# The 125G Low tech journal...



## bastalker (Dec 8, 2004)

Tank in place an the Soil Master in... I was tryin to visualize how I wanted to contour it...


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## bastalker (Dec 8, 2004)

He gave me alot of help!! Anyone recognize this mug?? :hihi: :hihi:

Settin the centerpiece in place...


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## bastalker (Dec 8, 2004)

We started fillin the tank about a 1/4 of the way an started takin measurements. We had to add a few shims to the left side to level it all out. 

This process wouldn't have happened as far as I was concerned if it hadn't been for Steve (Scolly)! Glad he told me! :eek5:


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## bastalker (Dec 8, 2004)

Continued fillin an measurin kicked on the filters an the heaters an it was all good! roud:

My help had ta leave so I just pretty much cleaned everything up an called it a night...


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## bastalker (Dec 8, 2004)

Started recontourin the SMS the next mornin an couldnt wait ta start throwin plants an manzanita branches in it in it!! :icon_mrgr


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## bastalker (Dec 8, 2004)

Here it is after I tossed all the fish back in. 

I wanna thank Urkevitz and Algenco for the plant contributions! Urk contributed the anubias an a couple of nice swords, an Algenco sent some nice Amazon swords...roud: 

Steve is sending some moss my way to decorate the manzanita branches!!


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## bastalker (Dec 8, 2004)

So who knows who the mug shot belongs to???:icon_mrgr :icon_mrgr


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## Green Leaf Aquariums (Feb 26, 2007)

The Dude!??


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## RoseHawke (Mar 10, 2004)

bastalker said:


> So who knows who the mug shot belongs to???:icon_mrgr :icon_mrgr


Haven't a clue! But I'll let it run a little longer before I DEMAND that you enlighten us! Oh, and Taz, notice I have not said a darn thing about bastalker getting a 125 :hihi: . . .


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## bastalker (Dec 8, 2004)

Orlando said:


> The Dude!??


you mean me?? Naw I aint that perty! :icon_mrgr



Cindy said:


> Haven't a clue! But I'll let it run a little longer before I DEMAND that you enlighten us! Oh, and Taz, notice I have not said a darn thing about bastalker getting a 125 . . .


Cindy yer gonna kick yerself when ya find out!! Btw..I need enlightened now!! :icon_mrgr 

tc
Mark


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## gsd78 (Jan 13, 2004)

Really love the angels :thumbsup: Where did you get them? Are they just regular silvers, zebras, or what? I'm wanting something similar in my 240g once its up and running.

Oh yeah...that mug belongs to Buck if I'm not mistaken. Do i get some kinda prize for a correct answer? :hihi:


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## RoseHawke (Mar 10, 2004)

bastalker said:


> Cindy yer gonna kick yerself when ya find out!! Btw..I need enlightened now!! :icon_mrgr


Probably . Weeeeell, up in your neck of the woods, Buck or Steve. I don't _think_ that's Steve, unless he's grown some "chin fungus" :hihi: (I'm almost face-blind as far as recognizing people.) So . . . Buck :icon_eek: ?


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## bastalker (Dec 8, 2004)

RoseHawke said:


> Probably . Weeeeell, up in your neck of the woods, Buck or Steve. I don't _think_ that's Steve, unless he's grown some "chin fungus" :hihi: (I'm almost face-blind as far as recognizing people.) So . . . Buck :icon_eek: ?


A regular Sherlock Holmes there Cindy!! :hihi: :hihi: 

Yeah its Buck. If it wern't for him I wouldn't got the external heaters! He was a big help even with that chin fungus! :icon_mrgr 

I was a lil sore with a bad shoulder an a bruised rib so he did most of the work...

tc
Mark


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## bastalker (Dec 8, 2004)

gsd78 said:


> Really love the angels :thumbsup: Where did you get them? Are they just regular silvers, zebras, or what? I'm wanting something similar in my 240g once its up and running.
> 
> Oh yeah...that mug belongs to Buck if I'm not mistaken. Do i get some kinda prize for a correct answer? :hihi:


Dont know how I missed yer post!! Yer absolutely right! I will give ya my source for the angels just for that...

They came from a guy called brewmaster15 over on Simply Discus. He has plenty of em an ships as well!! :icon_mrgr

They are silvers an 1 Scalare.

tc
Mark


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## RoseHawke (Mar 10, 2004)

Hah! Yeah, but technically gsd78 gets the "prize" :hihi: (that's what I get for keeping multiple tabs open . . . ) 

All right Mark, give, why bruised ribs and a sore shoulder???


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## bastalker (Dec 8, 2004)

RoseHawke said:


> Hah! Yeah, but technically gsd78 gets the "prize" :hihi: (that's what I get for keeping multiple tabs open . . . )
> 
> All right Mark, give, why bruised ribs and a sore shoulder???


Ice an a few to many beers....:eek5:


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## Buck (Oct 13, 2002)

Whats wrong with that camera man? It made me look fat, old and "almost" drunk...:hihi:
I like the placement of the anubias Mark. The branches will be lost in a short while though, we got a "little" work to do... any beer left? 

