# 125G tank, building commencing!



## The King Crabb (Jun 28, 2011)

I've been talking about this mythical build for over a month now, and it's finally starting! As many of you may know, I was planning on building this tank out of plywood, but something even better has turned up! I found a guy who only lives 5 miles from my house and has a brand new 125G tank he's selling for... (wait for it...) $125! I'd spend at least that much on just one pane of glass in a plywood tank so I figure this is definitely a step in the right direction! I'll be heading over there at 4:15, about 3 hours, and once I'm out and about I'll also be heading to the lumber yard to get some wood going for this stand!

Having to rethink filtration though... thoughts on this idea?

Have two internal filters: ( http://www.catalinaaquarium.com/store/p ... ts_id=1333 ) , when they're assembled they look like this, except a little bigger since this a picture of the model below it:










So the idea is to have two of those, one about a foot from each end, and then have the outlet hoses going up out of the water and joining together above the waterline to form a 4' spray bar.


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## CITADELGRAD87 (Mar 26, 2003)

Wow, congrats on the score.

I am thinking you need to do a sump, later today/tomorrow I will be posting on my thread about how I am converting a 60G acrylic I found on CL. I got the tank for $40, all the acrylic and glue/saw blade for anohter $50, and about $40 for 10G bio balls. I had to pick up a bigger mag pump, but I got lucky with that and found a local guy that had a garage full of stuff form a closed LFS.

All in, I figure $200 for a 60 gallon mega filter that could handle 300G worth of bio load, all for my little old 100 gallon.

And the best part is, next time all I need is acrylic, the solvent/saw blades will go into my toolbox.


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## Rick_Lindsey (Aug 26, 2002)

If I'm not mistaken, SWMBO nixed a sump for this build. I'm not sure I'd go with the internal filters though... I'd lean more towards canisters and/or HOB's if the sump is out of the question. But that's just me . Looking forward to the build!!

-Rick (the armchair aquarist)


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## Agridion (Sep 8, 2010)

I would go with the simplest build possible. Why do you need a 4' spray bar, why a spray bar at all? I say sump, canister, HOB or a Hamburg Mattenfilter filter. Remember the K.I.S.S. rule. 125 gallon is a nice size tank and for 125 what an awesome find. Looking forward to seeing what you do.


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## The King Crabb (Jun 28, 2011)

Agridion said:


> Why do you need a 4' spray bar, why a spray bar at all?


I enjoy spray bars, simple as that :lol: I've never had one but have always enjoyed the look. They really help to aerate and circulate the water, plus you don't see any ugly sump/ canister outlets. What's the K.I.S.S. rule? I'm sure I've heard it, I just can't remember :lol:



CITADELGRAD87 said:


> I am thinking you need to do a sump


I would do a sump if I could, unfortunately the king of the house is against the open water of the sump. If I could find a cheap way and a cheap tank that could be back in the question!



Rick_Lindsey said:


> I'd lean more towards canisters and/or HOB's if the sump is out of the question.


 That's what I'm thinking, since the internals may not be too good! I'm thinking HOBs since Canisters are expensive. If I go that route I would probably buy (3) Emperor 400's, 1200GPH should be enough, right?


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## Bungalowdan (Aug 16, 2010)

I'm envious. I want a 6 foot tank.

I stumbled across some Eheim 2217's for 115.99. Will PM you where. I'd think about going with two of those.


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## PChap (Mar 6, 2007)

Man it's about time, I'm getting tired of hearing about it, lets see some action 

As mentioned before, I'd ditch the internals and go with a combo of a canister and an HOB.


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## newcichlidiot (Jul 7, 2010)

Why does everybody need a sump?


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## The King Crabb (Jun 28, 2011)

Finally got the tank out of the car! I really underestimated the weight, it's well over 200 pounds! Here's a pic of sitting in the garage ready to be cleaned!












newcichlidiot said:


> Why does everybody need a sump?


They increase water volume so water parameters are easier to maintain.
You can build in a refugium so you don't need any fry growout/ quarantine tanks.
You can hide your equipment.
Lots of reasons :lol:

I'm debating between 3 Emperor 400s and a Fluval FX5. Thoughts on those two options? I also heard that Fluval may be coming out with a new line of filters, is that true?


