125 Gal. B-day Present: 11/10 new fish and rescape (56k)

[yikesjason]

Anyone not interested in reading my back story can skip to post #4 were I actually start on the 125 tank.

"I think I have a fever," I told my wife last night.
I was having a hard time sleeping in the new house. Our bedroom overlooks a busy freeway and I am not used to the sound yet, though most people say it sounds like the ocean and helps them sleep. My wife is about half way into her second pregnancy and has entered into the squirmy, loud breathing phase. But even more than those two things, I think it was the fever keeping me awake.
"I think I have aquarium fever."

I got started on fish a couple of years ago. Actually, it wasn't even fish that started it, it was a turtle. My wife thought the turtles were so cute at the duck pond down the street from our tiny basement apartment while we were in college. So being newly married and wanting to fulfill the slightest whim of my beautiful wife, I caught one of the turtles the next day and brought it home to her.

My wife was excited about the turtle! So off to PetSmart to get an aquarium for the turtle. A modest 10 gal with filter and gravel. I almost miss the days when my tank setup totaled around $20. The new turtle would never eat, so I let him go after about 2 days and bought a tank raised turtle from the local petstore. The turtle was ok, a bit stinky at times, but so was our cheap basment apartment.

Things started to get more interesting when I added a couple of gold fish and some small mosquito type fish from the local ditch. Now the starts the tail of the fish. Anyways, the tutle only lasted less then a year then got sick and died. But we still had the goldfish. They were not interesting enought though. My wife wanted a betta. So, I got my wife a betta bowl.

What happened next was really the start of my downward spiral to my current state of aquarium fever. Please do not exile me from the forum what what is to follow. Remember, I was young, nieve, and didn't know much about fish yet.

So one day I was shoping at Wal-Mart and I saw the fish display. They had some cool looking fish that kind of looked like a miniture shark. It was only like $3, so I bought one and took it home and dumped it in with the gold fish. Within a week it had little white spots and was dead. I tried a couple more times with similar results. The goldfish were the only things that were staying alive. Oh, there were some annoying little snails that wouldn't go away.

I visited the google web site and started doing some searches on fish. Holy Smokes, I am supposed to have a heater in that tank with those cool looking fish! A few dollars more and the water was significantly warmer. I was ready for any fish now. Back to Walmart for some cheap, but cool tropical fish.

Again with the little white spots and the dieing! I don't get it. The goldfish are fine and this weird looking sucker fish is still alive. I tried some fix all medicin and was able to keep the fish alive for 2 weeks by then. Oh, and my wife had found the aquatic frogs by this time and they were dying in the tank along with everything else. Once my wife saw one of the frogs had died, and the goldfish were eating it. She flipped. I was a little more careful about removing dead bodies before she got home from class after that.

About this time, I got a new tank. Some at work was trying to get rid of a 25 gal hex tank. I traded an old broken xbox I had found cleaning apartments. For Christmas that year I got some cool plastic decor items for the new tank. I had a water-wheel house, palm tree and some other odds and ends. Some more google searches and some more equipment upgrades and I was keeping an angel fish, 5 zebra danios and two plecos alive permanantly. I was starting to have fun. The fever was growing.

I stayed pretty steady with that set up for a while. I tried a few things like ghost shrimp. They were fun to watch, but they didn't last long with the angel around. I also got an electric blue lobster, creyfish. He was a favorite in the tank, but he tore the heck out of the plastic plants and the angel's fins. He also eat some other fish I tried out in that tank like neon tetras. He eventualy pulled a Houdini and disapeard one day. I could not find him at all. I eventual found the dried remains of him when we moved.

The tank was a sucess. The fish thrived. I learned a lot about aquarium mantinence and fish care. And every one loved the aquarium. Our friends named most of the fish for us. There was placostomusaurus, angel the angelfish (with a spanish pronunciation), Fred, Bob, and several other names. We also still had the original aquarium with goldfish and a pleco, as well as the betta.

I graduated with a degree in Supply Chain Management and got a good job localy while my wife finished her degree in social work. But before she could finish, I was laid off from my job and we decied to more back home to Oregon and she could finish her last couple of classes online. I gave the fish away to friends, packed up the hex tank along with everything else and moved to Oregon.

Right now it is after midnight and I am tired. I will continue this background story tomorrow. Please return to read about the new tank in the new city. Also the start of my planted aquariums. And up to present day with the 125 gallon birthday present.

