New 125g build...my first 'monster' tank (and a story!)

[rsanz85]

Nice build, especially the aquascaping. Question: are you able to hide the fx-6 in the stand?

No, unfortunately there are no doors on the chest. The only way to open the chest is a top-hinged lid, and the tank is sitting on top so there's no way I'm getting in there, lol.

The filter is sitting beside the cabinet, and it's not too offensive. Now, when I set up the CO2, that will be an eyesore...

I will most likely build a wood "box" for the side of the cabinet to hide the filter/CO2 cylinder.

 

[Youngddh]

Nice Oscar

 

[Ninjouzata]

The oscar is stunning! Beautiful pictures

 

[rsanz85]

Nice Oscar

Thanks!

The oscar is stunning! Beautiful pictures

Thank you!

I'm a bit embarrassed to say that I am currently battling an ammonia/nitrite spike, believe it to be a mini cycle from adding the 9 Tapajos red heads at once, effectively doubling the bio load. 40% water changes every other day with daily Prime doses to detoxify the ammonia and nitrites in the water column. Still getting ammonia readings almost 1.5 weeks later... I'm hoping that it will be over soon. I did split some of the root tabs into pieces for the vallisneria plants, and I'm hoping that I didn't cause the mini cycle that way by my own dumb mistake. I just figured it the mini cycle would be over after almost 2 weeks.

I'll just continue to do water changes religiously until the ammonia and nitrite tests read 0...

 

[carbene]

i noticed you only "scrub" the rocks you found in your yard. i'd boil it or pour boiling water over it until it's hot enough just to be safe. that aside, your oscar looks just like mine. he/she a real wet pet though. i pet mine so much that it wont swim away when i try to lift it out of the pond lol

 

[fishguy306]

The tank is looking really nice! In the future are you worried about your oscar ripping up the plants?

Two comments for you, on the ammonia issue if I remember correctly Prime give a false positive on ammonia tests, so that could also be part of the issue. Did you use any of the same filter media from the 40 gal?

Second thing, it looks like this is a glass tank with plastic trim? If so the foam should have been skipped. It is not a reliable way to level a tank and tends to cause splitting. After all this work it may not be worth doing it over, however totally your call on deciding that risk.

 

[rsanz85]

i noticed you only "scrub" the rocks you found in your yard. i'd boil it or pour boiling water over it until it's hot enough just to be safe. that aside, your oscar looks just like mine. he/she a real wet pet though. i pet mine so much that it wont swim away when i try to lift it out of the pond lol

I did boil the rocks before I put them in my 40. They had been in my 40 for 4 years, so I just scrubbed them before transfering over to the 125 to get some of the algae/stuff off.

The tank is looking really nice! In the future are you worried about your oscar ripping up the plants?

Two comments for you, on the ammonia issue if I remember correctly Prime give a false positive on ammonia tests, so that could also be part of the issue. Did you use any of the same filter media from the 40 gal?

Second thing, it looks like this is a glass tank with plastic trim? If so the foam should have been skipped. It is not a reliable way to level a tank and tends to cause splitting. After all this work it may not be worth doing it over, however totally your call on deciding that risk.

I am getting both ammonia and nitrite readings, so I am fairly sure it's a mini cycle. The ammonia level was lower today before the water change, so I'm hopeful that the mini cycle is coming to an end. No harm to foul to the fish, at least upon visual inspection. I'll keep up with the water changes until I get 0 ammonia and 0 nitrite. Nitrates are somewhere between 5 and 10.

I put plywood on top of the foam to give it a solid flat surface to sit on. The tank is not just on the foam. The top of the antique chest had many divots and low spots, and some exposed nails. I couldn't risk putting the tank on there even with the plastic frame. Do you still think the foam+plywood platform is a bad idea given the above?

 

[fishguy306]

Ahh, I just realized the tank isn't directly on the stand you built, that you had put the lid back on top resting on the stand. That does complicate things a bit more, I see what you mean. Honestly I don't have a solid answer for you. I'd like to think it'll be fine but I have no experience in this sort of situation.

 

[rsanz85]

Ahh, I just realized the tank isn't directly on the stand you built, that you had put the lid back on top resting on the stand. That does complicate things a bit more, I see what you mean. Honestly I don't have a solid answer for you. I'd like to think it'll be fine but I have no experience in this sort of situation.

Thanks for checking back in. Welp, I guess I'll be the guinea pig for this type of situation, lol. Hopefully I don't flood my basement...

 

[fishguy306]

Is the tank level side to side and front to back? No corners lower than the rest or gaps between the tank and plywood? In all honestly you should be fine as long as it is stable and flat, but obviously I dont want to promise anything lol