# 125 Gallon Tank Setup



## mjoycela

Hello all! Looking for help and suggestions on my new 125 gallon setup.

I recently acquired a 125 gallon tank (6'L x 1.5'W x 2'D) with a stand, canopy, 2 Fluval 404 filters, several inches of substrate, 2 large pieces of driftwood, various plastic and silk plants (which I discarded, ugly), a heater, air pump, etc...

The tank contained a couple angel fish, guppies and a clown loach which are now in my 90 gallon along with 5 striped barbs, a pearl gourami and a synodontis catfish. It has a few minor scratches and the top of the tank appears to have been reinforced by someone who spread a lot of silicone and added additional glass bracing.

Seeing that it was holding water do I need to worry about resealing it? I think it looks alright.

The big question? I want to drill it for filtration purposes, should I? I have 2 x 1 1/2" bulkheads and 2 bits to drill it.

Where should the holes be drilled in relation to the back wall of the tank? How many inches down and over from the edge? I know it should be at least 1", but is 3", 4", 5" ok?

Should I also drill return ports or just use over the back returns?

Should I run 2 x 30 gallon DIY wet/dry filters along with the Fluval 404's? Is that too much? I have an Eshopps overflow box but I don't like the noise and the size of it.

So, I now want to turn this into a freshwater community aquarium of schooling fish. I want as much of the following as possible: barbs galore (tinfoil, tiger, denison), american flagfish, danios, corycats, pleco(s), oto's, reticulated hillstream loach, badis, peacock gudgeon...etc...

A lot of info and a lot of questions... Thanks in advance for any help!

Pictures to follow shortly.


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## coralbandit

Great how to video on this link and the drill bits made to fit bulkheads they sell(I love BRS).
Diamond Coated Glass Drill Bits - Bulk Reef Supply
As for size of bulkhead(s);
GPM/GPH Flow based on PVC Pipe Size, ie, How much water can flow through Sch 40 Pvc Pipe Size 1/2" 3/4" 1" 1.5" 2" 2.5" 3" 4" 6"
all my "mega overflow tanks use 1" bulkheads I believe.Most say they flow between 600-700 GPH.
No big deal returning over the back if it is not an eyesore for you?
I would fill the tank somewhere safe if you have not seen it full(garage or outside) and make sure it doesn't leak(or worse)but it sounds like you saw it full?
2 seperate sumps will be trouble IMO(they won't balance if the pumps ,hose length..... are not synchronised PERFECTLY).Just do the biggest sump you can or even drill and bulkhead two and connect them that way(don't feed 2 seperate sumps with 2 seperate pumps{asking for headache IMO})
BeanAnimal's Bar and Grill - Silent and Fail-Safe Overflow System
Silent and Failsafe Overflow System - Reef Central Online Community
This is considered one of th best overflow designs!
Good luck!
I can't believe you keep tiger barbs with other fish!Good luck again!
Make sure back glass is not tempered (most tanks are only tempered on bottom BUT some are completely tempered like DEEP BLUE)how to tell if glass in a aquarium is tempered? - The Reef Tank


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## mjoycela

Thanks for the great info! I am back from out of town and will get back to my tank build now.

I didn't even consider the two separate sumps having flow issues...thanks for the tip.

Do you think a 30 gallon tank sump is big enough? I can raise the wet/dry media in a small sterilite drawer system and still have room for the heater. I have a Quiet One 4000 that should push about 550 gph at 6' head. In addition I will run 1 or 2 Fluval 404's until I upgrade these if necessary.

Seeing as the aquarium is 24" deep and 125 gallons that equates to 5 gals/inch. So, with a 30 gallon sump I need to keep the bottom of my bulkheads within 6" of the surface, correct? That way, 30 gals at most will drain to the sump in a power failure...

I haven't any troubles with tiger barbs, yet... In a large tank I would think they would be fine. Do you see serious issues?

Pics still to come...


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## jrman83

Planted?


