# Craigo's 125 Gallon Tank Build



## Craigo

Ok, so I've gone a bit crazy about this business of keeping fish. Since I was laid off from my job last January - and I can't go out and ride my PWC in the cold Seattle wetness - I have stocked up a 10 gallon, a 29 gallon and now I have taken on a huge 125 gallon aquarium project. I've got two weeks to complete the build - before I return to work. *pc

I found a local guy (on my list) who offered up his 5 year old Acrylic Seaclear 125 gallon tank for $200.00. I thought it was a good deal - so I took it off his hands for him. It had been set up as a coral reef tank - and there's going to be a lot of elbow grease to get this tank how I need it. *pc ...

I need to remove the coralline from the acrylic, polish it up, mount a couple of bio filters, mount some heaters, mount some lighting, build a stand, aqua-scape it, and add some freshwater fishes. *H2 Have I gone insane? 

Step 1) So tomorrow I'm going to attempt to remove the coralline from the tank and get it cleaned up.

Pics to come... *pc


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## drunkenbeast

Nice! cant wait to see how this comes along


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## Crazy

That sounds like an awsome build, you going with any plants?


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## jrman83

I just keep hearing the sound of a cash register in the background....left there from back when I bought my 2-125s.  I spent $3k on each one.


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## Summer

Sounds great!! Take progress pics!


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## Craigo

Here are some before and after shots of the preliminary cleaning - I have to get more vinegar in order to finish removing the coralline. I got 70% of it off with my pressure washer. 

Before - 



















After -










Looks pretty damn good - no stress cracking! *w3


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## Ranger

If the holes were for a sump you could always get your own sump and do your filtration from there so you don't have a filter on show.

And if you get a decent return pump you could stick your water heater in there also so it is not on show in the main tank.


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## Craigo

jrman83 said:


> I just keep hearing the sound of a cash register in the background....left there from back when I bought my 2-125s.  I spent $3k on each one.


Did I not mention that this is a budget build? *r2 The sound of the register comes from my other hobbies.  I've already spend the price of this tank in one piston for my RXP this winter. 

So far $200+$75+$55= $330.00 




Ranger said:


> If the holes were for a sump you could always get your own sump and do your filtration from there so you don't have a filter on show.
> 
> And if you get a decent return pump you could stick your water heater in there also so it is not on show in the main tank.


It's probably what I should be doing, and I've actually changed course from my original post - and will likely leave the sump in place and run the water level short of the overflow. I'll likely put aeration in the sump. Probably still a dumb idea - I just don't know enough about this stuff. *pc

I'm thinking Ram Cichlid tank? <<< beaslbob likes that Idea - 'cause it would require lots of plants. *pc


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## jbrown5217

looking forward to this build, I bet it will be awesome


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## Craigo

jbrown5217 said:


> looking forward to this build, I bet it will be awesome


Thanks! 

What do you think I should put in it? Maybe Oscars? *pc


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## Craigo

I found these on the porch this morning. 



















*w3


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## jbrown5217

I say put what you want in it, that is personal preference. I can tell you what I would do, but it might be totally different than what you have in mind. If you want oscars get oscars.


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## Craigo

jbrown5217 said:


> I can tell you what I would do, but it might be totally different than what you have in mind.


I don't know what I want to do with it - that is why I'm looking for suggestions. *c/p*


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## jbrown5217

Alright, I'd probably do small fish in schools of at least 10.

I'd probably stock it something like

10+ rasboras
10+ neon or cardinal tetras
10+ Danios (probably celestial pearl)
a couple smaller plecos (4" - 6") or one slightly larger pleco (I know of one that gets to 7" and a couple others that get to 11")
1 gourami 
1 redtail shark

And I think that is where I would stop stocking gives everything plenty of room and it would create a cool looking tank


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## Craigo

Well, the coralline is gone - now it just needs to be brought back to life. 










Step 2) - time for a polishing!


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## Crazy

I keep Oscars and I can say they are great fish with a Huge personality, but teammates are hard to find. What I like is that they are never hiding and great to watch. Oh yeah and live feeding is always fun with a big fish!


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## piklmike

Craigo said:


> Here are some before and after shots of the preliminary cleaning - I have to get more vinegar in order to finish removing the coralline. I got 70% of it off with my pressure washer.
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> Looks pretty damn good - no stress cracking! *w3


OMG! QUICK SELL IT BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE!!!!!!!!!!


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## Craigo

piklmike said:


> OMG! QUICK SELL IT BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE!!!!!!!!!!


Why? Whats wrong with it?


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## piklmike

Craigo said:


> Why? Whats wrong with it?


ADDICTION!!!


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## Craigo

piklmike said:


> ADDICTION!!!


Gotcha. I thought you saw something wrong with my tank.


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## jrman83

Sounds like both of you may have taken each other out of context.


