The 125 "Redux"

keman

keman

New Member
Finally made it back to "Manufacturers Mineral co" today to pick up some different substrate. More natural colors, and slightly larger than sand in texture. So that got me back to working on the 125 gallon that died (most of you have seen the threads about the crash). So after spending an hour washing the new sand, and some of the black I got last week, the tank is now set up and ready for me to start cycling for new fishes. As I mentioned in other threads, this tank will be cycled and run for a while before I put any fish of value into it. Right now it is full, has some plants, and some décor. The substrate is divided with black at one end and the natural fine gravel/sand at the other. Turned on the heater, and added the first dose of "Stability". After a week of the stability treatment, I will start adding pure ammonia and see how it goes.

Pics soon...
 
keman

keman

New Member
tankredux.jpg
 
keman

keman

New Member
It will get more plants as things progress. I have already done some minor re-arranging.. In the left front corner I have pans for some kind of tall planting. Then in the center area, some low ground cover... The middle where it goes from tan to black is actually about an inch and a half drop to the black sand. Can't really see it in a photo, but it really almost makes for two separate decors in one tank.
It will most likely be re-arranged several times before it gets fish.
 
keman

keman

New Member
redux3-1.jpg


The whole back wall is bubbles, and I am experimenting with a circulation pump (left side of image) I am thinking I'll add the Eheim pro3 on that end. I added a reactor chamber to the return on the big odyssea 11i, and it has slowed the flow down a little so adding the second filter will help keep debris off the bottom and up where the filters can pull it in.

More to come...
 
B

big01612

Guest
Looking great keman. Does your lights get brighter than that?
 
keman

keman

New Member
No new pics, but I did get the Eheim tested and full of good media. It will go on the tank tomorrow...
 
keman

keman

New Member
No fish in there yet. Still in the process of cycle. May toss a handful of feeders in there this weekend. No valuable fishes will see this tank until I get consistent good readings.
 
keman

keman

New Member
Looks like I will not be using the Eheim after all. It needs a new set of gasket rings, and a new inspection cap on the head. Got all the media out, cleaned, and drying. Picked up an APi/rena xp that should work fine.
 
keman

keman

New Member
New filter is on and running. This tank now has the odyssea 11i and a filstar XP-M. The filters are loaded with good media and are cycling. The 11i has purigen, chemi-pure (both after the main bio media), as well as the usual sponge and fiber. It outputs to a secondary media can with K1 that has room to tumble. The XP has the poly and foam pads as well as Prime Matrix, ceramic pearls and filstar bio-stars... Might be overkill, but I am a firm believer in over filtering a tank that will have large fish and revolving stock due to adding feeders weekly.

To help the cycle process I have added a hand full of feeders from our farm tanks. I will be monitoring the tank closely and post updates as it progresses.
 
keman

keman

New Member
Image-1.jpg


As of 12:40 PM 12/8/14 Crystal clear. Absolutely ZERO haze or cloudiness. Tests read zero across the board, so cycle is still waiting for enough ammonia to start building the bio...
 
ShortyKiloGyrl

ShortyKiloGyrl

Well-Known Member
Staff member
Looking awesome! Where did you buy your plants from. I need to make a HUGE plant purchase and I've been dragging my feet trying to find the best prices but I need them pretty darn soon.
 
keman

keman

New Member
ShortyKiloGyrl said:
Looking awesome! Where did you buy your plants from. I need to make a HUGE plant purchase and I've been dragging my feet trying to find the best prices but I need them pretty darn soon.
Click to expand...

Some came with tanks Katie and I have bought from members, some from Seattle_Aquarist, some came from Aquarium Co-op. The plants I added today came from the tank we bought from Morgan. I tend not to buy plants from stores, I prefer plants from fish keepers who have raised them in good tanks.

Today's plants are tied to wood, so they can be moved and cleaned easily.
 
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