The flat fish are gonna love this tank !


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## scolley (Apr 4, 2004)

Buck said:


> Whats wrong with that camera man? It made me look fat, old and "almost" drunk...


Hey Buck, I respect the fact that you are a great mod and all that... but please, stick to what you know. Leave the hard stuff to the experts... I've got the fat, old, drunk job covered for both of us.  

Now I just need to ship this Mark guy some moss to cover those bare sticks!


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## bastalker (Dec 8, 2004)

Buck said:


> Whats wrong with that camera man? It made me look fat, old and "almost" drunk...:hihi:


What do ya mean "almost"?:wink: :biggrin:



> I like the placement of the anubias Mark. The branches will be lost in a short while though, we got a "little" work to do... any beer left?


It turned out ok I guess. Thats the one thing about low tech tanks though, nuthin happens very fast! Next update will be in 6 months! :eek5: BTW....Yer buyin this next round there my friend!! :hihi: roud: 



> The flat fish are gonna love this tank !


I will introduce em to the freezer first! I think they will settle right in. 



Steve said:


> Now I just need to ship this Mark guy some moss to cover those bare sticks!


I appreciate it Steve! Just let me know what I owe ya!! :smile:


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## Urkevitz (Jan 12, 2004)

Looks great, the only suggestion I have is to add some Kleiner Bar swords, I have one and it looks so good in my lowtech tank.


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## bastalker (Dec 8, 2004)

Urkevitz said:


> Looks great, the only suggestion I have is to add some Kleiner Bar swords, I have one and it looks so good in my lowtech tank.


Thanks Dan! I dont think I have seen Kleiner bar swords before...Ya have a pic?

tc
Mark


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## Urkevitz (Jan 12, 2004)

Here is a pic of the kleiner bar. I have had it for 5 weeks. When I bought it there was only one submersed growth leaf, so basically the whole plant is fresh growth. I think they stay small in low tech, mine is about 5 or 6 inches.


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## Buck (Oct 13, 2002)

Yeh they are nice swords, they get nice color to them. I have a tiny Kleiner I just planted in a pot so I can move it around whenever I decide what I am doing with my tank. Them suckers put out a big root system for a small sword.


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## bastalker (Dec 8, 2004)

Definately a nice lookin sword Dan!! I think I will see what transpires with the ones I have now though.

I just recieved a huge portion of moss from Steve (Scolly) this mornin. I opened the door at 10:00 this mornin an the box was sittin on my doorstep! :icon_mrgr 

So I pulled each branch out an tied the moss to it. I believe I might have to redo the tying job though cause I might have compacted it a wee bit to much...:icon_sad: 

Sorry about the tank pic...It was a quickie. I will post a better one later.

The air comes on 30 mins before lights out to explain them bubbles in the background...:smile:

tc
Mark


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## bastalker (Dec 8, 2004)

Here is a lil better pic of the tank...I will update it again after I toss the discus in there. roud: 

tc
Mark


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## fshfanatic (Apr 20, 2006)

bastalker said:


> He gave me alot of help!! Anyone recognize this mug?? :hihi: :hihi:
> 
> Settin the centerpiece in place...


He looks like a guy I used to drink with at the VFW.


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## Urkevitz (Jan 12, 2004)

The moss looks great. Does manzanita sink or float?


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## bastalker (Dec 8, 2004)

Urkevitz said:


> The moss looks great. Does manzanita sink or float?


Dan... Thank you very much my friend!

The Manzanita branches initially float. I had to soak them for about 3 weeks. That is pretty much the soak time to water log them according to all the others that have done the same thing. Three weeks worked for me. :smile: 

tc
Mark


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## bastalker (Dec 8, 2004)

*The 125G low tech angel nursery*

Woke up this mornin to this...roud:

tc
Mark


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## RoseHawke (Mar 10, 2004)

bastalker said:


> Woke up this mornin to this...roud:
> 
> tc
> Mark


Happy angel ! Sorry to hear about your icecapade. Hopefully you're mostly better by now. Nice tying job on that moss, too! Looking good from the get-go :thumbsup: .


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## Urkevitz (Jan 12, 2004)

Where did you get the sweet foam prefilter? does it restrict flow much?


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## bastalker (Dec 8, 2004)

RoseHawke said:


> Happy angel ! Sorry to hear about your icecapade. Hopefully you're mostly better by now. Nice tying job on that moss, too! Looking good from the get-go :thumbsup: .


Hi ya Cindy...The icecapade wasn't that bad! Had a sheet of ice at about 11:00 at night on the front porch which wasn't there an hour before so I wasn't expecting it at all. My slippers weren't exactly the best things to be wearing at the time either! :redface: Still a lil sore but it will get better.

Thanks for the moss tying compliment! I packed it on a lil tight but it is doing ok. :smile: 



Urkevitz said:


> Where did you get the sweet foam prefilter? does it restrict flow much?