[yikesjason]

After we got to Oregon, I didn't get a tank for a few months. Unemployment is not the right time to get back into aquariums. But I did want a bigger tank. I found a "40" gallon tank on craigslist. After I got it home I realized it was only 30 gallons. That was fine. It fit in the space I had for it. By this time though, I had seen some planted tanks. That was cool. I was now past the petsmart ornaments and ready for natural aquariums. Sand substrate, driftwood, and an amazon sword and hornwart. It was just like when I started keeping tropical fish. I couldn't keep them alive.

Back to google to find out how to keep plants alive. Wow, there is this forum thing all about planted tanks! I thought here was a lot to learn about keeping fish alive, that is nothing compared to all there is to learn about planted tanks. Lights, water parameters, ferts, substrate, CO2!! This was looking very expensive. Luckily I did find a new job after 5 months and could start to do a little more on the aquariums. I got my old 25 hex out and started up. I still had the water wheel house and palm tree, but now they are being swallowed up by a jungle of java ferns and moss.

[yikesjason]

The job I have now has a lot of down time. I spend a lot of that time reading the different fish forums. There is a lot to see and learn. I think my favorite set up is Medicineman's indoor sunken garden. I would love to have something like that someday. But for now it is a lot smaller and a lot less pretty.

One of the best things that has happened for my planted tanks so far was a regional plant swap meet that happened here in Portland in September. There were about 15 of us there and more plants to give away than anyone could take. I walked away with a lot of plants that I have now growing in the two aquariums. Since then we have done one more swap meet and I added even more plants to my tanks. I might not ever buy plants again. Just go to the swap meets and I should be able to trade for anything I could possibly use in my new tank.

Which brings me to the real reason for this whole rant. My new tank.

[yikesjason]

I had a birthday about a week ago and my mom was visiting from Montana. My mom is a collector of hobbies. She races go-karts, rides motorcycles, does metalwork, stained glass, and her newest hobby is making glass beads. Because she has so many hobbies, she supports the idea that everyone should have a big hobby or two. After going out to lunch, she asked what I wanted for my birthday. I didn't have a specific ideas so she offered to take me to a fish store and go on a buying spree. I liked the idea so we went to the best fish store on this side of Portland, World of Wet Pets.

I had just spent some Christmas present money on fish and both tanks were pretty well maxed out. But I went to look at the fish while she talked to the guy that was working there. She likes to talk to new people, so I didn't think much about it. But she was actually getting a quote on the 75 gallon set up that I had drooled on coming into the store. It was about $500 for a basic set up. She handed me the quote and asked if I wanted the setup for my birthday or if I wanted the $500 to pick out my own setup. My mom is so cool!

I regularly check the local craigslist and told my mom that I could spend $500 much more wisely buying a used tank and having extra money to upgrade equipment. A couple days later when she was leaving to go home, I had a $500 check in my wallet and my internet browser was set on craigslist with regular refreshes. It took me about a week, but I found a 125 with stand and some equipment for $200. In the mean time I had found a co2 tank and regulator for $75. And I had done a lot of research and found the Catalina Aquarium Solar T5 systems to be the best lights on a budget. I have not actually ordered the lights yet.

So the 125 came with a stand that someone had built for it, but it isn't really finished. So the first part of my new project is to make the stand into something that would look kind of nice in a house.

Here is the tank.


This is the stand as it arrived. It is basically a pair of 2x10 with 8 4x4 pillars with two sheets of MDF on top. and a pair of cabinets in between the 4x4s.


I started by adding a nicer edge to the lip of the stand with a router. and sealing everything with a primer.


I had help from my 1 1/2 year old son Levi.


Plan for Stand:
So the plan so far is to paint the stand black, and skin the ends and center open area with bamboo. I am hoping to find some bamboo flooring remnants cheap. I built a canopy for my 30 gallon with bamboo plywood and I really like the look. I think it would contrast nicely with the black stand.

Plan for Tank:
I am going to pain the background black.

Planned lights:
48" 4x54 watt CA Solar T5 fixture suspended from the ceiling. I know this will leave a foot of tank at each end without a light overhead, but I think I will do some thing with branches and open gravel on the ends. There might be enough light for some low light plants.

Planned Substrate:
I bought a 50lbs bag of Turface, I might do a layer of soil beneath that.

Planned fish:
7-10 Angel fish
~50 cardinal tetras
7-10 Sterbai Corys
trio of German Blue Rams
12 otos
1 gold nugget pleco
2 bristle nose pleco
nerites
maybe some shrimp if they can avoid the angels.

