# Finally working on my 125 !!!



## shadetreeme (Oct 11, 2010)

Wow .... this is a big tank :-D.
I bought this tank on Craigslist and it was a mess. I cleaned the tank and the gravel and got it up and running. I have had it going for just over a month, and finally figured out that what I did not like about it was the gravel.









So over the past 4 days I have changed it and started to add some plants




























As you can see I still have lots of planting to do. I would realy like to find a nice big piece of driftwood for the right side.
Just to give you an idea what it looked like.... here is a shot of one of the decorations that was in the tank....









I will shoot some more pics as I progress.


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## aunt kymmie (Jun 2, 2008)

Really? You pulled out that beautiful pot? It's so unique! Lol, a unique piece trash! Good riddance and I really like what you've done so far. Love the rock pile.


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## shadetreeme (Oct 11, 2010)

I almost had to rethink my entire plan for this tank...... I saw a posting on Craigslist for 6 Discus, incluing a proven pair.... all for $200. Surprise.... they were gone in less than an hour .

Ah well life goes on.


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## aunt kymmie (Jun 2, 2008)

shadetreeme said:


> I almost had to rethink my entire plan for this tank...... I saw a posting on Craigslist for 6 Discus, incluing a proven pair.... all for $200. Surprise.... they were gone in less than an hour .
> 
> Ah well life goes on.


Be like me and the fox and the grapes, they all probably had gillflukes anyway!


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## shadetreeme (Oct 11, 2010)

Been looking for some driftwood for the right side of the tank....... this is what I found. If only I can get it to sink !!!! It is 18" tall. I am thinking about drilling and grinding it out from the top and filling it with gravel. Oh and it was only $12.99 at LFS!!!!!:-D:-D:-D


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## aunt kymmie (Jun 2, 2008)

What a cool looking piece of wood. Do you know what type of wood that is? Very pretty color.


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## shadetreeme (Oct 11, 2010)

It is a coffee tree... I called the company who provided it to the LFS. I was concerned because it was in the reptile area not the the fish area.... and it was CHEAP!!!! They said they get the raw wood and put it in a pond with carp and the carp strip the bark off, then they bake the pieces and grind off the sharp edges.


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## Curt (Jan 13, 2011)

Wow I like the wood! I assume it is wet and not normally glossy lol


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## shadetreeme (Oct 11, 2010)

LOL... I pulled it out of the tub it is soakin in to change the water and took a quick pic to show you all. I am stoked to see that monster in the tank!!!!!:-D


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## Calmwaters (Sep 2, 2009)

Looking good. May I suggest switching out the background and putting a solid black one it would really make the fish and plants stand out.


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## shadetreeme (Oct 11, 2010)

I am a HUGE fan of the black background..... that is what I have on my 55 and love it. I have just been havin so much fun with everything else, that I didn't get to it. ;-)
Tonight I am working on drilling out the center of the Big stump. I am hoping that if I do that .... soak it for a couple more days .... then fill the opening with gravel.... It will sink before 2020.


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## aunt kymmie (Jun 2, 2008)

shadetreeme said:


> It will sink before 2020.


:lol:


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## Romad (Jun 28, 2009)

That is one great looking piece of wood and you made a great improvement to the tank from the original set up.

Looking forward to seeing updated pics. Keep up the good work :thumbsup:


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## shadetreeme (Oct 11, 2010)

Tanks all..... I am havin a blast!!! I am soo anxious to get that wood in the tank. I started drilling the top to hollow it out the center...... wow that is some hard wood. I went through two batteries in my 19v drill and this is all I got done:


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## Romad (Jun 28, 2009)

What are the chances of fish getting stuck in those holes tho? Are you going to plug them up with something to weight it down?

Just askin bc I lost two corys who got themselves stuck in a hole in a rock.


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## shadetreeme (Oct 11, 2010)

I plan on connecting all the holes to make it hollow in the center....then fill it up with gravel to weigh it down.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## shadetreeme (Oct 11, 2010)

IT"S SATURDAY!!!!!!
I've been workin on my tank today. I opened the top of the stump a little better:










Then I put it in the tank and filled the top with gravel
and put a few rock on it cause it still isn't sinkin. :-(










This is what that looked like:










Then I put in another small piece of wood and a few plants.... WOW did that make a difference!!!