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## mjoycela

Planted? It may have some live plants but I wouldn't consider it planted. I don't want to do CO2 and all... Maybe a few Amazon Swords or something that grows nice and tall with large leaves... I have 2 rather giant pieces of driftwood I will be putting in as a "centerpiece."

Any plant recommendations? How do plants handle LED lighting?


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## jrman83

Plants do fine with LED as long as they are in the proper spectrum. I think Amazons would work good. Also Vals grow very tall.


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## coralbandit

Holes need to be within 2 inches of the top of the tank.Look at how Bean animal does it.You certainly can not allow 30 gallons to back flow to a 30 gallon sump unless you have figured out how to run the system with an empty sump!For me 1/2 inch should be the most to back flow through the overflow/skimmer.You should incorporate your holes with a coast to coast overflow.Next you need to keep the returns at the surface or they will never break syphon till who knows when.
DON'T do anything funny with the canisters.They either need to run (complete circiut) from the tank back to tank or from sump back to sump(can't run tank to sump or sump to tank do to syphoning and flooding issues).
I run LEDS on my 180 and have great plants(thanks to jrmain).I would strongly consider co2 for your future(difference in the world for plants).What lights do you have?
I'm sure there is more info needed to do things correct ,but I'm spaced right now so ask away.


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## mjoycela

I really don't have lights right now for the 125. I bought a BeamsWork Hi-Lumen 120, 48", 1650 Lumen, 0.5W x 33, 6500K x 33 LED light from Amazon for my 90 gallon freshwater community tank. I only have 1 Amazon Sword and a few strands of floating Anacharis in the 90. I just got the plants so I will see how they do.

Back to the 125 gallon setup...

I will drill the 125 for 2 x 1 1/2" bulkheads a couple of inches below the top of the tank. I am going to join the 2 overflows to a single pipe before the top of the Sterilite mechanical/biological drawer unit that uses up half of the sump. Because the 125 stand is narrow I can only go with a small Sterilite drawer system. The top drawer will be a drip plate over coarse pads then layers of polyfiber fill. The second and 3rd drawers will be a black bio media very similar to K-1 Kaldness. Each drawer measures 12'x7"x4". I hope this is enough media.

Thought: Any reason to create a PVC pipe with 1/4" slots across the back of the tank attached to the 2 bulkheads to help skim the surface of the tank?

I plan on using a Lifeguards Quiet One 4000 pump to return 700 gph @ 5' head. I will probably drill return hole(s) also. How many and do they point in the same direction to create circular flow in the aquarium?

I will also run 1 or 2 Fluval 404's. They came with the tank.
Is aeration important in the tank or will the wet/dry setup provide enough oxygen? Air stones/bars inside the tank are really for aesthetics and current, right?

Lighting: I will probably put a few live plants like moss, Amazon Swords, etc... in the tank but would like to go with LED lighting. Is the aforementioned 6500K lighting the correct spectrum? I don't know what to do yet. I believe I need 2/3 Watts/Gallon for plants. Any other lighting is just for fish viewing, correct?


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## coralbandit

No need for additional air injection.The surface movement created by extraction will more than amount bubbles possible.
You really shouldn't just drill holes and let water flow out the bulkheads.Fish or wahtever will get sucked in also.You need some kind of "overflow" (like a coast to coast).For returns look into loc lines;
Loc-Line - Bulk Reef Supply
quick link,but if you search loc lines you can find them on amazon cheaper I think?
Get the proper sized bulkhead to accomodate the loc line and you can re aim the return for ever.
If the light you have works on your 90 then it should be fine for the 125(same depth),but plants take upto a month to acclimate to new tanks so wait and see.
How the old growth on plant is does not matter much at all, but the new growth is what tells the story,so if old big leaves die no big deal,but if you get no new little leaves growing then the light(ferts and co2) are not working prpoerly.
I would also just let each bulkhead flow into the sterilite in it's own hole.No real benefit from joining them together and may even "clog" up the flow.You can have 2 feeds into the top and spread out the flow out for better mechanical filtering .any sump for over 75g should have 2 infeeds.


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