Go with the bigger tank. The greater the volume of water, the more stable your parameters will be.
New to Aquariums, buying either a 125 gallon or 250 gallon. Need some help
- Thread starter Mizraw
- Start date
Definitely Freshwater. It will take YEARS for you to get bored with freshwater, IMO. I just started a year ago, and I'm nowhere near experienced enough for half of the freshwater fish, much less salties. Get whichever tank you like, but on the first trip, AVOID TEMPTATION. Any living thing you buy now will just die, so only get what you need to start cycling. Do not buy fish, plants, or decorations on the first trip!
ONLY BUY:
Tank & stand
Substrate or gravel
Filters (one canister & one HOB)
Water test kit
Ammonia meter
Water conditioner product
Biozyme/Stress Zyme or other bacteria product
Small bottle of Ammonia
Maybe a Power Head
FIRST DAY: assemble tank, put in substrate/gravel, mount & plumb filters & powerhead, add water & water conditioner, and start pumping. Hang Ammonia/pH meter.
SECOND DAY: check chlorine & pH levels with kit, add more conditioner if necessary, then add Bacteria product (wait 15 min if you added more conditioner). Add Ammonia slowly until meter starts to change color, then stop (it takes time to change, you should only need a little Ammonia). Let cycle for at least a week or two with all filters in place and running so your Ammonia-eating bacterial colonies can get started. They are like another fish you have to keep alive. Remember, only water & substrate at this point! Check water levels daily until they are correct. BE PATIENT!!!! Give it time, not chemicals.
Use this time to do A LOT of research on what fish you want, what decor you want, plants, etc. After a week or 2 of cycling, if your levels & temp are good, buy a Pleco/bottom feeder of some kind. If he lives, then get a SMALL Catfish or two. Wait a week, then get 3 or 4 more small top-swimming fish (tiger barbs or tetras or whatever). Let your tank run like this for a few weeks, then buy the stars of your tank (cichlids or whatever key fish you wanted to begin with). You get to start with a hell of a tank, so dont screw it up!
ONLY BUY:
Tank & stand
Substrate or gravel
Filters (one canister & one HOB)
Water test kit
Ammonia meter
Water conditioner product
Biozyme/Stress Zyme or other bacteria product
Small bottle of Ammonia
Maybe a Power Head
FIRST DAY: assemble tank, put in substrate/gravel, mount & plumb filters & powerhead, add water & water conditioner, and start pumping. Hang Ammonia/pH meter.
SECOND DAY: check chlorine & pH levels with kit, add more conditioner if necessary, then add Bacteria product (wait 15 min if you added more conditioner). Add Ammonia slowly until meter starts to change color, then stop (it takes time to change, you should only need a little Ammonia). Let cycle for at least a week or two with all filters in place and running so your Ammonia-eating bacterial colonies can get started. They are like another fish you have to keep alive. Remember, only water & substrate at this point! Check water levels daily until they are correct. BE PATIENT!!!! Give it time, not chemicals.
Use this time to do A LOT of research on what fish you want, what decor you want, plants, etc. After a week or 2 of cycling, if your levels & temp are good, buy a Pleco/bottom feeder of some kind. If he lives, then get a SMALL Catfish or two. Wait a week, then get 3 or 4 more small top-swimming fish (tiger barbs or tetras or whatever). Let your tank run like this for a few weeks, then buy the stars of your tank (cichlids or whatever key fish you wanted to begin with). You get to start with a hell of a tank, so dont screw it up!
well financially the best deal is the bigger tank- you get alot more tank. dont let big tanks scare you! if you are new to fishkeeping, you may want to start with freshwater.
with a tank that large, you would want to make sure you have a sump underneath. is this a custom tank? used? will it be drilled for a sump? is it glass or acrylic?
what kind of fish do you like? give us a list and we can help you with the stock. i would go with SA/CA fish-add in some big chunks of malaysian driftwood.
if i were you this is where i would start- get a large sump for underneath it. put your titanium heaters in the sump (i keep my heaters in the sumps). i would throw a fluval FX5 underneath also for mechanical filtration. get a few powerheads to move water around.
buy a freshwater test kit-not the cheap strips of paper but a real test kit.
I use Prime as a water conditioner. id use sand as a substrate -but thats just me (pool filter sand is cheap)
with a tank that large, you would want to make sure you have a sump underneath. is this a custom tank? used? will it be drilled for a sump? is it glass or acrylic?
what kind of fish do you like? give us a list and we can help you with the stock. i would go with SA/CA fish-add in some big chunks of malaysian driftwood.
if i were you this is where i would start- get a large sump for underneath it. put your titanium heaters in the sump (i keep my heaters in the sumps). i would throw a fluval FX5 underneath also for mechanical filtration. get a few powerheads to move water around.
buy a freshwater test kit-not the cheap strips of paper but a real test kit.
I use Prime as a water conditioner. id use sand as a substrate -but thats just me (pool filter sand is cheap)
For the price the 250 is a much better deal, although the price of the 125 isn't bad.
I would definitely go with freshwater. Although I would go for the 250, a 125 is still a decently large tank. It really depends on some different factors.....for one, do you have room for a 250? If so I would say go for it!
I would definitely go with freshwater. Although I would go for the 250, a 125 is still a decently large tank. It really depends on some different factors.....for one, do you have room for a 250? If so I would say go for it!
250g. definitely. but if you are not used to fish tanks its going to look like an elephant in your house 
I would say that owning each tank puts you in different worlds. With the 125 gal, you can probably get away with two people carrying it, whenever you need to move it. With a 250 gal you will need a minimum of 4 people to safely move it. With a 250g, you may need to provide reinforcement under the floor and align the tank across the floor beams, not parallel to it. If you want plants in a 250g, it will be expensive and hard to find the proper lighting fixture(s).
As far as filtration, definitely make a W/D sump regardless of tank choice.
I would advise going with freshwater initially, because mistakes are a lot cheaper with freshwater. Not to mention, you'll be able to develop a lot of good habits on what needs to be done to keep your tank healthy while you have the freshwater. Then when you do start a salt water its not such a big learning curve.
I went from owning two 55 gal for 4 years, then I recently got a 200gal. Owning such a large tank is very different from owning a smaller 55 gal. in ways that I never expected. Although, I am glad I made the switch to a bigger tank. If given the chance (& money) I would have gotten a larger tank earlier.
As far as filtration, definitely make a W/D sump regardless of tank choice.
I would advise going with freshwater initially, because mistakes are a lot cheaper with freshwater. Not to mention, you'll be able to develop a lot of good habits on what needs to be done to keep your tank healthy while you have the freshwater. Then when you do start a salt water its not such a big learning curve.
I went from owning two 55 gal for 4 years, then I recently got a 200gal. Owning such a large tank is very different from owning a smaller 55 gal. in ways that I never expected. Although, I am glad I made the switch to a bigger tank. If given the chance (& money) I would have gotten a larger tank earlier.
