Your opinions on planning a new 125G tank

[Spiderman]

Hi folks,

I'm planning to upgrade to a 125G SWFO tank from my current 25G, which houses 2 tank-bred clowns, a royal gramma, a banggai cardinal, and a green clown goby.

I'd like to get your opinions on the equipment and stock I plan to get:

1. 125G Glass Tank (what's a good, reliable, well-designed, affordable brand?)
2. 125# LR (Fiji, Keys, Tonga - what's a good combination?)
3. 125# substrate (100# crushed coral, 25# sand)
4. 25# live sand (Fiji pink - is this really needed?)
5. Protein skimmer - Prizm Pro Deluxe
6. External filter - Eheim 2026 Professional Filter
7. Powerheads - 2 Maxi-jet 1200 powerheads
8. Heater - 300W (or should I get two? what's a good brand?)
9. Fish:

Currently have: 2 tank-bred clowns, banggai cardinal, royal gramma, green clown goby, some inverts (fire shrimp, emerald crab, nassarius snails)

Plan to add (in this order):
chalk bass
bicolor blenny
sixline wrasse
baby blue tang
comet (marine betta)
threadfin butterfly
springer's dottyback
red flame angel

(is this too much? are they compatible? is this a good order of adding these fish?)

10. so what else do I need? Would you recommend a sump? How expensive is this?

THANKS in advance, guys and gals! Just need to plan things out, and I've read more than enough, and I want to hear from your experiences.

Thanks!

 

[Bearfan]

1. I use AGA (All Glass Aquariums)
2. Check out www.liverocks.com for your rock. I use it, many others do. No complaints.
3. No cc, go all sand. 4"
4. I don't know about Fiji pink...any good LS will do.
5. Someone else has experience with these I'm sure, so I'll defer
6. I would plan on a sump.
7. You will need more circulation than that, probably 4.
8. Get 2, put them in your sump. I'll defer on brand since my favorite went out of business.
9. I'll defer again.
10. How expensive...probably not a question you really want to hear an answer to.

 

[arminkropp]

My opinions are:

Skimmer--go with a Aqua C Remora. From what I've been told in these forums it'll be worth it. The following was posted by Loganj when I asked the same question: The Remora uses spray injection for bubble production. There is no venturi to clog and no air adjustment to fool with. The Remora also uses a MJ1200 pump (providing you order it) which is one of the most reliable powerheads available. The only adjustment on the Remora is the height of the collection cup which makes it very user friendly.
The Prizm has a pump that leaves something to be desired...it loses its prime very easily. Although there is no adjustment for airflow, you have to adjust the water flow on the Prizm and this is a tricky process that has to be done often. The collection cup on the Prizm uses an O ring for a seal and it's prone to leak. If you set your water flow too high, it WILL leak. The Prizm Pro is pretty much a larger version of the Prizm with the primary difference being that it will put more water in your floor faster than the regular Prizm.

You'll need about 4 PH in my opinion
and as for the heaters I would go with two. Should one go you would have a back-up and your heating should be a little more even. Ebo-jaegers are pretty good even though all I have are Visi-therm Deluxes.

Best of luck with you new adventure!
8) 8)

 

[seaham358]

IMO a Sump is the best way to go in a large tank. Get a tank that is drilled or have it drilled. 2, 1" bulkheads for the sump return or a RR tank would be fine.
You can buy sumps with skimmers or w/out or make your own sump to save some $$.
Supperskimmer.com has a nice selection of stuff. I have the reefdevil on both my tanks and it is easy to use. They have the skimmer/sump combos also..
NO CC all sand, get some play sand and seed with 25lbs of LS and save big $$.
Get a nice sized return pump, I have a via aqua 4900 on my 125 and it has good flow rate. I have 2 hang on returns from the pump, cost is $7 a piece and the price of clear hose from HD works great and cheap. This has given me plenty of flow in my reef tank for over 2 years. I have No powerheads in my tank so this is a good savings also.
Take your time and plan every thing out..... Cost ??? depends on the deals you can get. IMO LR is a must have item.. You can also get half base rock and the LR will seed the base rock making it LR over time.

 

[Spiderman]

thanks, guys!

seaham, what and how many fish do you have in your 125G?