Planned Plants:
not really sure yet. It will probably be what ever I pick up at the local plant swap meets. But I will have enough light for some mid to high light plants in the center of the tank with low light plants on the end.

Equipment:
5lbs co2 cylinder with a pieced together system.
Aquaclear 500 HOB filter. I got this and a sponge filter with the tank, I think I will give them a try.
regular heaters
I will probably throw in a couple of powerheads to help with the flow.

As you can see I am still a novice with all of this. I am sure I will have some questions for all of you. And I am really excited. I think it will turn out well.

[yikesjason]

My first question has to do with the lights.

I did my homework and am confident that I want to get the CA Solar T5. What do you guys think of using a 4' fixture on a 6' tank?

[cruiser99]

Originally Posted by yikesjason

My first question has to do with the lights.

I did my homework and am confident that I want to get the CA Solar T5. What do you guys think of using a 4' fixture on a 6' tank?

Not a good idea. A foot of darkness on each end will be a limiting factor. I have doen this before on my 125G but I had individual fixtures and I staggered them. This was befor I went with plants. But if you cannot efford 6' then you can't efford one.

BTW, nice read. I am trying to stay "inexpensive" myself onthe 125G and failing as this has become a money pit - and counting...

and... fix the pics.

[yikesjason]

How dark was the foot on the end? Was it just too dark to grow plants, or was it too dark to really see anything?
The sale price on the 48" Catalina is really hard to pass up.

[cruiser99]

Originally Posted by yikesjason

How dark was the foot on the end? Was it just too dark to grow plants, or was it too dark to really see anything?
The sale price on the 48" Catalina is really hard to pass up.

Too dark for fast growth of stem plants that I like to put at the ends of the tank. Viewing is fine.
It all comes to the whole setup as a system and what you are trying to do. My experiance is tha cost saving solutions end up more expensive then expensive ones. Or in other words low tech tanks end up hi teck over time.

[yikesjason]

I think I will be ok then. I am planning on doing kind of the reverse of what you are talking about. Instead of lots of plants on the ends with the center open, I want to do move of an island approach with lots of plants in the center and less on the ends.

Thank you for the feedback.

[michael_TD]

Hi Jason,
Very cool for you, I'm subscribed and looking forward to seeing it progress. I like the idea of the island in the middle.
I got the light fixture you'r referring to at the end of December though using it on a 4' tank, I couldn't pass up the price either. We had the moonlights added which my wife really enjoys at night.
Thanks for the tips on the substrate, substrate is something I've not really looked heavy into yet.
Congrats again!

Michael

[yikesjason]

Thanks Michael.
bpimm from the group has had some really good experience with soil as a substrate. You should talk to him about substrates as well.

I ordered the Catalina fixture and have put two coats of paint on the stand. The bamboo is kind of hard to find at a decent price, so I may end up skinning the ends and center with birch with a nice stain. I think that will still look nicer than all black.

[jargonchipmunk]

a nicely stained birch always looks nice. (I like black better myself, but that's just because I look at the tank, not the stand.... and I'm not that good a wood worker lol)

[yikesjason]

I have the stand pretty well finished. I put on 3 coats of black paint and skinned the ends with birch with a walnut stain. The birch plywood took the stain really well. But the hemlock quarter round I used did not work out as nice. It is nice enough to use, but I wish it were more even.

I put up a temporary sheet of black foam board on the middle section. I hope to be able to build some drawers to install there at some point, but I think that will have to wait until I finish organizing the garage.



All I have left before I take the stand inside the house is to cut some holes into the back of the cabinets. I know the previous owner never actually set up this tank, but I am not sure if the owner before that ever used this stand. The cabinets are completly enclosed and there is no way to run power or any tubes into them.

I still have to get the tank cleaned up and ready. I want to paint the back black. and the glass tops need a lot of cleaning. Any sugestions for getting the old deposits of the glass?

[yikesjason]

I am starting to get nervous about filling the tank. I have read a few treads lately about tanks that cracked because the stand was not perfectly flat and level. We will see how this stand does once I get it in the house and check it out.

[yikesjason]

My new lights arrived!!

I was a little surprised at how well it was packed. Inside the cardboard shipping box was a plywood box screwed together.



Inside the plywood box was the light fixture, snuggly wrapped in two layers of big bubble wrap.



It looks good. I like the LED moon lights with dimming controls. I also had the hanging brackets added to the fixture.



I can't wait to get this all set up.