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## snail

Hey, I was kind of interested in the build but everyone kind of got nasty out of no where. Is there any chance of just deleting this thread and seeing the build from the start.... please


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## jrman83

I removed the bickering stuff. If it starts up again will just have to close the thread.


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## Craigo

I started out doing a quick buffing on the tank to find considerable pitting from the coral. It didn't take long to discover the need for some fairly deep sanding. So I started in with the 800 grit, then to the 1000 grit and finally the 1500 grit. The rubbing compound I have effectively removes 1200 grit and finer scratches. After about 5 hours of sanding and 3 hours of buffing - I'm finally at the finish polishing stage. *pc


















Sanding -








Buffing -









With the aforementioned process, this -










- turned into this ... *pc










The tank is looking pretty good - it just needs a finish polishing!


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## Rob72

done a great job bringing it back to live, looking forward to seeing the rest of the progress of this great job so far


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## snail

Looks good, have you decided what to stock it with yet?


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## Craigo

snail said:


> Looks good, have you decided what to stock it with yet?


I'm not 100% sure about what to stock it with yet, though I'm leaning toward a couple of mated pair of blue rams, some angel fish and some schooling fishes.

Next I'll be working on getting the polishing finished up and the overflow sump blocked up to the outlet.


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## Crazy

To be honest if the tank is already outfitted for it I would go ahead and use a sump filter. I have one on my 55g and it is way better than any HOB I have tried.


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## Craigo

Worked hard on the tank today. Got the tank polished and got the stand up. *w3


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## drunkenbeast

wow looking really nice, some nice work put into this tank!


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## jrman83

Very nice job! What are the dimensions of that tank?


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## Craigo

jrman83 said:


> Very nice job! What are the dimensions of that tank?


Thanks man! 

It's a 60"x24"x18".


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## jbrown5217

Me Gusta


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## jrman83

Craigo said:


> Thanks man!
> 
> It's a 60"x24"x18".


The 24" is the depth (front to back), right?

18" is height?


I thought that it looked a little shorter than the 125s I own. If those dimensions are correct, the tank is only a 110g....at least by my calculation.


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## mbrown2642

I vote for Oscars! They are like the fish version of a dog-so much personality and have seen some beautiful ones lately. What a great find that tank was.


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## Craigo

jrman83 said:


> The 24" is the depth (front to back), right?
> 
> 18" is height?
> 
> 
> I thought that it looked a little shorter than the 125s I own. If those dimensions are correct, the tank is only a 110g....at least by my calculation.


Height is 24" Depth is 18". Here is a link to the same aquarium >>> CLICK <<< I calculated 112 US gallons by the volume - but Seaclear calls it a 125 gallon tank. Marketing scam I guess.


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## Craigo

Inching forward with the build this weekend - I was able to install some decking, block off the sump, install insulating underlayment and do a fill test. Looks like my floor is sloped a bit - so I'm going to have to shim the stand. 














































Next I'll be finishing up the stand and installing the filtration system.


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## snail

My floor is uneven, I hate that! I even thought about making my stand uneven for the spot I wanted to put it but decided it would be a pain if I wanted to move it one day. Anyway, your build looks great.


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## Craigo

*pc


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## snail

That's looking great.


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## Craigo

Here are the latest pictures of the build. I finished construction on the stand (and you can tell that I'm not a carpenter), partially set up a sump filter (I'm still waiting for some bio-balls), added 100lbs of rock and sand to the tank, added grow lighting, installed two 200 watt heaters, installed a 400 GPH power head and added a couple of pellets to start the cycling process. 

Currently, (no pun intended) *r2 the water is being pumped into the main tank from the sump and flowing back to the sump via the overflow's 1-1/2" bulkhead and pvc piping at about 200 GPH. I'm controlling the flow with a ball valve. Once the bio-balls get here I'll be able to finish setting up the filtration system. *pc

The tank pictures are a bit hazy because there are some "fines" floating around. 





































I've spent more time hunting things down than I've spend setting up the tank. *pc


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## piklmike

yeppers you are "ADDICTED" ! Nice job for a "non carpenter".


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## dannyboy

hat looks really smart, can wait to see what you put in


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## Craigo

So, I came to the conclusion that I didn't want the overflow sump and removed it. After a few weekends of Dremmel work and some sanding and polishing - the tank is finally stocked up.  I transferred most of the fish from my 29 gallon into the 125 gallon and ended up getting some Angel Fish and Rams to add to the mix. Unfortunately - these are the best pictures I have of the final build. 














































Next - I'll be building a canopy for it and hopefully be getting better pictures.


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## Craigo

I had to do battle with internal parasites and Ich since my last posting. I lost my Rainbow Shark and my Flame Dwarf Gourami to the parasites*frown, but I did save the rest of my fish using PraziPro. I was also able to cure the Ich without losing any fish. 

