Suggestions for 125g Biotope tank for Clown Loaches

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pinkertd

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May 29, 2007
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Debbi
Tay - post a sump question by itself in a new thread under the Equipment, products and do-it-yourself section. it'll get a lot more exposure there than here under loaches.
 

Star_Rider

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Dec 21, 2005
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sumps..did you say sump??

they are not difficult.

bigger is better when considering a sump.

I would go with a 40 to 50 g sump for a 125 but I like bigger.
my 75 has a 20+
my 110 has a 30 g fuge

sumps are pretty simple and you can build one yourself.

what size are the holes drilled?
where are they drilled (bottom is cool as you can set up stand pipe)
basic sump in picture you can change that if you like. you can do DIY sump using a large aquarium and rubbermaid storage containers.

sump.jpg
 

Tay690

Addicted to Loaches
Feb 5, 2009
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Actually I just found this thread again today and I wanted to say I am setting it up for my 55g at the moment

The 125g I have to wait until april or may to do an explosion test and make sure it won't leak etc

But as far as the 55g goes (which should be fine for a while for my Clowns)

I have as follows:

100% silica sand as the substrate
2 very awesome pieces of malaysian driftwood...with lots of nooks and crannies like suggested
I have a mass of lava rock that I might add to the tank...still not 100% sure yet

I'll have to see how empty it looks once the driftwood is in the tank...but for now everything is going according to plan...cept it's a 55g until april then I will try to transfer everything into the 125g once i'm sure it can hold the pressure of the water

Just to let everyone know you comments and help offered are not in vein...and once I have everything fully setup and running I will be posting pictures like crazy lol

Again thanks everyone for your input and pics will be flowing soon enough

Sincerely,
Taylor
 

Tay690

Addicted to Loaches
Feb 5, 2009
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Oh but of course!

I wouldn't dare do that to my loaches! that would be like me and my family living in a refrigerator box for the remainder of our lives...just downright cold and careless

I might end up buying a brand new 125g if I can find a new job within' the next couple of months before my contract ends...but if not then I'll use the one that I have currently

There's a few issues all regarding whether or not the tank itself can hold water at all...the silicon seals were all peeling up when I got the tank and there was sand under the silicon itself

So I stripped everything and tried to DIY the seals...they were on quite thick but once the silicon dried...It didn't live up to my standards

So i stripped all the silicon again and am in the midst of resealing the internal seals again

There is also an issue with a small chip of glass that is in the front pane of glass...kind of in the middle and about 60% towards the bottom (if that makes any sense)

It's not a large chip but it kind of worries me to be honest...worst case scenario it explodes then I can justify paying $300 for a new tank LOL

Getting my wife to approve...now that's a whole new task at hand
 

andyjs

AC Members
Jun 6, 2009
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Sounds like this will be a nice tank. I want to do the same thing for my clowns down the road when I have space/money for another big tank. Right now I have 6 of them in a 150 and I want to get more, but they are hard to find bigger than 2" and some of the other 150 residents could eat 2" clowns no problem.

Can't wait to see this thing up and running
 
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