Very new at this!!!

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chrischunn

New Member
i just purchased a 125g tank off of craiglist, tank has never been used. im wanting to go with predator fish due to reefing being out of my price range right now with the expensive light u gotta have ive heard. can anyone help me with some ideas as far as setting this thing up? i know i need to get some live rock. im gonna go with a sump not sure what size pump i will need or how big of sump dont have much room. i hear yall love pics on here but i have been trying my best of figure out how to upload a pic ive tried the photo bucket thing but not working for me haha. not much to look at anywaz right now the tank is still on the floor with no water in it yet. trying to come up with ideas on where i need to start.
 
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chrischunn

New Member
 
Snid

Snid

Active Member
Hmmm... Am I looking at this correctly? Is that a garage door that will be on the back side of the aquarium? It will be set in that wall with about 3 feet of space below it?
 
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chrischunn

New Member
please dont give me bad news that the only place i have for it to go. im gonna insulate the garage door. and yes ur measurements are very accurate
 
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chrischunn

New Member
only thing is i will not have much room at all between the garage door and the tank. i guess i could run the plumbing on the sides?
 
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chrischunn

New Member
mabe u werent gonna give me bad news? lol i have been worried sick about that garage door and it being hott. and the garage doesnt have ac. im gonna get me a portable ac unit. the room is only 10ft by 9ft. haha with a 125g aquarium in it. gonna be my office
 
nanoreefing4fun

nanoreefing4fun

Well-Known Member
RS STAFF
Cheers for figuring our pics - looks like a pretty nice & big tank !

Sure some members that have done custom builds can advise... what kind of lights will you have, there are lots of inexpensive very hardy corals you can have that require relative low light with great colors, like mushrooms, ricordeas & zoas to name a couple.

Look at these images
https://www.google.com/search?q=ric...EJ8SMqAbS2YCoDQ&ved=0CCAQsAQ&biw=1191&bih=849


https://www.google.com/search?q=ric...ved=0CCAQsAQ&biw=1191&bih=849#q=zoas&tbm=isch
 
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chrischunn

New Member
wow thas good to know. i love the bright colors. can u give me a light name brand and watt needed to maintain something like those?
 
Snid

Snid

Active Member
No bad news, exactly. Good idea on the insulation, and the A/C. Some people run chillers in their systems to help with temperature control. Before you buy anything living, I'd suggest getting the system setup, run the lights, and see how well you can control the temperature to see if you need a chiller first or not.

As for plumbing, it absolutely can run down the sides. Some people have pre-drilled tanks, and run the plumbing from the bottom, though I don't recommend doing that with a CL purchased tank. Some people run down the back side (that is what I do). Some people run down the sides. Nothing wrong with that.

Looks like you gave yourself plenty of room for a sump underneath. What are the measurements inside the space underneath where the Display Tank (DT) will be going? Where were you planning on putting a Quarantine Tank (QT)? If you haven't been thinking about a QT, I strongly urge you to consider one. That might help determine what size sump to get.
 
Snid

Snid

Active Member
Well, if you are going to have holes drilled, consider the bottom if possible. That will make plumbing a little easier for you as you wouldn't have to reach around the DT to access or run anything. When you are checking to see if it is tempered glass or not, keep in mind that most tanks have non-tempered walls on the sides, but tempered bottoms. Seems odd, I know. Only drill if you are 100% certain.
 
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chrischunn

New Member
not sure what a quarantine tank is? sorry. im lost with all this. the tank is 72x 18. so i built the stand to that. It has plenty of room long wise but very narrow i may have to find a way to buld a sump myself to fit. hope i dont have to have a chiller i heard those are pretty expensive.
 
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chrischunn

New Member
what size pump do u think i need, and what size pvc should i go with? i would say its about 5 ft looking at the pic from where the sump will be to the top of the tank
 
nanoreefing4fun

nanoreefing4fun

Well-Known Member
RS STAFF
Sure some can recommend a light for your 125 gallon that will grow lps & soft corals.

Many know much more than I on light recommendations, members that have put together custom builds.

Depending on your budget for a light... maybe something like T5 would grow lots & be a value.
 
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