i am curious now as to if i am making the right decision on my tank purchase. i was at the local pet shop just now and saw a 125 gallon tank with hood for much less than my 75 thats on back order! the 125 doesnt come with anything the 75 is complete. i am on a budget of about 1000.00. the 125 will need a stand,suppose i could safely stack cinder blocks and 2x8's and make my own stand? the canister filters they showed me are rena brand and run about 200.00.,heaters about 40.00 each.what else will i need besides substrate and driftwood and a few rocks?

First of all, I would go with the 125, Bricks make a beautiful stand, and Canisters are WAY cheaper on Ebay. At the bottom i will give you a link to the filter I bought and several ever members have bought... No complaints, and it is way cheaper....



I am buying another now... lol..

i have my 125 sitting on cinger blocks in my front room with a skirt my wife made to decorate it a little bit and it works perfectly!

thanks i think i will cancel my order on the 75 its got a 3 week backorder anyway. how many cinder blocks high is safe? 2?

that canister is big enough for a 125? what else will i need with the tank?

Besides the canister you will need Gravel, decor, a heater or 2, and an optional airbar.

Airpump and airstones, if you like the look of that.
Do you have a Master test kit allready?
You need that.
You also need dechlor/Prime is you haven't got that.

the test kit comes with the tank. it is a litmus test strip,do these work or are they cheesey? is the air bar mandatory or air rocks?,cuz i have one in this little tank and i dont like it.

I'm assuming it's glass, so cinder blocks should be ok - just make sure they are as level as possible

you don't necessarily need lights, but you need something over the top to keep the fish from jumping out

Thats great your going a bigger tank.
Now theres room for 2 O's
or tankmates

btd71 wrote:


Best to get a liquid test set, they are more acurate.

Air is not nescesary, only do that if you like it.
Creating some ripples in the watersurface with the outlet of you filter will suffice in helping oxigenate the water.