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## pistolpete (Dec 28, 2009)

"Why does everybody need a sump?" They don't need them, but some people like making their lives complicated.

Sumps are primarily used on salt water tanks which require more extensive filtering equipment like protein skimmers. A sump allows for filtration and heating to take place outside the tank. However, in the days of relatively cheap canister filters and submersible heaters, you can have a super clean looking setup without the PITA of a sump.


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## JimA (Nov 7, 2009)

K.I.S.S. Keep it simple stupid. Nice tank!


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## The King Crabb (Jun 28, 2011)

JimA said:


> K.I.S.S. Keep it simple stupid.


Oh... :lol:

I'm planning on cleaning out the tank today, there's some dirt in there (no idea why there was dirt in a fish tank...) so I'm planning on soaking it and sucking up the water with my special water vacuum (very helpful).

Anybody have input as to the filtration? I'm really leaning towards the two internals with the spray bar - since they're basically just really elaborate high tech sponge filters and sponges have always worked well for me.

Current filtration options:
Fluval FX5 (900GPH)-$220
3 Emperor 400s (1200GPH)-$120
2 CA 2200s internal. (1700GPH)-$90


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## Valous (Jan 30, 2011)

In my 6' tank I found I didnt get enough flow on the opposite side. I would go with a FX5 and either an internal or look for another cheap canister on ebay or 1 internal for the other side. And yes the FX5 is a nice filter handles a huge bio load and polishes the water nicely. Even is easy to maintain.


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## newcichlidiot (Jul 7, 2010)

Seems like the increased water argument is well, lame. Just get a bigger tank. You can hide canisters as well. I like being able to view my fry tank, not hidden (remember you hide your equipment) in my cabinet. It's in my bedroom and I look at it all the time. I'm not saying don't use a sump, it just seems like the people who use sumps are sump snobs. And everyone should have one.

And I also say, "Go with what works well for you".


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## The King Crabb (Jun 28, 2011)

I think I found the perfect solution to my filtration problem! These bad boys: http://www.amazon.com/CF-500UV-Canister ... 923&sr=8-1 They've got really good ratings and even have a UV sterilizer I can flip on whenever I want! Think I'll need just 1 or should I buy 2?


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## pistolpete (Dec 28, 2009)

Whether you need two filters depends entirely on your bioload. If you plan on stuffing the tank full of big cichlids, then you definitely need two, as well as frequent water changes. If you wan to keep a planted tank with south american cichlids, then one of those would be more than enough.

Two of the reviews on that site were quite bad. And one pointed out some serious flaws (cheapo fittings). Have a look at a Rena XP3 before you buy the CF500. they may be $50 more, but have huge compartments for filter media.

Clean your tank with 1 part bleach, 10 parts water. This will kill anything in there without contaminating your tank with soap.


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## Morpheen (Jul 21, 2010)

newcichlidiot said:


> Seems like the increased water argument is well, lame. Just get a bigger tank. You can hide canisters as well. I like being able to view my fry tank, not hidden (remember you hide your equipment) in my cabinet. It's in my bedroom and I look at it all the time. I'm not saying don't use a sump, it just seems like the people who use sumps are sump snobs. And everyone should have one.


Increased water volume is hardly lame, it definitely has it's benefits in this hobby. Also, to call people snobs who are trying to educate other people on the benefits of sumps kinda makes you look ignorant. Have you even tried one?

Increased water volume is just one of many reasons that sumps are superior (IMO) to other filter types. Sumps are extremely flexible by nature because you can put whatever you want in them. You can design them numerous ways. They can be just as quiet as canisters if designed right. You can hide your heaters in them. It can be used as a 'timeout' tank for an overly aggressive fish. Sumps can be built fairly cheaply and are MUCH easier to clean than canisters. I've used canisters, HOB's sponge filters before and on my last tank decided to try a sump. I can tell you that sumps are going on all my future large tanks.


