# 125 gallon aquarium



## Petfairy (Jul 17, 2006)

This is only a beginning, i havent had a chance to get new lights or the CO2 tank filled. But i figured i might as well start now with this thread, you know, to get ideas, suggestions ect.
The following are some pics i took while getting it set up. Its still in its very early stages. Right now, there is only sand, water and wood in the tank.
I have a Rena Filstar XP3 running on the tank. I havent decided on what to do about ferts, im new in that area. I have a 5 lb CO2 tank, and all of the needed attatchments already, not set up yet, as i dont have the CO2. And, there wouldnt be a need for me to have CO2 if i dont have plants yet. And i dont have plants in it yet, because i dont have the proper lights. The lighting i have now is producing .48 wpg.. no need in running those right now anyway.
So.. on with the current pics.









Sand









Filling









Full









with wood, this isnt really where i am keeping it, but i just put it there.. just because.









Thanks for looking. Its not much to look at right now, but i noticed a lot of people like seeing the beginning of the process. So.. here is the beginning, more pics to come as i change things, and get things going.


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## Jdinh04 (Oct 7, 2004)

I think its best if you gather everything you need together and start it all at once. Its really hard to suggest things when you haven't yet have everything you need to sucessfully start your own planted tank.


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## Petfairy (Jul 17, 2006)

Sorry...


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## K20A2 (Aug 12, 2006)

120G... Nice. Very nice indeed.


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## Petfairy (Jul 17, 2006)

please understand that i havent ASKED for any advice, suggestions or critique. I only started a thread. I did this because i assume in the near future i will either change something and take another picture. or i will have a question and need a suggestion then. But right now, i dont need anything except for new lights and my CO2 tank filled. And i dont have questions about that. 

So, thank you for looking.


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## Steven_Chong (Mar 17, 2005)

I assume the tank is also going to be somewhere else in the end? Just that you want to be able to control the amount of natural sunlight the tank gets-- most prefer to just avoid exposure to the sun. I would guess you're not planning to have the curtains closed all the time.

Also, from a photographer's perspective, there are a few reasons why taking tank quality photos of a tank in this location would be difficult-- not necessarily saying that taking good photos has to be of importance.


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## Petfairy (Jul 17, 2006)

There isnt enough direct light coming through the window to cause any algea problems. As for taking pictures, i usually take them when its dark out. I had thought about both of those when choosing a location. If i dont want the couch in the picture, i can move it. The curtains will be open at all times unless i want to close them, or come up with a reason to need to close them. So yes, the tank is staying there.


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## Laith (Sep 4, 2004)

120g... nice! Big tanks are great though they do cost an arm and a leg to get good plant density into them.

Keep us up to date with progress!


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## Petfairy (Jul 17, 2006)

I have a lot of plants i will be using in my 20 gallon. They are simple plants. just narroe leaf hygro, sunset hygro, rotola rotundifolia, and water sprite.
Ill be getting other plants too, just not sure what i want yet.
The thing is, that i want to be able to still see out of the windows through the tank. so the aquascape is going to be really different. I plan on doing a main decor in the middle, but i plan on shifting it to one side more than the other, so its off center. I need to make sure the wood in the middle of the windows are covered by plants. I have an idea of what i want to do, but its not really planned out very well at this point. But i do have the general idea.
Then, on the sides, there will be more plants and they will kind of frame the windows. I want the narrow leaf hygro in the middle, but i think that the flow from the filter will push it to one side. So that may not work. ill have to play with it once i get lights and the CO2 filled.


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## redstrat (Apr 3, 2006)

not trying to be overly critical here but I have to agree with greenmiddlefinger here. That seems like an awfully large ammount of light that could come in from the window there and once that tank is full you wont want to move it. I have only had one tank near a window and it was off to the side, of a north facing window and algae was a PITA. I'll never put a tank near a window again, let alone in front of one. Seems like if you still want to see out of the window then you would put the tank elsewhere and leave yourself some aquascaping flexibility while your at it. Its really up to you though. Otherwise the tank sounds like its going to be pretty sweet keep us posted.


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## SKSuser (Mar 20, 2006)

Is that an east window? It seems like it from the shadows across the street....

I had a friend with a similarly placed setup in Blue Springs. He was a heel when it comes to aquarium care. I don't think he ever did a water change on that thing. There wasn't too awful much algae though.

Do you plan on trying to compliment the landscaping outside, or just ignore it from an artistic standpoint. Also, will you play around with the relationship between the archatectural feature of the window and the inside of the tank when viewed from certain angles, or is that not part of the scheme either.

I think where you're placing it (even if challenging) is neat, and have had many plans for odd placement myself. When I have a bigger area to work with, I'd like to have tanks that stand on their own merit, and also tanks that go along with the decor. I know some purists won't like that last idea, but hey.... if I'm going to make something beautiful, it might as well compliment the room its in. ;-)


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## DataGuru (Mar 11, 2005)

I have my 125 natural planted tank in front of two south windows on purpose. It only has two watts per gallon over it, but in the winter gets full sun. The plants thrive and now that the tank is well established, I don't have the issues with hair algae that it once had. I wish I had more windows! LOL

So how much light will you put over it?


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## Petfairy (Jul 17, 2006)

SKSuser-When i get the whole thing going, lights and CO2, ill plan it out more. But what i initially want to do is "cover" the middle of the windows with plants in an off center kind of way. Still wanting to see outside, i will have to work with the landscaping and what not from there. A lot of crap has been going on and i havent had time to do much. I lost my job and im having car issues, so its all about money and time at the moment.

DataGuru- For lighting i have no idea. I did a test, i placed plants along the back of the tank to see if the light from the window would be any if enough to make them grow or even stay alive. They dont grow much if any, but they are staying alive. So, im thinking that i wont need much light for the plants i am using. Im thinking id like to stay around or over 2wpg, nothing less though.


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## gabeszone (Jan 22, 2006)

Im sorry to hear you lost your job! Good luck with your tank and post some new picture soon. If you put a black background on your tank then light wont be able to hit that much and you will have less alage.


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