# New Tank!



## bolly (Oct 14, 2013)

Just made a deal on craigslist for a 72 x 18 x 23. It is either a 100 gallon or 125 gallon, I am not quite sure. It is 23 inches tall including the little wooden band around the top and bottom of the tank, and 19 inches tall while only measuring the glass part. If anyone would like to chime in and correct me on this feel free.

It comes with a fx5, power head, and heater.

I'm thinking of getting black sand for it because I saw some pictures of some other tanks with it and it looked pretty cool. any idea on what kind of sand is best and where I can get it cheaper in bulk?

Filtration wise I haven't decided on what else I should get. I want the water to look very clear so I wont hesitate to over filtrate. Any suggestions on some filters I should get? I have another tank with mbuna that is 120 gallon with a fx6, rena xp4 and fluval 306, they seem to be doing a good job together.

Let me know what you guys think or if you have any ideas!


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## christy_lee (Jun 25, 2013)

I think your cheapest option for sand in bulk would be pool filter sand but I may be wrong. the only black sand I've ever purchased was on the pricey side


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## bolly (Oct 14, 2013)

what would you say is the best kind of sand with price not being a factor


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## Iggy Newcastle (May 15, 2012)

Pool filter sand.


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## bolly (Oct 14, 2013)

ok thanks. do you guys know what is the actual size of the aquarium according to the dimensions I gave above


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## GTZ (Apr 21, 2010)

Standard 125g, 72" x 18" x 22". Congrats!


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## bolly (Oct 14, 2013)

Thanks! I got a 120 about a month ago and I felt like I need another one haha


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## clhinds78 (Jul 27, 2012)

Black Diamond Blasting Sand is black and pretty cheap. Check local hardware and home improvement stores for it.

I would think adding one more canister should be enough filtration. Consider maybe another fx6 or an xp4.


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## bolly (Oct 14, 2013)

I was thinking about the xp4. I'll just stick it full of media


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## bolly (Oct 14, 2013)

Also is the black diamond sand the kind with the bigger grains than other sand for aquariums


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## smitty814 (Sep 27, 2012)

I would not use any kind of blasting sand. It's made from all sorts of mining slag. Oil slick and other problems come with it. If you want black sand get black sand not slag.


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## mclaren880 (May 20, 2012)

Home Depot sells silica sand for about $3.50 for a 50 lbs bag. I looked into getting white sand, but it's all pretty pricey, like 10x as much if not more. I'm about a year into the silica sand, and the fish seem to love it. Keep your intake up higher to keep as much out of the filter as possible. I have an fx5 in my 75g, and there is always sand in the bottom of it when i clean it. I clean out the impeller ever couple months tho and all seems to be well.


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## bolly (Oct 14, 2013)

Still debating on whether I should go with black gravel or sand. Is there sand that has larger grains so it wouldn't get sucked up or blown around the tank so easily?


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## royrusso (Aug 13, 2012)

Black Diamond blasting sand or coal sag is inert. It will not harm any living creatures in the tank. Read: http://www.ensioresources.com/Learning_ ... _slag.html I've been using it for close to a decade in my tanks with never a problem.


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## clhinds78 (Jul 27, 2012)

royrusso said:


> Black Diamond blasting sand or coal sag is inert. It will not harm any living creatures in the tank. Read: http://www.ensioresources.com/Learning_ ... _slag.html I've been using it for close to a decade in my tanks with never a problem.


That''s what I thought too. Black diamond or PFS are both good choices it just depends on what color sand you want. I think black looks better with white rocks and brightly colored fish and white with brow/tan rocks and darker fish. Although I have yellow labs in my tank with PFS and it still looks good.

Sand is definitely the best choice for cichlid tanks, especially african cichlids. There isn't really any sand that won't get stuck in your filter, you just have to stay on top of your cleaning and it should be fine. PFS is a good choice as it has one of the larger granule sizes. Canisters are a good choice for sand tanks because water is pulled down through the barrel where sand is trapped in the media and then pushed back out through the impeller minimizing its wear.


