Upgrading to a 125 Gallon Tank

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1midniterider

Aquarium Advice Freak
Joined
Jun 13, 2019
Messages
228
Location
Mitchellville, MD
Hello all... I'm relatively new to this hobby of ours, but have always been fascinated with setting an aquarium. We started out with a 10 gallon tank for Comet Goldfish from a local carnival. Then migrated to a larger 38 gallow bow-front tank with GloFish Tetras. The goldfish were rehomed to a local Petco. So now it's been couple of years learning, gaining experience and enjoying the journey.

Now it is time for the next upgrade. We now have a brand new Aqueon 125 Gallon aquarium and cabinet style combo. I've braced the family for the journey as best I could. I do not want to rush this upgrade.

Current tank and new tank photos are below.20190605_071619.jpg20190615_203124.jpg
 
The cabinet stand is the best by any means. I was told that it is rated to support 1400 lbs, but being made from MDF material has me concerned. It has been coated with a waterproof coating. Also the areas behind the doors have an open back and it is basically supported by the edges. So I beefed it up a bit. I removed the 1/16" backing material from the center of the stand. Then added additional support on the bottom and used 1/2" plywood to cover the entire back and coated it with Flex Seal.

Now that cabinet is ready. On to gathering the other pieces and parts for the tank. I've purchased an in-line heater and circulation pump. On the to do list:

1 - canister filter
2 - substrate. I'm leaning towards white sand and glofish gravel
3 - lighting
4 - more fish

Edit:

I'll post photos once I'm allowed.
 
I will be transferring the current population into the new tank, which includes 2 Mystery Snails, 4 Tiger Nerite Snails, 5 Amano Shrimp, 6 Neon Tetras, 3 Silver Mollies, 2 Oto Catfish and 18 GloFish Tetras.

I plan on adding LyreTail Mollies, Albino Cory Catfish and some fancy guppies... I'm still searching... Any suggestions? My preference are the smaller fish, under 3"... And then there are plants... More plants... Not too many for I want the fish to have plenty of room to swim.
 
I have a regular dalmatian, a lyretail dalmatian and a lyretail creamsicle molly all female. I also have 4 fry too young to tell the gender or if they inherited the lyretail trait. There is 1 silver, 1 creamsicle, and 2 calico.
They have great personalities.
 
I have a regular dalmatian, a lyretail dalmatian and a lyretail creamsicle molly all female. I also have 4 fry too young to tell the gender or if they inherited the lyretail trait. There is 1 silver, 1 creamsicle, and 2 calico.
They have great personalities.
Very nice... I was thinking of getting the black and gold variety lyretail...
 
Yesterday the substrate I ordered was delivered, 100 lbs of CaribSea Super Naturals Aquarium Sand and 40 lbs of GloFish Multi-Color Fluorescent Aquarium Gravel. My initial plan was just have the sand on one side of the tank and fill in the rest with the gravel. However, a friend of mine suggested placing some kind of clear plastic or vinyl between them to keep the two substrates from eventually blending together over time. I haven't figured out what to use, yet. Ideally it should be "L" shaped, I think. Has anyone used two different types of substrate simultaneously before? How did you keep them seperate?

I also order two smart power strips, which should arrive today. I'm using the same ones on my 38 gallon tank to control everything. The lights, two banks, I have on a timer. One strip is always in in black light mode and the other in white light mode. The black light turns on and off at a set time. The white light turns on and off with rising and setting of the sun. I will probably do the same thing on the new tank.

I still have not decided on which brand of canister filter to use. I'm trying to stay within budget. I have an Aqueon 75/300 on the smaller tank and was thinking of going with Aqueon again, but suffering from sticker shock... :) Any ideas on this one? An inexpensive, decent quality canister filter.
 
And the story continues... Things are slowly coming together. While waiting for the smart power strips to be delivered I finished the stand by adding the soft side of Velcro strips to the underside of the stand and act as a cushion to protect the floor as I slid it in place.

With the power strips in place, moved the stand and aquarium in place. Tomorrow I'll add water and check for leaks.
20190622_140147.jpg20190622_201702.jpeg
 
A pic of one of the Mystery Snails. This guy or gal is all over the tank. Often times hanging out in the tops of tall plants. The other pic is of one my Amano Shrimp. They tend to be shy...20190622_091905.jpg20190622_202808.jpg
 
Checking for leaks. Took about 20 minutes to fill... The seals look good. However, with water in I can what looks like sealant splatter on the bottom of the tank. So when I drain the water to clean the tank I'll need to pay attention to the bottom.

My thoughts for filters keep returning to the Sunsun HW 304B, 404B or 704B. The features, which include the UV light, seem ideal. However, I see reviews at both ends of the chart, which leads me to think there is a quality control issue. What are your thoughts?20190623_130718.jpeg20190623_131325.jpg
 
A filter isn't something I'd skimp on. I've heard mixed things about Sunsun, but I know folks who love them. From what I gather, quality control has gotten better. You sure can't beat the price, but I'd probably go Eheim, instead.

Looks like a fine start. I'll like watching this develop. :popcorn:
 
You get what you pay for with canisters. More forgiving with HOB's. If I was dead set on a budget and wanted a large canister......two would be ideal for a 6 foot tank such as yours....I'd go with Aquatop Forza series and two of the biggest ones. I've noticed the price has gone up a little on these but I seen a full review on this brand and model and it got high praise. Looks well built. If I had to go with quality over budget I'd pick Fluval FX series all day.
 
Thanks for the filter recommendation and you are correct the price is difficult to ignore with its given features. I figure the actual filtration part would greatly depend on which media was placed in the baskets as long as the unit has good seals to prevent leaks and minimal media bypass. The two other factors that are of a concern are ease of priming and pump quality.
 
Thanks for the recommendation. I've noticed before that some of the AquaTop canister filters are remarkably similar to some of the SunSun models. Which is the original and which is the look-a-like?
 
Thanks for the filter recommendation and you are correct the price is difficult to ignore with its given features. I figure the actual filtration part would greatly depend on which media was placed in the baskets as long as the unit has good seals to prevent leaks and minimal media bypass. The two other factors that are of a concern are ease of priming and pump quality.
Fluval primes itself. It will actually turn off for a few minutes and purge itself of air in the system then turn itself back on.
 
Thanks for the recommendation. I've noticed before that some of the AquaTop canister filters are remarkably similar to some of the SunSun models. Which is the original and which is the look-a-like?
They do look similar. I've never really heard anything good about SunSun used after a couple years or more. Aquatop Forza looks like it tried to duplicate Fluval to some extent.
 
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