125 new build/need help

fishfry101

Member
I just purchased a 125 gallon, upgrading from a 29g. Have a couple of questions....
1. Can sand from HD or Lowes be used and then "seeded" with the live sand from the 29g?
2. Can you use cinder block, broken up, for the base rock? or is there a better type of cheap rock I should use?
Thanks
 

nemo22

Member
i wouldn't do that. maybe fine, but if you want to make life alot easier on your self. i would do everything from the start right by the book. starting with live sand, live rock, good size sump or refuguim, good quality RO water(if you can't get water buy water from fish store), good quality salt, good skimmer, good light, and good water movement. ect...
 
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eric b 125

Guest
there are definately cost-cutting things you can do, but you'll still be spending some bacon. if you can be patient with the set-up, i suggest checking out marco rocks. they're super cheap, and they send real nice sized pieces. if you go the craigs-list route, make sure to check if the rock was ever treated w/ copper. i would also suggest considering aragonite for your substrate. it is a pretty cost effective substrate, looks good, and has the ability to buffer water and release calcium.
 

fishfry101

Member
I appologize, should have started off with a little background....My 29g used to be an 80g hex which sprung a leak 8 months ago. The 29 was purchased from walmart in an emergency to stuff everthing in it, and man is it stuffed. It has almost all of the 90lbs of rock, 40 lbs live, sand, corals and fish. It has a Toms wet/dry filter with skimmer which work fairly well, metal halids, actonics and led for moon lighting. I also have a RO/DI unit for water changes, etc.
Now that I finished the basement (Dad's Cave) i got the 125g to play with which I just picked up yesterday. I am not in a big hurry to put this together but would like to get it running soon. I realize the importance of doing things right the first time in this hobby.
I plan on spending the bacon but would rather spend on the sump, a new skimmer, etc. Money's really not an issue however if there is a way to save a few while not jepordizing the tank, might as well.....right.....
So the question for the rock and sand is do I need to buy more of the live rock and sand from an LFS or is there a good chaeper base rock and sand that will be seeded from my existing, well established (2years or so) rock and sand? I recall reading on one of the sites a while back that someone was using cyndar block and sand from HD but can't recall if it was a good or bad thing.
I am only in the planning stages right now putting together the "list" of things I want to do with the tank. I still need to figure out whats the best way to make the sump, use an old 55g or can I use plastic totes? What is the best skimmer to use or can one be made out of PVC? ( I am very hands on and enjoy building thing myself from scratch, can you tell). I am also considering making the lighting hood with 2 or 3 250w mh, actonics and moon, or maybe just purchase.......don't know yet....
Can anyone tell me how can you tell if your tank has tempered glass. I want to drill however there is no name on the tank so I can not tell who the manufacturer is? The LFS told me today that tempered will shatter once drilled......
Thanks all for your help.....
 
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eric b 125

Guest
as far as the cinder block thing goes- i vote against it. you never know what's in the cement, and it will probably look bad. you can just get base rock and once seeded from your existing LR, it will become LR itself. if you want, you can make base rock yourself, but it is very time consuming. i'm a 'time is money' type of guy, so to me while the primary cost of materials might be low, the investment in time makes it not worth the while, IMO.
i've seen some pretty nice DIY skimmers, but i've never even thought of attempting to make one.
the bottom panel of your tank is tempered, but the sides probably arent. you can use the polarized lenses from a cheap pair of sunglasses to see if it's tempered. mike and scott at glass-holes might be able to help you figure something out about the tank. i've seen this question posted on their forum many times.
 
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