Ideas for my 125 - open to all

[Skyeler]

i consider myself lucky to have a 125 in my room as i am 17.

uno probelmo though.

theres not much to it!

ive had this east of a tank for the past year and its seen

-guppies
-goldfish
-one pleco
-a tadpole (that turned into a frog then dissapeared. i still dont know where he is)
-a lesser spiny eel
and the best of all (drumroll please).......

a newt! that also dissapeared.

and then an ice storm hit and killed my fish over a period of 3 days.
i had no fish

but then i got some gold fish (3)
and some guppies (6)-all boys

its very unappealing to me having a monster tank with no monster fish or anything of that sort. (i want something cooler than a goldfish)

Current setup:

two power filters on either side
ten gallon hood serving as lights
a few (3) heaters
two inches of sand
a couple rocks (2 inch diameter)
thats about it.
unless you count the pitiful pitiful two plants.

here are a couple pics of what my tank looks like.

HELP ME-------- im open to any ideas and questions

 

[L~C~G]

I would start with anything that eats guppies and goldfish. Then you don`t have to worry about re-homing them ;-)

 

[jeffers]

i would take out some sand, add a couple cannister filters, get some acrylic or glass to go on top and hinge part for a lid so you dont have any jumpers, then think about adding the fish. just go through some of the different media threads then research your favorites.

 

[jeffers]

oh yeah sorry for double posting but get rid of those small heaters and get a 300watt heater in there. one plug instead of three

 

[those1]

First to make for better inexpensive lighting go to walmart and get a 4 foot shop light that you can run one aquarium bulb and one daylight bulb in. I run mine like this and it really helps show of different colors to your fish depending on how and where they are swimming in the tank. Judging by what you have in the tank and how you stock it you arnt able to spend lots on decor not a problem. Another cheap but effective way to add more excitement to your tank is by adding some clay pots from a store that sells plants (walmart works here as well.) next go to a hardware store (lowes, home depo, ect) enter their pluming department and find yourself some caves i rather like the large elbows myself but anyways with both of these make sure you take a new sponge and clean them before using them in your tank. Another good thing to add is some drift wood from your lfs it can be pricey but besides looking nice it also helps keep your ph under control and gives your pleco something to eat so they can grow big. While your at the lfs browse what they have in the tanks and see what catches your eye and is in your price range. hope this helps

 

[festerfish]

ya beef up your filtration, i bet the tadpole climed out lol. than find a theme like amazon, or african rift, brachish, acid blackwater ,ect than find out what species you can have.

 

[festerfish]

[ Another good thing to add is some drift wood from your lfs it can be pricey but besides looking nice it also helps keep your ph under control and gives your pleco something to eat so they can grow big.

drift would if your fish like a low Ph cause the would secreats acid when it decays. my servrums love the low ph. but it limits the type of fish i can have. if i had another 125g tank id do a african rift tank.

 

[Skyeler]

L~C~G: ha. i was planning on it.
jeffers: would fiber glass top work? think cheap and easy
those1: hey thanks! i wasnt teven thinking about that but that works!. could i mount it inside the canopy that i plan on building? cost isnt an issue btw. i just havent had the slightest clue of what to put in it. all i know is that i have like three little castles, a tree, a couple small decoratoins but i know i dont want them. they belong in a childs betta bowl lol. i want to go the natural route very badly so i think it will e cost effective and easier but idk.
festerfish: how about you beef up my wallet and then ill beef up my filtration. lol. nice suggestion with the themes though. i think i want amazon. that shouldnt be too hard.

 

[Skyeler]

fish suggestions?

 

[Valous]

I am still learning about the fish that go with the amazon set up. but with 125 you can do alot. as far a filtration on a budget look into ebay. if you bought those power filters brand new then you prob could have got a cheap canister off ebay for the same price. but for now they are a good start along as you keep your stock low. As far for fish, are you looking for aggressive or community?