of good reviews for the Anubias/Java Fern type plants. I'll have to research those plants alone and see how they'll go with grass and the lighting I want.

**also, the power heads seem ideal for that size of a tank, I've never had one this large, nor have I had one that really required that much circulation.
 
TL1000RSquid

TL1000RSquid

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Apr 6, 2011
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If you want a shorter tank im guessing you're looking at atleast a 6' tank? Will need to up your LED budget for that any LED's you get for $150 that can cover a large tank is going to be useless for most plants.
 
OrionGirl

OrionGirl

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Aug 14, 2001
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Agree, no need for a skimmer. They aren't very efficient in FW tanks.

For the substrate--do you have a clean source? Have you used it before? I'd be concerned with importing contaminants...rinse very well.

Look into DIY the LEDs. I've been told it's not too hard, and would save you some money. There are several plans online.
 
FreshyFresh

FreshyFresh

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Jan 11, 2013
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Welcome Lou! Sounds like a nice plan.

I'd skip the airstones. I wouldn't bother with air pumps and tubing unless you intend to run sponge/bubbler filtration.

I don't think ~$150 is going to get you anywhere near LED fixtures that will grow plants for a tank that size.
 
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thacarter546

AC Members
Apr 9, 2012
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The e series heaters im not a huge fan of I tried a couple and got about 6 months out of them The via aqua titaniums have done me well as have the hydor in line heaters. If you dont like either of those options buy a good heater controller and separate titanium heating elements. The controller can be used with any heater. It eliminates the problem of the cheap chinese thermostatic switches in almost all of the heaters now and protects your fish and investment. I am not a fan of using any heater with an integrated thermostat period. Sooner or later the integrated thermostat will fail.

If you wanted to save money on the filtration Rena XP3 are 103 a piece. Ive had better luck with these and a sand substrate. The fluvals all seem to leak from the canister at one time or another. Ive had a rena xp3 running since 2008 not a single leak.

If you are going heavily planted why not go with a t5ho fixture. You could get alot more lighting for your money. That or make a diy fixture with the CREE chips which would be quite affordable and provide a ton of light.

EDIT Skip the play sand and use pool filter sand or black diamond. Its about the same price and heavier. It wont suck into your filters as easily and is easy to vacuum.
 
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