Large tank questions

[875mill]

Me and my wife were admiring a nice 75 gallon tank at the pet store when she side steps and tells me she likes the next one over. I look aver and see this monstrous 120 gallon tank. At first I'm all over it drooling like hell yeah lets get it (100 different stocking ideals running through my head). We decide to think about it for a couple of days, dont want to do anything to hasty. When it hits me on the ride home I have no idea what it would take to take care of a tank this big. (filter,lights,heater ect..)
Read enough to know That using 2 canister would be best, but would this still give me enough water movement inside of the tank? How would you place the two ins and outs to prevent dead spots in the water.As far as heaters go Ive never seen one rated for a tank this big so I'm guessing you double up on heaters to? Same with lights? Never seen any 6ft light strips. I also remember reading once that wpg rule didnt work on really big or really small tanks. How big is really big? (if that makes any sense to you). Any recommendations on these will be appreciated.

 

[mr funktastic]

yes u would double up on heaters but i suggest inline heaters for the cannisters. 2 XP3 would do a wonderful job on that tank. but may be a little overkill. use the spray bar attachment with the filters and just play around in the tank untill u see that all the water is being circulated fairly evenly. u can buy 6 foot shoplights as well as aquarium lights but they just are not as common. u dont really need to worry about the WPG rule unless u are planning on planting this tank. the larger the tank though the easier it is to get high light. 3 WPG on a 120 would be more than on saya 20 gal. i dont know the exact change though. for me 120 gal is around the perfect size. big for me is like a 240 gal lol. in the end u would need 2 cannister filters. 2 heaters, alot of substarte(probably pool filtersand for cost reasons) alot of driftwood and fake/real plants. a big ass light lol. and one monster stand. as for care... get a python and do weekly water changes of about 25%. if u get sand and MTS u wont have to worry as much about gravel vacking. justa light wave and u will be done.

 

[875mill]

I plan on it being a heavly planted tank. so you think 3 wpg would be plenty? I do plan on trying to grow some of the higher light plants.

 

[sith j]

make sure the tank sets perpendicular to your floor joists and not horizontal so you have enough support.

 

[MSU Fan]

3 wpg is a good place to start, however, I would suggest you leave room for upgrading later. Building your own canopy is one of the best ways to do this. Otherwise, I'd agree with everything funk said and say that 3 wpg is good.

oooh...you're gonna get a big tank!!!! so jealous!

 

[875mill]

DIY canopy ehh never though about that. Know any web sites with a little info on that?

 

[Speakerman]

Build your own canapy and use beam lights. Not flourescent strips. You can really pack a lot more into it.

You don't really need 2 xP3 filters. Thats rediculous. Just get one and a powerhead at one end.

I've got a single xP3 on my 150 gallon, with 2 aquaclear 402 powerheads, and a laguna UV sterilizer.

My water stays crystal clear.

If you want to go bigger than an xP3, get an x4 from Petsmart. Just be sure to price match that with somebody online.

 

[Burks]

I agree that 3wpg is good for a tank that size, that's a lot of light. Power compacts would be an easy way to accomplish this. www.ahsupply.com has some good kits. Used them before and it's rather easy to wire up and build your own canopy.

Depending on what fish you have, one XP3 would work fine. Just make sure there is at least one more powerhead for proper circulation.

 

[fish_4_all]

2 canisters or a bigger one with 1-2 powerheads. I have an AC 20 on a 10 gallon heavy planted and I need to get a powerhead to create descent circulaiton. 2 filters would also help with the possible mess from so many plants. I would personally get more than one light fixture. Just for ease and versatility. Say you want one third of the tank as a place for the fish to hide and not have alot of plants. You could put lower lights or none in one section for the fish and a natural hiding point.

Just too many things you could do but please post what you decide with a really good picture!

 

[875mill]

Build your own canapy and use beam lights. Not flourescent strips. You can really pack a lot more into it.

Dont want to sound stupid but what are beam lights?

 

[mr funktastic]

lol ya i am with u on that one. u lost me when u said beam lights lol. i like t-8 bulbs casue of the colour varience u can get. its a little trickier to do with compacts unless u have enough of them. there are alot of options for lights so choose wisely.

 

[odobenus]

DIY canopy ehh never though about that. Know any web sites with a little info on that?

You could try this one! Have a look through the DIY forum. If you can't find what you are looking for there, those folks would be able to point you in the right direction. This might be a helpful thread.

 

[875mill]

odobenus that was very heplful thanks.

 

[trotty]

There is nothing really special that you need to do with owning a large tank. Its mainly the cost in setup and running... As was said above everything is doubled, you have 2 or 4 3ft lights instead of 1 or 2 It really depends on depth...
I would reccomend using 2 heaters (i use 3 300w heaters on a 240gal, 1 is backup set 2deg lower) and as far as filtration goes the sky is the limit. (cant have too much IMO) unless it's a wirl pool!

Oh and dont forget the bigger you go, the heavier it gets!
Ive had to move my 8x2x2 three times in the last year and a half!!
chiropractor was on speed dial! LOL