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## JohnnyJohanni1 (Jul 8, 2013)

I would say if you want black sand, Black Diamond blasting sand is the way to go. I bought 2 50lbs bags for $7.99 a pop from Tractor Supply. Looks good in a tank for sure. Needs to be washed more thoroughly than most sands but looks amazing.


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## bolly (Oct 14, 2013)

That a nice looking tank.. So the blasting sand wouldn't be too sharp for any of the fish or bottom feeders?


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## JohnnyJohanni1 (Jul 8, 2013)

Thanks bolly, its a work in progress. The sand comes in different grit sizes so finding something similar to pfs shouldn't be a problem. The fish love it judging by how much they dive and dig in it. As far as bottom feeders go, I just added my first about a week ago but he seems to be cool.


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## bolly (Oct 14, 2013)

Nice, what are the tank dimensions?


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## bolly (Oct 14, 2013)

I'm having trouble finding the substrate. Ideally, I am looking for a black sand with as large as possible grains that is safe for fish and bottom feeders. If anyone could give me a link or name and a place to get it from, preferably amazon, that would be a huge help. Thanks!


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## JohnnyJohanni1 (Jul 8, 2013)

Dimensions are 72x20x18.

I just looked online and check your nearest tractor supply co. Store for availability. I have been living in Fayetteville since 1999 and had no idea we had one. Listed price is $7.99, 20/40 granule size


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## bolly (Oct 14, 2013)

ok thanks. How many gallons is that?


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## bolly (Oct 14, 2013)

what is the height of the glass only, 20 inches? The one I am getting might be the same


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## clhinds78 (Jul 27, 2012)

You'll probably need a bag and a half to do an average depth of 1" in a 6' tank. I have 70lbs in my 4' tank and its more than enough. That means buying two bags but $16 and change is still WAY better than buying aquarium sand.


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## JohnnyJohanni1 (Jul 8, 2013)

Yup. 20 inches is the height measurement. Keeps it low profile


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## bolly (Oct 14, 2013)

UPDATE:
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/at ... 1384099623

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/at ... 1384099634

I ended up just getting the black sand from petco. I got 5 20lb bags of sand and then 1 20lb of gravel, it was barely enough.

I got it up and running yesterday with a fluval fx5 that came with the tank, xp3 and eheim 2217. I got the xp3 and 2217 last week so decided to take water from my other 120 gallon tank and put it in an empty 55 gallon, dose it with ammonia and hook up the two filters just to try and give them head start. And then when I got the 125g tank yesterday I put that water which had about .25 ppm ammonia by then into it along with the tap water. I put in the seachem bacteria booster stuff and the seachem prime to detoxify the chlorine and rest of the ammonia. This morning I tested the ammonia and it was between 0-.25ppm. Although the tank isn't cycled I had to put a large jack Dempsey into it this evening because his tank has to be drained. He seems like he is doing fine and I put in some more of the seachem prime. The fx5 was running on the tank before I got it for years so shouldn't that already have a lot of good bacteria in it. Plus I put the filter that was on the dempseys old tank (cascade 700) that was established onto the new tank as well.

What do you guys think of this? I had to do it, I think he will be all right though


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## JohnnyJohanni1 (Jul 8, 2013)

Sounds like you have things covered. Adequate filtration (8x-10xgph) so that's easy. Established bacteria in filters. Find out if previous owner had problems with disease/illness. Hopefully not but you never know. I believe your Dempsey should be OK. Just keep checking your water and monitoring him. It sucks you had to put him in but I'm sure if you had another option you would have done it...and money doesn't grow on trees lol. Keep it up and let me know how the flow on the fx5 works for you.


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## bolly (Oct 14, 2013)

Thanks! The flow on the fx5 & fx6 is incredible, it blows all the other filters away haha


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