Need suggestions for "hardware" for 120 gallon tank

[gregcuoz]

This is my first post here! Ive been doing research here for about 6 weeks and I think Ive come a long way since Ive first signed up here. Let me say, this site alone is second to none while doing my research.
Anyway, I currently have a 30 gallon tank that started out as the home for my red eared slider. I purchased a couple mollies, 10 feeder fish, a small cat fish and a pleco (he is about 8" long now, frigging huge!!)
I am down to 2 feeder fish (which was expected) but the 2 mollies must have done the deed one night because I ended up with roughly 30 babies one morning. Needless to say, all the fry quickly became turtle food.

I decided to get into the "hobby" cause I really enjoyed watching the fish. So, I wanted to get a real nice tank for the living room. I found a 120 gallon tank with some accessories for 300 bucks on craigslist. I pick it up this coming weekend and am preparing myself to cycle right when I get it home.
I asked the current owner to leave the filter cartridges in the filters to speed up the cycling process. Is that ok, or would anyone suggest I not use the used filters?
The accessories are TWO Penguin 350 filters, 1 aqua clear power head (WHAT IS THAT??), Vac with 20 foot hose, 1 large rock decor, 2 lights, 1 sponge/squeegee.

Questions:
1- Did I get a good deal? Tank, black wooden stand with doors for storage, and all the accessories for 300 bucks

2- Are the 2 Penguin 350s sufficient or should I get different filters?

3- what wattage heater will I need for a 120 gallon tank?

4-I havent decided what Im going to stock the tank with but I want lots of color and no aggressive fish. Im still researching the stock. Im going with a couple that are bottom feeders, some that like the middle and some that like the top so the tank will have a full appearance without overstocking. Before cycling, I need to get all hardware in. Besides the Filters and a heater, what else do I need? Bubblers?

5- Id like LED lighting. The tank is 50" long. What LED light should I get? Id like one with moonlight as well. What plants will thrive with LED?

Thanks all. Any and all suggestion are welcome.

Greg

 

[gregcuoz]

This will be a freshwater tank

 

[jsoong]

Pretty fair deal assuming that the tank has no scratches & everything works.

Do use the old filter media to jump start the cycle. There is a risk of introducing disease if the old owner has a bad tank, but if you are doing fishless cycling, the several weeks without fish in the tank will likely ensure most of the nasties are dead. <Not 100% of course .... if the tank had bad thing like fish tb, best to sterilize the whole thing & start from scratch.>

As to the rest of the question ... depends on what you want to keep ... keeping higher bioload, big messy fish,, etc. will require more filtration ... generally a canister. The 2 HOB's are pretty good sized & should be good for a start for a typical community tank.

Same for heater - what temp you need to keep it at? Obviously you need a bigger heater if you are doing discus at 80F vs goldfish at 70's .... And also how warm is your place ... you need bigger heater if you live in a cold place.

For a 120 gal, i would suggest 2 heaters - one on each end - more even heat, and redundancy if one fails. You are looking at ~400-500W total ... so 2 200W or 2 250W would be good. <Assuming tropical tank & "normal room temp of 70F.>

LED & plants ... That is a tough one .... LED is not really mature enough to give you lots of light output per $. Plants need lots of light, so unless you are shelling out big bucks .... LED's won't cut it. There are a couple people experimenting with DIY LED & plants. You might head over to the plants forum & poke around & ask. <They are using banks of high powered white LED's .... These are like $4 or $5 each (for just a single "naked" LED)..... & for your size tank, you might need a hundred or more ..... >

For cost effectiveness, you might consider T5HO or PC for plants. Fish only - then any kind of light will do.

And welcome to AA!

 

[jsoong]

OH, and the power head is just a small water pump to get extra current. The 2 HOB's prob won't have enough oomph to really circulate water in a big tank, so the power head is there to reduce dead spots.

You can also use PH to increase aeration by pointing the output to the surface so there is a lot of waves.

If you have a PH, then no need of a bubbler ... the PH does the same job better.

 

[Terrance]

I have Eheim Jager heaters for both my 120g Marineland and Aqueon Pro also makes long-lasting reliable heaters nowadays. I'm very pleased after owning each of them. Look at pics of each of these heater and pick the one that you like the most. Each of them have different heaters rating different sized tanks. Time to do more research.

I have a Penguin too. It's rated at 350gph, but I think its more like ~250gph. I used it for my 29g, and it was perfect flow. With your current filters, I would add more filters. If you're going to keep the 2 Penguins, then you won't be able to add any other HOB filter. The Aquaclear powerhead has an option to add a "Quick filter attachment", so look into it. Your choices for more flow/filtration are canister filters. I have 2 Fluval FX5 on my 120g, so I highly recommend it.

