Hi & help me set up a 125g

[wackbards]

Hi All, I'm a Snohomish county local who got back into fish ~1 year ago after 30 years.  I've been going deep down the Co-op rabbit hole, and now have a 20 long, a 40 breeder, and a 300 gallon pond I'm attempting to overwinter in a greenhouse. 

I've had the 40 breeder setup for about a year while I dial in on the plant & animal husbandry. Now with CO2, I'm feeling pretty dialed in on this setup.  However, I'm just bursting out of it, and I'm getting ready to transfer most of the fish & plant stock over to a 125g.  What I'm wishing to do is re-home my 3 pear gouramis, as the male is just super shy, and spooks even if I look at the tank from across the room.  With the expanded capacity, I'm looking to add angelfish and some jurupari's. I'm pretty new at this, but see my plan below.  I'm open to feedback on... everything!

 

here's the 40b that will seed the new 125g:

 

here's the layout & stocking plan for the new 125g.  The only fish stocking changes I've noted are the removal of the 3 gouramis, and the addition of angelfish and jurupari's:

[xXInkedPhoenixX]

WOW!  What a planner you are! Love it! Welcome to the forum @wackbards! I don't have any suggestions (though I'm sure you could add at least a couple more Hillstreams). I look forward to seeing this tank! 🙂 

[Schuyler]

Wow that's some impressive planning!

Do you already have that big rock and driftwood?

What kind of substrate are you planning to use in back and do you have a plan for keeping it separate from the black sand?

[wackbards]

I picked up a dozen bags of black Activ Flora black sand from the retail store.  I'm planning on using it as my one & only substrate.  Not sure if 12 bags will be enough, but we'll see how it looks here in a couple days. The 40B started with Flourite, that I eventually capped with the Activ Flora, but that was a pain...  The rock & wood I already have.  I ended up pulling most of the wood out as the plants took over, but the rock is still TDC in the 40b.  You can see it in the pic above with a Annubias growing out of it.  It's gotta be at least a square foot.  I currently have it stuck in the substrate at an angle, but I think I'll lay it more flat with pieces of driftwood poking out from underneath.  But, again, I'm a total noob at aquascaping.  I can't even hang a picture without making my wife frown.

[JJenna]

Hey Wack, welcome to the forums. I think it's great that you drew out a plan! Once I get fish settled in my tank, I'll start rethinking my set-up and what you've done has inspired me, appreciate that. 

[TheSwissAquarist]

Welcome to the forum! Maybe add a few more Siamese Algae Eaters (SAE) because of the large tank and amount of plants.

Keep us posted on how it does!!

[wackbards]

Well, my filtration plan will have to change. The rim of the tank is too wide for even the AC70. I think I'll go for a tidal 110 & an additional sponge filter instead of the AC50 & AC70.

[CorydorasEthan]

@wackbards Welcome to the forum, your tank looks awesome! My pearl gourami used to do the same exact thing, but over time he's gotten a lot more confident and approaches the front of the tank when I walk by.

[wackbards]

Filling/leveling. Dead level, but it still feels kind of terrifying. The carpet has to get compressed kind of progressively, so I'm filling a little, adjusting shims, checking level, filling a bit more...

Edited November 27, 2022 by wackbards
Upside down photos

[Schuyler]

On 11/27/2022 at 12:14 PM, wackbards said:

Filling/leveling. Dead level, but it still feels kind of terrifying. The carpet has to get compressed kind of progressively, so I'm filling a little, adjusting shims, checking level, filling a bit more...

The forum needs a shocked or wow reaction...

That is huge! So jealous! (But also not jealous of the those water changes)

[wackbards]

Let the contamination begin! 

1) hair algae

2) blackbeard algae

3) scuds

4) snails

5) hydra

6) duckweed (sigh)

[MattyM]

Good luck, It'll be amazing! I have some Glolight danios - super fun fish, but watch out, they are jumpers! 

Edited November 28, 2022 by MattyM

[wackbards]

Let's talk cycling. So far:

Declorinated the water, heated to 75*F, added a 16 oz jug of fritz bacteria. Tidal 110 is running with some seasoned bio rings, seasoned filter floss, sponge & some crushed coral. Kh & Dh are both at about 5, ph neutral. Grabbed a seasoned sponge filter out of the pond. I dosed 1ml/10 gal of easy green yesterday, and today register 0ppm nitrate. Hit it with another 1ml/10 gal easy green today. Planted some val from the pond with root tabs, and brought over some driftwood from the 40b with some moss & ferns. Tossed in some floating Brazilian pennywort for kicks. Tossed in some rapashy for the scuds, snails & bacteria. I can only plant half the tank now, since I'll have to steal the other light from the 40b.

 

Question: should I keep dosing easy green until I can measure nitrates in the water?

[Patrick_G]

Congratulations on the big new tank! Now you can have ALL the fish! 
 

I’d add another 12-13ml of Easy Green to get things started, but don’t go overboard since you’re very lightly planted for now. With all that seasoned media I also be adding some fish right away. Maybe throw those rainbows there along with some Corydoras? 

 

[wackbards]

Yeah, I'm thinking of moving over the danios first, but it's going to be hard to catch them! Maybe tomorrow, just so I can make sure the TDS parameters are all stable. 

 

Also... this is crazy, but I could use the light from the 40b on the new tank if I put it on at night... I could run the new tank with the lights on at night for a few days while I move over all the plants.

[Patrick_G]

On 11/28/2022 at 3:48 PM, wackbards said:

Also... this is crazy, but I could use the light from the 40b on the new tank if I put it on at night... I could run the new tank with the lights on at night for a few days while I move over all the plants.

What are you using for a light right now? I see your plan is to use one Fluval 3.0. 

[wackbards]

I have 1 36" fluval 3 on the new tank, and another 36" on the 40b. I'll run both of them on the new tank, since it's 6'. I just couldn't afford a whole extra light only for transition $$$

[Kamen_Kaiju]

Edited November 29, 2022 by Kamen_Kaiju

[redfish]

Awesome intro into the forum.  Looking forward to seeing how all this turns out!

[wackbards]

[wackbards]

 

Fish are in, plants are growing! Val is sending runners & blooming. I'm going to give it a few weeks until I introduce  geophagus just to give the plants a fighting chance to root. 

[wackbards]

Something must be working right...

 

[TheSwissAquarist]

Congrats on the spawn! What are you planning to do with it? 

[wackbards]

I think I'm just going to let it happen. I don't have any way to deal with raising Angel fry right now.

[wackbards]

Vary stable tank! Big is easy. Water change about every 3 weeks at this point.