I also put a rock on top and a couple plants up there :-D
Does anyone know what the plant floating on the left is??? It seems to like floating... so I may just let it do that.











So this is where I am at now....I think I will look at it for a while to see what else It needs(I know I want to change it to a plain black background). Of course your suggestions are ALWAY welcome.










Thanks for lookin.


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## jeaninel (Aug 24, 2007)

That stump is Awesome! I love the way it looks with the plants around it. Great idea adding the plant at the top of the stump, too. The tank looks great. Nice job.:-D


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## aunt kymmie (Jun 2, 2008)

Whoa, that stump looks epic. Nice job! The floating plant is Pennywort. You can plant it but it does really well floating. I love the way your tank looks.


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## jeaninel (Aug 24, 2007)

I'll have to check the reptile section next time I'm at the pet store. $12.99 for a stump that big is a great price (as long as it's safe for fish).


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## shadetreeme (Oct 11, 2010)

I am pretty excited about it :-D The company is a&e Java Wood
I called them about the product, since it was in the reptile section. They said the wood spends a long time in a pond with carp and that is how the bark is removed. They then bake the wood and send it out. He did tell me to soak it for a could of day to releas the tannin in the wood. It turned the water a medium tan when I soaked it and lowered the PH a bit. ofter a few day soaking with several water changes all seems good. I will post pics in a few days so you can see what if any changes it mad to the water.


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## Calmwaters (Sep 2, 2009)

I like it a lot it looks awesome!


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## shadetreeme (Oct 11, 2010)

Update..... no noticable change in the water color, however, I did have a slight PH drop, which may not be too bad as long as it stops. The ph has been a little high since I set it up. I will let you know where it settles. I am still messin with it a little..... I added some stuff to the left front corner.... it was kinda bare.


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## Calmwaters (Sep 2, 2009)

Looks good.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## burnsbabe (Jul 15, 2010)

I agree 100% that this looks great. Kymmie is right, the plant is pennywort. Now just pop that background on and you're good to go.


Am I seeing rainbows in the tank? You haven't shared a stocking list at all. Please do!


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## shadetreeme (Oct 11, 2010)

OK..... the fish :lol: I had a thread about the fish that came with the tank that you all helped me ID
http://www.tropicalfishkeeping.com/freshwater-tropical-fish/need-help-fish-id-56431/

I have since added 4 dalmation mollys, 2 chinese algea eaters and some snails.

I am going to move my community from my 55 into this tank once I get the room finished and move my office. My son wants to get either a few red bellies, or a fresh water stingray for the 55 after I vacate it.

I am a little concerned about the size of the fish in the 125. I have some neon tetras, ADFs and whisker shrimp in my 55..... I hope they will all get along :-?


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## shadetreeme (Oct 11, 2010)

Craigslist strikes again !!!!!! I just picked up a 20# co2 tank for $25!!!! I am a happy camper, now I can use the halides in that light fixture (also from Craigslist). 
Sooooo tonight I setup the co2 and added more shells to the tank, as well as a media bag of shells in the canister to try to buffer the Ph with the addition of the co2.
I am not sure how much co2 to add, but this evening I was running at about 4 bps and the little co2 gauge thingy is still blue.... I am not sure how long it takes to get enough co2 in the water to change the color. I did shut it down for the night since I am a little paranoid that I will wake to dead fish. 
I will keep playin with it and see how it goes, and will try to figure out how much light to give it. Right now I have the T5 on dawn till dusk and the Halides on 10 -4. I guess time will tell.


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## shadetreeme (Oct 11, 2010)

Still havn't replaced the background yet  But I have added a few plants and am waiting to see what does well..... then I will try to arange a bit.


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## burnsbabe (Jul 15, 2010)

This just keeps getting better and better. I don't even know what to say.


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## Calmwaters (Sep 2, 2009)

It is really looking good!


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## aunt kymmie (Jun 2, 2008)

Perfectly lovely!


