# 5ft 120 vs. 125 gallon aquarium



## tdadkins00 (Nov 30, 2015)

I will be buying one of the 2 within the next month which do you all prefer. I'm leaning towards the 120 I just think it looks better dimensions for the 120 are 60Lx18Wx26H. The 125 is 72.5Lx22Wx23H. In this tank I will be stocking an all male hap and peacock tank. Also for filtration I will prop run a single fx4 with a fairly strong powerhead do you all feel this is enough filteration.


----------



## Biciclid (Jan 27, 2016)

I would go for the 72, having got both the visual impact of a y foot tank is way better thana 5 foot. I would definitely trade height for length. The fish won't miss 3 inches in the water column but will really appreciate extra length/width. I would also overfilter, I like 2 canisters in my tanks for redundancy,and go for the fx6 rather than the fx4 and if ossible add a large biomedia capacity like a big Eheim or if on a budget a big Sunsun. Put the powerhead on hold for now.


----------



## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Agree. You can stock more fish in the 72" long tank.


----------



## Steve C (Oct 9, 2011)

72"125g for sure. Length is always the most important factor as mentioned above. Many more options for stocking.


----------



## tanker3 (May 18, 2015)

The extra 12" in length will help stocking and accommodate "longer" fishes. 
Go with the 125.


----------



## noddy (Nov 20, 2006)

I love the 5' 120's. I have two of them myself. But that's because I have a 10' 2" wall that needed filling with tanks.
I agree with everyone else. Get the 6' tank. Is there a reason why you don't want to go with a 180 though? It's practically the same footprint.


----------



## mark_j (Jul 15, 2016)

tdadkins00 said:


> I will be buying one of the 2 within the next month which do you all prefer. I'm leaning towards the 120 I just think it looks better dimensions for the 120 are 60Lx18Wx26H. The 125 is 72.5Lx22Wx23H. In this tank I will be stocking an all male hap and peacock tank. Also for filtration I will prop run a single fx4 with a fairly strong powerhead do you all feel this is enough filteration.


I have an FX4 on a 55 gallon. It seems just about perfect. The PUMP is rated for 700gph but if you look at the specs, its says it cycles 450gph, which is approx 8x on a 55 gallon tank. I would run 2 similar filters on a 125 but that's MHO.


----------



## tdadkins00 (Nov 30, 2015)

Yeah the reason I am chosing between these two tanks is because petsmart is having a sale on black Friday and the 120 and 125 with Stand are both 300 dollars I thought it was a pretty good deal.


----------



## Howzit (Jul 28, 2016)

I'd also vote for the 6' 125. That's a good deal for the tanks. Those larger topfin tanks that Petsmart sells are made by aqueon, they are good tanks. The stands aren't the best, but they will get the job done. The only thing bad I can really say about the stand is that is it made out of MDF. It doesn't handle getting wet too well. Also, the stand for the 125 doesn't have much cabinet space. I have an Ehiem and a SunSun crammed into mine. I agree with the others, that FX4 might not be enough. It will be at first, but as your stocking increases, you'll probably need more filtration. I'd start with a FX6, it's so close in price to the FX4.


----------



## nodima (Oct 3, 2002)

Either of those tanks for $300 is reasonable with a stand, provided YOU like the stand, and it meets all your needs. Style, color, space, layout etc. As soon as you start compromising on any of these, the deal is not as good. In the bigger picture, the cost of the tank is a small part of the total. Getting the exact tank dimensions you want - which sounds like would be met by a 150 (72 x 18 x 29) might be worth the slight increase in cost. Even if it is a couple of hundred, you will never have buyers remorse and wish you had spent that incremental difference to get the one you really want.

my .02


----------



## Marc (NJ) (Jul 25, 2016)

tdadkins00 said:


> Yeah the reason I am choosing between these two tanks is because petsmart is having a sale on black Friday and the 120 and 125 with Stand are both 300 dollars I thought it was a pretty good deal.


Same situation I'm going through as well. I guess the 125g is the way to go. I'm scared of those stands though :-? I guess they wouldn't make them if they couldn't do the job, right? I wonder what the weight capacity of the stand is? After all, we add an additional 100lbs plus of sand and rocks.