Currently in the tank - (8) Electric Blue Rams (1) Marble Angel Fish (2) Lyre Tail Angel Fish (3) Electric Green Glo Fish Tetras (3) Bleeding Heart Tetras (3) Albino Colombian Tetras (10) Rummy Nose Tetras (5) Gold Barbs (1) Royal Pleco & (1) Albino Bristle-nose Pleco 

I still haven't gotten around to building a canopy - just thought I'd post some updated pictures....


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## Nereus7

What's goin' on craigo! 

Not bad at all. I'm currently looking to do a 125 project.
I hope it turns out as good as yours. Hey if you havn't gotten
a patent on your stand cover I may just go ahead and help myself
to that idea. I've seen a million diy 2x4 stands but I've never seen 
anyone add the cover. That's slick man. You wouldn't think wrong of me 
if I kind of just borrowed the idea? Good job on the tank it's got me 
wanting to start mine NOW.. I hate waiting, it's like Christmas night
when you're a kid.. Later - Nereus


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## Craigo

Nereus7 said:


> What's goin' on craigo!
> Hey if you haven't gotten a patent on your stand cover I may just go ahead and help myself to that idea. I've seen a million diy 2x4 stands but I've never seen anyone add the cover.


Hey~!

You are welcome to use any ideas from this thread. As far as the stand goes - I just found a standard tank stand frame online and decided to "skin" it with some decking from Home Depot. I'm glad you like it. All of the similar builds using the same stand frame design (I found online) used plywood to skin their frames. I didn't like that idea - because the stands looked pretty cheesy when completed. The decking idea also added to the structural integrity of the stand. The hatch door was something I added out of convenience - I'm not a cabinet maker. 

When I attached the decking to the frame - I spaced the decking pieces by placing a couple of 8 penny nails between them. I then used some finishing nails to attach the "spaced" decking onto the frame - and then I removed the spacing nails. Of course I mitered the ends for fitment. The unfinished decking and the spacing between boards allows the material to breath. The stand doesn't trap moisture, and it will quickly dry if it gets wet. 

When I was done with the stand build - I decided to add some adhesive Velcro strips to keep the hatch door closed. I also added some to the hinges to keep the hatch door open - although it looks pretty ugly ... it works ... *r2


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## Craigo

*6 Months Later*

*w2 Here is a photo update! ... 6 months after start of build ... *pc


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## coralbandit

very nice! Love the discus.Good build for "non-carpenter",very nice!


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## jbrown5217

This tank looks fantastic


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## Craigo

coralbandit said:


> very nice! Love the discus.Good build for "non-carpenter",very nice!





jbrown5217 said:


> This tank looks fantastic


You guys are to kind! - especially considering the algae I've neglected to keep up on. *y2

It's amazing to be able to have this thread so I can document the progression of the tank - a lot can happen in 6 months. I went Ram crazy for awhile then decided to see if I could find discus in the area - as none of the LFS carry them. Fortunately (for me but not my pocket book) I found MacsDiscus.com on a google search. This place is only 15 minutes away and the supplier lets me in to pick out my own discus'!!! *w3 

Since my last posting in July I added the canister filter with a built in UV sterilizer and some amethyst geodes. I added some angel fish, Bolivian Rams, German Blue Rams and Discus. In the past 2 weeks I've pulled Bolivian Ram and Lyre Tail Angel spawn from the tank and have them in a 20 gallon nursery tank. I will eventually get around to building a canopy. *r2


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## goldie

Craigo said:


> You guys are to kind! - especially considering the algae I've neglected to keep up on. *y2
> 
> It's amazing to be able to have this thread so I can document the progression of the tank - a lot can happen in 6 months. I went Ram crazy for awhile then decided to see if I could find discus in the area - as none of the LFS carry them. Fortunately (for me but not my pocket book) I found MacsDiscus.com on a google search. This place is only 15 minutes away and the supplier lets me in to pick out my own discus'!!! *w3
> 
> Since my last posting in July I added the canister filter with a built in UV sterilizer and some amethyst geodes. I added some angel fish, Bolivian Rams, German Blue Rams and Discus. In the past 2 weeks I've pulled Bolivian Ram and Lyre Tail Angel spawn from the tank and have them in a 20 gallon nursery tank. I will eventually get around to building a canopy. *r2


Iv'e been following this . Wow what a transformation and yes I too think the Discus are beautiful. That moss type plant. Is it Java Moss that iv'e seen quite a few posts about


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## Craigo

goldie said:


> That moss type plant. Is it Java Moss that iv'e seen quite a few posts about


Yeah, the mossy stuff in the tank is Java moss. A couple of days before the above pictures I cut out about 80 percent of it. The stuff grows fast!!!


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