125 Gallon Acrylic project.

[Charlyc11]

This mostly will be a photo journal until we get to the present day and stocking the tank. I been having long PM conversations with Tom (Iminit) and also visited his fish room. To say the least he is really into discus plus some other friendly companions. I liked his stand designs (solid as a rock) and the look of his minimalist but interesting BB tanks. They eye caching with those clean lines that make the fish the main attraction.
So I started to look for sales on Petsmart since the carry Clear For Life (Tom recommendation) and bingo a 20% off retail delivered free. Unfortunately a 6 weeks later they had 40% off and I was not going to buy another one and they don't honor price reductions but still the price was right.
So wile I wait 5 week for the delivery I start with the stand that pretty much I modeled from Toms 180 gallon since his was same length but wider.
Also Tom found an awesome deal on a WET/DRY Sump that I could not refuse.

WET/DRY picked up from Tom on my visit to NY with new Hygger pump:

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Next Materials for the build:

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So let's get started:

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Well my back would not hold up working on the floor. All supports triple studs and flooring in:

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Start to cover the studs:

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Lets see if the WET/DRY fits:

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Some primer:

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Now routed the edge on the top and a paint job:

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And the tank arrives:

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And after 4 week of seeding finally cycled, I introduce all my smaller fish including my 10 L046 zebras, 6 Boesemani rainbow fish from Tom, 5 Sterbai Cories and 8 rummy nose tetras.
The Discus come next. So here we are Today. Probably will need more Sterbai Cories.

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All I need to add the barn doors on the stand and buy some discus. I will be looking what Chicago Discus is getting on their next shipment looking for some nice 5". It's to be continued and I hope I did not bore you.
Thanks for listening and thank Tom for all his help.

[fljones3]

Very nice looking!

[Iminit]

Coming along great! Next discus! Looks like the bosemani are growing. I’ve got some sterbai fry growing out. When they get bigger i can send some to you.

[Charlyc11]

Those Rainbow are hard to catch they are quick. I had to do a large maintenance on the 75 gallon tank that I had them in so I cleared the way to get them.

[AquaticNerd]

Love what you've done with the stand to tie everything in and make it look like one whole piece.

Any plans for the L046s? Did you purchase them in order to get pairs for breeding? Some forum sourced zebras could be appealing.

[Charlyc11]

Yes, but they are young. I purchase 4 of them in January and they were about 6 months old so they are larger. The remining 6 purchase in February and they were a bit younger than the first ones. After two years there could be a possibility if I have males and females (luck of the draw). For the time being they will be in that tank growing out. Might eventually add some more.

Love what you've done with the stand to tie everything in and make it look like one whole piece.

Any plans for the L046s? Did you purchase them in order to get pairs for breeding? Some forum sourced zebras could be appealing.

[Sandip]

Charly, Beautiful tanks! Love the new stand.
Do you have any opinion on glass vs acrylic? Acrylic tanks look stunning and your is a fine example. But, I have heard they scratch easy. What do you think?

[Charlyc11]

Charly, Beautiful tanks! Love the new stand.
Do you have any opinion on glass vs acrylic? Acrylic tanks look stunning and your is a fine example. But, I have heard they scratch easy. What do you think?

I have been really careful with what I use to clean but it's fairly new so time will tell. The one to ask is Iminit he has several acrylic tanks and I been following his advice on what to use to clean in and out.
Inside MR clean pads or Aqueon magnetic cleaner with acrylic insert. On the outside I picked up Novus acrylic cleaner spray and microfiber cloth. I think on a bare bottom the acrylic looks sharp and I liked the look. The plus scratches on a acrylic tan can be polished out if you ever needed to and they are light enough to handle on you own.

[Iminit]

Yes acrylic scratches! Can’t get past that. But just be careful. Bare bottom is so much better for acrylic. What scratches the most is the substrate. The novus scratch removal kit does work wonders. Acrylic tanks cost more than glass are super light. Once we got my 180 into the basement I did the rest. Try moving a 180 glass by yourself. I now have 7. 3 biggest I bought new all others used and cheap. Because so many scratch them up they’re sold cheap. A few hours with wet/sand sandpaper and the novus kit and they look new. I’ve bought and sold 2 over 30yrs old. Once cleaned I used them then sold for more than I paid.

This is my oldest and first acrylic. It’s a 90g bought in 17 and has had substrate as long as I’ve had it. First substrate was eco-compleat (crushed lava rock).it’s scratched. You can see during water changes. But with water.E5F0B1E7-8493-4D6C-9EE8-0A60875AF0A9.jpg. That magnaflow scraper is not the best and I’ve no clue how it got there!!. Here’s my 125 bought in 19.EF886AA9-0360-4A13-9C1F-B649204D5164.jpg and my 180 bought in 2231E29121-2E38-4354-A99F-7020D44697DA.jpg

[CliffsDiscus]

Magnet float scraper, the hobbyist doesn't know that the scraper is picking up gravel at the bottom of the tank.

[Charlyc11]

The fish I ordered from Pompa's 2 x Eruption, 1 x Leopard and 1 x Panda will be going out on Wednesday so somebody is home to receive them on Thursday. Here is a preliminary of what I picked and more pic's and video to come.
Per Oscar these two are laying eggs already I saw them kinda hang together so I thought get both why not. To my surprise the paired up.
Soon I will have some more video to share.





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[Iminit]

Lol thought they were a pair! They all look great!

[Charlyc11]

Lol thought they were a pair! They all look great!

Yes they are a pair, the final videos of what I am getting.

[brewmaster15]

Wow Chuck ! Nice fish and a pair as well. Very very cool start to the project.

Really like the stand as well... my living room 125 gal is in dire need of replacement may have to copy you and Tom here. Tank looks great as well! Congrats on putting it all together!

al

[mleibowi]

Very nice- what did you put on the bottom of the tank?