----------



## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

The water weighs almost as much as the rocks...you should be good with a good quality stand.


----------



## Howzit (Jul 28, 2016)

Marc (NJ) said:


> tdadkins00 said:
> 
> 
> > Yeah the reason I am choosing between these two tanks is because petsmart is having a sale on black Friday and the 120 and 125 with Stand are both 300 dollars I thought it was a pretty good deal.
> ...


I've never had a problem with the stands sold with those tanks, quality wise. They are plenty sturdy.


----------



## CeeJay (Aug 16, 2016)

I could go either way on the size, both would be great tanks. The price is really good considering I bought 180 pre dilled for 900.00 just for the tank. What the heck buy them both and sell the one you don't want for that price. I would really look at a sump for tank that size. There just a lot more option to a sump. Cost wise they should be very similar to fx6.


----------



## siklid245 (Oct 31, 2016)

I vote 125! 6 foot aquariums really open a lot of doors as far as different fish you could keep(happy). And for 300 dollars for a new tank and stand, that's a solid deal. You won't regret the 125, cant say the same for the 120. Down the road the 125 will be much easier to sell as well.


----------



## tdadkins00 (Nov 30, 2015)

I think I'm going to go with dual sunsun 304b's. For filtration should be plenty for a 125


----------



## mark_j (Jul 15, 2016)

tdadkins00 said:


> I think I'm going to go with dual sunsun 304b's. For filtration should be plenty for a 125


I ran two SunSun 302's on my 55 gallon for around 6 months. The 304b has a lot more flow, but your tank is a lot bigger, so should be comparable.

Likes:
Price of course
Big media baskets
Quiet

Dislikes:
Flimsy plastic parts with loose connection points, causing it to occasionally lose siphon, no water leaks though, did not give a sense of confidence.
Flow rate was much lower than expected, I anticipated it being 60-67% of advertised rate, but it was more like 45-50%.
I grew weary of watching debris float right by the intake and not get sucked in (see flow rate comment above)
Priming and starting was ok, but sometimes it was a struggle to get air out of the system, even using all the tricks I watched/read online.

I replaced them with one FX4 a few weeks ago. No comparison regarding perceived build quality, ease of use, quality of operation, flow rate, etc. The two downsides? The FX4 is louder because of the rapid flow rate and it is much more expensive.

Bottom line? If my tank was in a basement with concrete floors, I would buy the SunSuns in a heartbeat and spend the savings on more fish. My tank is in my living room with hardwood floors and I just never felt safe with the semi-flimsy construction.


----------



## tdadkins00 (Nov 30, 2015)

thanks for the input, very helpful.


----------



## Marc (NJ) (Jul 25, 2016)

tdadkins00 said:


> thanks for the input, very helpful.


tdadkins00, you going for the 120g or the 125g? I'm also buying one on Black Friday, but haven't decided which one yet.


----------



## tdadkins00 (Nov 30, 2015)

Marc (NJ) said:


> tdadkins00 said:
> 
> 
> > thanks for the input, very helpful.
> ...


I really like the 120 just because its taller, however the consensus says 125 so I believe thats what i'm gonna go with.


----------



## Marc (NJ) (Jul 25, 2016)

I feel the same way. What's your opinion of the stands?


----------



## tdadkins00 (Nov 30, 2015)

well I made my decision. I got the 125 with a fx6. I was lucky enough to get the fx6 at petsmart for 170 dollars I thought that was a smoking deal, very excited.


----------



## Biciclid (Jan 27, 2016)

Good choice, if only we had similar deals over here I would have even more tanks... Probably the wife would be starting divorce proceedings


----------



## Marc (NJ) (Jul 25, 2016)

Got mine today too. Went for the 125 as well.


----------



## Marc (NJ) (Jul 25, 2016)

tdadkins00, How's your 125g going? Here's mine cycling awaiting fish.

https://goo.gl/photos/orD2ED1fiBnPpN34A


----------



## benpritchett65 (3 mo ago)

tdadkins00 said:


> I really like the 120 just because its taller, however the consensus says 125 so I believe thats what i'm gonna go with.


 I love my 120! A little taller which I like. The 125s are fantastic and gives quite a few stocking options. They are a horse a piece and comes down to which look you like better.


----------

