new 125gallon tank.....some questions

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
S

sin01bst

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Nov 27, 2007
72
0
0
CINCINNATI
ok so i got a 125gallon tank used from a buddy at work. for the last 5 years it has been setup as a saltwater reef tank. i cleaned everything out really well and finally got it set back up again. heres my setup and ill get to the questions in a minute. the tank is drilled and has a 55 gallon wet/dry sump with two return pumps. i have two penguin 330 hob filters that im putting on also, and are planning on having two powerheads with pvc tubes with sponge filters on them. how does that sound for filtration?
the heater that my friend gave me with the setup doesnt seem to be heating up. what would be the minimum wattage heater that i could use? 200-300 watt heater.
also i was wondering since i see many people that have no gravel in their large tanks.............why? i might put some gravel in today but i wanted to see why this is. here is a bad camera phone pic.
12-19-07_1758.jpg
 
Nice looking tank. I prefer sand, but it is a matter of choice. Bare bottom tanks are just easier to maintain. Sounds like you have a good idea for your system. Keep us updated with pics.
 
Bare bottom is easy to clean, but has less surface are for bio load-->A sump will take care of the bio load without a problem.
As for heating, it depends on the ambient room temperature. I would recommend a 350watt heater at least if the ambient temp is 60-75. Lower ambient temp, higher wattage. Higher ambient temp, lower wattage.
As a rule of thumb though, go with two (slightly) smaller heaters rather than one large heater.
 
thanks for all the insight. i picked up two 200 watt heaters so now the temp is on the up as we speak. we will see in the morning what the temp is up to. i have a penguin 330 hob cycling on my established 75 gallon tank now and will transfer it over to the 125 in the morning(been cycling on the 75 for 3days). and transfer to the 125 a powerhead with a sponge filter thats been in the 75 for 3months. also have the 55gallon sump wet/dry and another penguin 330 hob on the 125gallon since setup. when i setup the wet/dry on the 125gallon i used some of the bio balls that have been in my 75 gallon wet/dry sump for at least 3months and the rest were brand new, never used. so overall on the 125gallon i will have the 55gallon wet/dry sump and 2 penguin 330 hob with bio media inserts and one or two powerheads with filters. so as long as the water tests good tomorrow im going to add my 8inch tiger oscar and let him test the waters out with a couple of feeders in there. do you guys/gals think i have the filtration up to snuff. im also going to go look tomorrow at local landscaping places for some big pieces of wood for the 125gallon. i will try to take some pictures tomorrow. i also just got my little 4 inch silver arowanna home last night. hopefully he will grow out into the 125 in a couple of months and be monster worthy.
 
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