+1 for aiming the powerhead at the surface. You'll get plenty of oxygen in the water by making the surface move. Again, I also have a Aquaclear powerhead. Its great and gets the job done. I use it to help circulate my water and keep O2 in my water.

I also got a similar deal to yours. I got a 120g tank, black stand, glass hood, 3-lamp T8 fluorescent light, Eheim heater, and a few real large bogwood for $300. I think I paid too much, but the glass and build of the tank persuaded me to buy it. I bought another 120g (older version) with a bunch of equipment similar to yours for $175, but I have to say that I'm not impressed with this deal as my first 120g purchase.

A 120g is pretty tall. 2ft tall, plus the height of the stand. I don't know about you, but my arms are not long enough to have plants on the bottom of the tank. My only option is to grow plants that attach to large decor because I can reach those items. Or I could do floating plants. If you can easily reach the bottom of the tank, then you can go planted. What kind of lighting came with your purchase?

 

[gregcuoz]

pretty fair deal assuming that the tank has no scratches & everything works.

from what the seller sayys, there are no flaws

do use the old filter media to jump start the cycle. There is a risk of introducing disease if the old owner has a bad tank, but if you are doing fishless cycling, the several weeks without fish in the tank will likely ensure most of the nasties are dead. <not 100% of course .... If the tank had bad thing like fish tb, best to sterilize the whole thing & start from scratch.>

good point. Ill inquiry about that

as to the rest of the question ... Depends on what you want to keep ... Keeping higher bioload, big messy fish,, etc. Will require more filtration ... Generally a canister. The 2 hob's are pretty good sized & should be good for a start for a typical community tank.

i am assuming "hob;s" are the penguin filters? Im not good at the lingo yet. Im leaning towards getting a canister filter but they are very pricey

same for heater - what temp you need to keep it at? Obviously you need a bigger heater if you are doing discus at 80f vs goldfish at 70's .... And also how warm is your place ... You need bigger heater if you live in a cold place.

im gonna try to stay away from goldfish or any messy fish. Im looking for very colorful fish that will grow a little but not huge

for a 120 gal, i would suggest 2 heaters - one on each end - more even heat, and redundancy if one fails. You are looking at ~400-500w total ... So 2 200w or 2 250w would be good. <assuming tropical tank & "normal room temp of 70f.>

thanks for that input

led & plants ... That is a tough one .... Led is not really mature enough to give you lots of light output per $. Plants need lots of light, so unless you are shelling out big bucks .... Led's won't cut it. There are a couple people experimenting with diy led & plants. You might head over to the plants forum & poke around & ask. <they are using banks of high powered white led's .... These are like $4 or $5 each (for just a single "naked" led)..... & for your size tank, you might need a hundred or more ..... >

can you tell me if this is sufficient for plants? The seller told me the type of lighting. He said "eclipse natural daylight f40t10/48 that's all they say on them".... Any thoughts?


for cost effectiveness, you might consider t5ho or pc for plants. Fish only - then any kind of light will do.

And welcome to aa!

thank you

 

[gregcuoz]

i have eheim jager heaters for both my 120g marineland and aqueon pro also makes long-lasting reliable heaters nowadays. I'm very pleased after owning each of them. Look at pics of each of these heater and pick the one that you like the most. Each of them have different heaters rating different sized tanks. Time to do more research.

awesome, thanks ill look into the heaters. Whats your stock in your 120?

i have a penguin too. It's rated at 350gph, but i think its more like ~250gph. I used it for my 29g, and it was perfect flow. With your current filters, i would add more filters. If you're going to keep the 2 penguins, then you won't be able to add any other hob filter. The aquaclear powerhead has an option to add a "quick filter attachment", so look into it. Your choices for more flow/filtration are canister filters. I have 2 fluval fx5 on my 120g, so i highly recommend it.

im leaning towards the fluval. If i run the 2 penguins and a fluval, would that be enough? How bout an under substrate filter?

+1 for aiming the powerhead at the surface. You'll get plenty of oxygen in the water by making the surface move. Again, i also have a aquaclear powerhead. Its great and gets the job done. I use it to help circulate my water and keep o2 in my water.

i will do this

i also got a similar deal to yours. I got a 120g tank, black stand, glass hood, 3-lamp t8 fluorescent light, eheim heater, and a few real large bogwood for $300. I think i paid too much, but the glass and build of the tank persuaded me to buy it. I bought another 120g (older version) with a bunch of equipment similar to yours for $175, but i have to say that i'm not impressed with this deal as my first 120g purchase. E in an area

everywhere i looked on craigslist was way more for similar. Maybe i live in an area where there is less of a choice. I live in willow grove pa (right outside of philadelphia)

a 120g is pretty tall. 2ft tall, plus the height of the stand. I don't know about you, but my arms are not long enough to have plants on the bottom of the tank. My only option is to grow plants that attach to large decor because i can reach those items. Or i could do floating plants. If you can easily reach the bottom of the tank, then you can go planted. What kind of lighting came with your purchase?

yea, i havent seen it yet. I pick it up saturday so ill see then. Thanks for all your great input

 

[gregcuoz]

Is it frowned upon by the "experts" to get fake plants? Cost and maintanence wise, it seems like a smarter way to go. Is it a personal preference or is there a big reason to go real over fake?