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## shadetreeme (Oct 11, 2010)

Thanks all... I am having fun and learning LOTS.
I have the tank setup with X-10 controlers and run them from my PC.
The floursecents and CO2 are set dawn to dusk
The halides come on from 11am till 3pm
The blue LEDs and ait pump are setup dusk till dawn.
The timers are cool.... that way I don't forget anything, but I real like the remote control:


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## shadetreeme (Oct 11, 2010)

Been messin again.
I got an awsome plant package online and just put them in to see what grows and what doesn't.
I will post updates as I figure out what likes my tank.





































I finally got some plants with color 
Nothing is realy organized right now.... still just throwin stuff at it andseeing what sticks.


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## Calmwaters (Sep 2, 2009)

Looks awesome! I love everything about it! Exspecially the driftwood it all looks very natural.


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## Curt (Jan 13, 2011)

Where did you get the plants?
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Plumkin (Jan 24, 2011)

god! huge gorgeous tank you did an amazing job!!!


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## shadetreeme (Oct 11, 2010)

Thanks all.... I am pretty new to the hobby and it is a real boost to hear all the good comments :-D
Curt.... I got most of the plants from Plamski here on the board.... he has lots of trimmings, and at That Fish Place.
I got my first tank in October of last year.... a little Fluval Chi, for on my desk.
From there it went kinda nutz LOL










Sorry about the rock on the driftwood.... It still wants to float.

From there I got a 55:











Then the 125. Wich you all have seen;-)

After that I got a 20... it was too good of a deal. 
Last weekend I redid that tank and got a spotted puffer :-D










The little tank is for his food

Oh .... I almost forgot... I got a 5gal for in my kids room. They each have a Betta.











All but the Chi have come from Craigslist and have been awsome deals. Most of the decorations have come from there as well. The stump is the only thing I bought retail and as I said earlier... it was miss priced and only cost me $12.99

MY NAME IS BRIAN..... AND I HAVE AN ADDICTION
:lol::lol:


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## Calmwaters (Sep 2, 2009)

Very nice tanks!


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## Curt (Jan 13, 2011)

I do as well.... trust me I have spent well over 700.00 on my 20 gallon tank in less than 2 months....
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## shadetreeme (Oct 11, 2010)

Update: More fish
Someone local had fish they wanted to get rid of... soo more fish for Me.
There were some strange thins in her tank IE Blind cave tetras. Here is my favorite:


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## shadetreeme (Oct 11, 2010)

The evolution:













































Soon time to trim and move some stuff :-D


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## shadetreeme (Oct 11, 2010)

Just thought I would upate some pics.....

The "stump" is comming along nicely:










Oh and someone gave me some Glo Fish:-D This is the top of the stump in the background.


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## Calmwaters (Sep 2, 2009)

Very nice!


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## burnsbabe (Jul 15, 2010)

Looking good. I wish I had the cash and the space for a project like this, really.

Personally GloFish kinda creep me out. The genetic engineering is both more efficient and better all around than injecting with dye of course, but still creepy.


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## jeaninel (Aug 24, 2007)

I just love how that stump came out. Is that some type of moss on top of it? Christmas moss?


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## underh2o (Nov 8, 2010)

*Very good job!! Like the blue cabinet!*


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## underh2o (Nov 8, 2010)

*Nice Angel!*


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## shadetreeme (Oct 11, 2010)

Would you believe the angel was a freebee. I got a call from a friend at a pet store telling me that someone came in wanting to give away all their fish. Site unseen I showed up with rubber totes and that was my reward. I also got some other fish that I enjoy and a few that I don't get..... blind cave tetras.... really????
Here are a couple more shots:









And a closeup


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## Plumkin (Jan 24, 2011)

you are so LUCKY i envy you so much


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## shadetreeme (Oct 11, 2010)

Believe it or not...... this tank is still alive! I have had my attention taken by lots of other things( including 13 other tanks ), and the tank suffered for it, but it is on its way back.
It has finally grown in, and it is time to trim and get some new plants.
Hopefully it will be looking even better soon!


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## Boredomb (Feb 21, 2011)

Shadetreeme it looks great to me!!! Nice tank!


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## willow (Sep 9, 2006)

how lovely to see it from the very start,to how it is now...amazing :-D


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