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## Valous (Jan 30, 2011)

Morpheen said:


> newcichlidiot said:
> 
> 
> > Seems like the increased water argument is well, lame. Just get a bigger tank. You can hide canisters as well. I like being able to view my fry tank, not hidden (remember you hide your equipment) in my cabinet. It's in my bedroom and I look at it all the time. I'm not saying don't use a sump, it just seems like the people who use sumps are sump snobs. And everyone should have one.
> ...


well said, and not everyone that uses sumps are sump snobs. I like them to a point and the add a benefit 1 that i have a hard time with the canisters creating on there own. Enough surface aggregation. The DIY overflows pull off the surface and stay quite that I cant seem to get with 2 canisters with out making alot of splashing noise.

But to the op, My vote is for 2 canister or 1 canister and 1 hob. Since i remember once reading you were not allowed to have a sump.


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## jeffmo78 (Dec 5, 2006)

Chiming in with my two cents....(I lurked long enough). Sumps are awesome...plus sometimes you find a fry that you didnt know you had growing in them in which case you can then name that fish "Sumpy".

As for the K.I.S.S. rule of thumb i'd go with the FX5 (they are beast and you'll love it i promise) throw out the Emperor 400's and replace with the AquaClear 110's. I used to be a Emp 400 fan until i tried an AquaClear. Now I'll never go back. I like how the AQ don't lose their syphon when i do my water changes (at least so far they have not even when i do 50% water change) I like keep my water churning at all times.

Just my two cents.


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## BigDaddyK (Nov 6, 2006)

I'm glad you got a deal but I'm a little bummed that you aren't building a tank... I was looking forward to the read


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## The King Crabb (Jun 28, 2011)

BigDaddyK said:


> I'm a little bummed that you aren't building a tank... I was looking forward to the read


I was thinking the same thing... I debated (for about 5 minutes) of taking apart the tank and building two 125G tanks (front and back glass panes) but decided that this way will look much nicer!



pistolpete said:


> Whether you need two filters depends entirely on your bioload. If you plan on stuffing the tank full of big cichlids, then you definitely need two, as well as frequent water changes. If you wan to keep a planted tank with south american cichlids, then one of those would be more than enough.
> 
> Two of the reviews on that site were quite bad. And one pointed out some serious flaws (cheapo fittings). Have a look at a Rena XP3 before you buy the CF500. they may be $50 more, but have huge compartments for filter media.


It'll house:
20 (ish) Ps. Demasoni
1m:7f Ps. Acei "Ngara"
1m:4f Met. Callainos
1m:4f Pet. "Nkhata" (Orange)
1m:4f Lab. Caerelus (White)
I'm assuming that only merits the need for a single filter?

The main argument points were not enough media (which I have plenty saved up), cheap trays (which isn't a huge concern, I'm big on DIY), and a used filter. I read on the other models you simply send a picture of the filter made via email to the manufacturer and they'll send you a new one. I redirect you to a thread I started in another section on this site, seems like some members use them with success: http://www.cichlid-forum.com/phpBB/view ... 11#1651811 I'm not too worried about this but regardless I'm seriously debating ordering a CF300 to test out on my 55G Mbuna or my 60G planted Sa tank, not sure which tank yet. As to the compartment size, I went and looked at one of these. They're HUGE, I think they tested and water volume was over 2 gallons.


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## Agridion (Sep 8, 2010)

The King Crabb said:


> I think I found the perfect solution to my filtration problem! These bad boys: http://www.amazon.com/CF-500UV-Canister ... 923&sr=8-1 They've got really good ratings and even have a UV sterilizer I can flip on whenever I want! Think I'll need just 1 or should I buy 2?


I would recommend two. It's always better to have extra filtration and if one breaks you have the other running while you fix the broken one.


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## The King Crabb (Jun 28, 2011)

Agridion said:


> I would recommend two. It's always better to have extra filtration and if one breaks you have the other running while you fix the broken one.


That's what I was thinking, even though they're plenty big enough to hold up the bio load.


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## The King Crabb (Jun 28, 2011)

Sorry about the lack of progress so far, having trouble funding it :?

Slight update though - on filtration! I've decided to go with a single CF-500 with UV as my filtration and will use that as bio and a little bit of mechanical. After that I will have a 1300GPH under gravel (under sand technically) jet system running and I'm thinking of incorporating some mechanical on the UGJs as well.


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## Dominateprimate (Aug 27, 2011)

The King Crabb said:


> Sorry about the lack of progress so far, having trouble funding it :?


Having the EXACT same problem with my 125 :lol: :lol:


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