Also, substrate..... Id like to go sand but how do you clean it? wont it get sucked up in the tank?
Any help is welcome. Thanks

 

[HeatherW]

Hi and welcome! I am starting up a 90gallon myself. (doing a fishless cycle right now) I have two aquaclear 110s running - HOB (hang on back). I also wanted the LED lighting and got me the marineland bouble bright light bar. I really like it. you just get the one to fit your tank. it does say that you need to have a glass canopy over the water - not sure you mentioned about a hood of any sort. I am doing the artificial plants so I am not worried about lighting - sorry I couldn't help you there.

you can look up my stocking plan if you want. I am still fine tuning it of course, but I think I have the colors and swimming levels in there that I want.

good luck!

 

[gregcuoz]

hi and welcome! I am starting up a 90gallon myself. (doing a fishless cycle right now) i have two aquaclear 110s running - hob (hang on back). I also wanted the led lighting and got me the marineland bouble bright light bar. I really like it. You just get the one to fit your tank. It does say that you need to have a glass canopy over the water - not sure you mentioned about a hood of any sort. I am doing the artificial plants so i am not worried about lighting - sorry i couldn't help you there.

hang on back, smacks forehead!!!! Thanks. I just pulled something up that may work for me. Im about to put a link to it.

you can look up my stocking plan if you want. I am still fine tuning it of course, but i think i have the colors and swimming levels in there that i want.

ill def check it out

good luck!

thanks

 

[gregcuoz]

This sounds like what I may be looking for. Any thoughts or suggestions? Itd be an expensive mistake if Im wrong

Aquatic Life 2x54W T5 HO Linkable Light Fixture FW - 48" : T5 & HO-T5

 

[gregcuoz]

shoot, I cant add a link. I think its because I dont have enough posts yet. Hmmm, Id like to get feedback on it too

 

[melosu58]

All links have to be approved. Helps cut down on the spam.

 

[gregcuoz]

All links have to be approved. Helps cut down on the spam.

I understand. Thanks for the speedy acceptance of the link. Just got anxious is all.

 

[Terrance]

Is it frowned upon by the "experts" to get fake plants? Cost and maintanence wise, it seems like a smarter way to go. Is it a personal preference or is there a big reason to go real over fake?

Also, substrate..... Id like to go sand but how do you clean it? wont it get sucked up in the tank?
Any help is welcome. Thanks

Many hobbyist prefer real plants because it looks a lot better than fake plants. If you ever try both, then you'll be able to see the big difference.

2 penguin and a canister might be adequate. Again, do some research and/or look for a good deal.

 

[HeatherW]

This sounds like what I may be looking for. Any thoughts or suggestions? Itd be an expensive mistake if Im wrong

Aquatic Life 2x54W T5 HO Linkable Light Fixture FW - 48" : T5 & HO-T5

is that going to be long enough? looks like it only goes to 48" and I thought your tank was bigger than that. other wise I would say it should work. did you look at the marine land ones? very similar but I think they will expand a little longer than that one. got mine at drs fosters & smith

 

[gregcuoz]

is that going to be long enough? looks like it only goes to 48" and I thought your tank was bigger than that. other wise I would say it should work. did you look at the marine land ones? very similar but I think they will expand a little longer than that one. got mine at drs fosters & smith

These are the demensions the guy gave me:
"H24in x W48in x D24in"

Says 120 gallons. Does that seem right? Im supposed to get it saturday. If it seems wrong, please someone let me know

 

[gregcuoz]

Just got schooled on another thread. Those demensions do in fact equal 120 gallons. Must be a 120 tall?

 

[kdpuffer]

Ya that would be a 120g tall. If I found a 120g for $300 I'd be stoked let alone with equipment. Prices up here in Alberta Canada aren't that low, likely at least $600 for that setup here and even that is a steal. Congrats on he purchase and good luck on the build, any ideas on stock yet? A 120 would be nice for some adult frontosas.

 

[Terrance]

Both of my 120s are 48x24x24. It's the standard dimension for that tank.