# Planning 125 gallon Planted Freshwater



## LightFusion (Jul 12, 2012)

Hello, I'm new to this forum and a beginner as far as aquariums go. 

A month ago my friend offered me a 6 foot long 125ish gallon tank. I decided to run with it as my 10 gallon tank just isn't doing it for me. I would like to do a planted setup but am a little hesitant to make the jump.

Here is my concept setup:

Tank: Its 6' by about 18.5" and 22" tall

Filter: Rena XP4 Canister

Lighting: One 250 watt Metal halide (because i have it) in the center and 2 doubleT5 florescent lights on each side.

Substrate: Black gravel(?) that is compatible for plants

Fish: (Very rough idea from what I've seen on the net, I really have no clue if this is even close to a list I can use yet)
4-5 Small Green Coy Catfish 
8-10 Cherry Barbs
4 Rainbowfish (boesemani or turquoise/ 1 male 3 female)
8-10 Nean Tetras
6-8 GloFish
4-5 Silver Hatchetfish

Plants: TBD

Here are a few questions I have:

1.) Do you think the lighting I listed would be enough for some good low-moderate light plants? If not any suggestions about supplementing my metal halide light? I would really like to use it if I can because its just sitting around the house, but I will change my mind if I need to. 

2.) If I use the 250watt metal halide how high should it be off the water? It puts out a lot of heat and I'm worried about baking the fish

3.) Do I need a lot of flow for this setup? I know the XP4 comes with a spray bar but I'm not sure how well it will circulate the water. I had the idea of having the intake in the center of the tank with 2 of something to blow water away from the center. Two power heads? (havn't looked into them at all)

4.) Am I missing anything major besides some sort of air bubbler deal?


Thanks in advance !!!


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## holly12 (Apr 21, 2011)

First, I am jealous! You have the exact tank I want.

Second, you are going to have a very lightly stocked tank! I like your choices - and you can probably put a few more in if you want. (Just not all at once of course, and after the cycling.)

Not sure on the lights, and I didn't see a filter/s mentioned. Any ideas for those?


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## zero (Mar 27, 2012)

you dont need air bubbles if you have a spray bar. just position it at one end of the tank and have it facing the surface of the water, it will add as much oxygen as needed. and with those fish you wont need much flow so just the spray bar will be fine. i would however add a small internal filter under the spray bar just to add to the filtration.


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## LightFusion (Jul 12, 2012)

Thanks for the input, I was planning on getting this Rena XP4 Canister filter, FILSTAR xP-XL - RENA

The box specs say 450 gallons/hour, but this website states that with all filter media its only 190 gallons/hour.

I will also increase the number of fish as I get things set up and running. I want to make sure the lighting I have will be enough for the plants before I go crazy with fish. 

Another thing I realized is I forgot to add a heater to the equation. 

Oh, and holly12, your tanks look awesome, I can only hope mine will look half that good when its done.


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## holly12 (Apr 21, 2011)

Awww thanks! I'm just using CFL bulbs on my tank, so it's considered "medium" light. And home made CO2 units.

I'm not sure on the filter, as I've never used canisters before. Maybe someone else could help with that part?


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