I picked them up from the lfs. Last 2 they had. I dont even know the name of them! They looked like what I wanted so I just bought them. They dont restrict the flow at all that I can see anyways.

You can get almost the same exact thing here though.

http://www.jehmco.com/html/hydro-sponge_filters.html

Sroll down to almost the bottom an look at PFS110. Thats it pretty much. hope this helps...I order alot of things from these guys! They are great. I would have ordered the prefilter sponges from them, but the LFS had em, and well...I was there. :smile: 

tc
Mark


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## tacks (Jun 19, 2006)

Hi Mark the tank looks great and I enjoyed reading this thread take care Ed


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## bastalker (Dec 8, 2004)

tacks said:


> Hi Mark the tank looks great and I enjoyed reading this thread take care Ed


Hi ya Ed!! Thanks very much my friend! :smile: 

tc
Mark


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## bastalker (Dec 8, 2004)

Thought I would post a lil update! 

What better time to toss the Discus in the tank than New Years Eve!!:smile: 

tc
Mark


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## Buck (Oct 13, 2002)

Oh they look nice in there Mark ! They settling in at all? I know you said they were the skiddish type, I'll bet that was a horror show. 
Hey man Im off the rest of the week, I tore the kitchen apart and have an electrician coming and doing some wiring on Wednesday/Thursday, a sheetrocker on Friday...I'll give you a call.


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## bastalker (Dec 8, 2004)

Buck said:


> Oh they look nice in there Mark ! They settling in at all? I know you said they were the skiddish type, I'll bet that was a horror show.
> Hey man Im off the rest of the week, I tore the kitchen apart and have an electrician coming and doing some wiring on Wednesday/Thursday, a sheetrocker on Friday...I'll give you a call.



Hello there my friend!! 

I got pretty damn wet when I tried gettin em out of the 55G thats for sure! :eek5: :hihi: :hihi: 

After I put them in the 125G, they were an entirely different set of fish..What an unbelievable transition. An hour later they were pretty much cruisin around like they owned the place. I wish I would have done it along time ago! :smile: 

I had a pair doin the dance 2 hours after I put them in the tank, and expecting a spawn from them in the next day or so!! roud: 

Hey I am goin on a road trip prolly Friday or Saturday to pick up some more discus at Al's place. He runs Simply Discus. Awsome down to earth guy!! Why dont ya come with me, would love for ya to meet him. Its just a 35 minute run from my place. Give me a buzz Buck! :smile:

tc
Mark


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## ValorG (Dec 27, 2003)

nice big discus! Did you grow them out or bought them already big?


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## bastalker (Dec 8, 2004)

ValorG said:


> nice big discus! Did you grow them out or bought them already big?


I grew them out in a 55G BB for 2 years. :smile: 

tc
Mark


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## Urkevitz (Jan 12, 2004)

Great job growing out the discus. Since they are mature do you still need to do a lot of water changes?


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## bastalker (Dec 8, 2004)

Urkevitz said:


> Great job growing out the discus. Since they are mature do you still need to do a lot of water changes?


Hi ya Dan...No... thats the whole purpose of growing them to adults.When they are young you constantly feed em so they will grow fast, grow nice, big and round. When they reach adult size you can feed em like ya feed any other fish. Thus...less wc's. :smile: 

tc
Mark


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## tacks (Jun 19, 2006)

Hi Mark they can say what they want but discus and plants are a great combo. Yours look great. Enjoy your trip to Als I bet I know what your going to get. Enjoy Ed


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## crazie.eddie (May 31, 2004)

Nice tank. I'm thinking of trying plants in my 125 gallon tank again, still low tech. This time, I'm looking at some kind of soil substrate, also SMS, but charcoal.

What type of lights do you have? How many watts?

Are you dosing any ferts?


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## bastalker (Dec 8, 2004)

tacks said:


> Hi Mark they can say what they want but discus and plants are a great combo. Yours look great. Enjoy your trip to Als I bet I know what your going to get. Enjoy Ed


Hi Ya Ed!!! Thanks for stopping by bud...Also thanks for the kind words! 

The Alenquers are on the menu, but he has some nice wild greens an blues as well. Its gonna be a tough decision, but I am sure I will leave a happy camper. The thing is...I have a 75G an a 55G BB ready to go so maybe I will leave with 8 Alenquer's an a 6 wild greens...:eek5: Its just gettin totally outta hand! :biggrin: 



crazzie.eddie said:


> Nice tank. I'm thinking of trying plants in my 125 gallon tank again, still low tech. This time, I'm looking at some kind of soil substrate, also SMS, but charcoal.
> 
> What type of lights do you have? How many watts?
> 
> Are you dosing any ferts?


Thanks bud! 

The fixture is a 48" aqua medic with 4 54 watt 10,000K bulbs. Thats why I chose this scape. Plant under 4 ft of the 6 ft tank. I use just 2 of the bulbs at the moment. A whopping 108 watts on for 8 hours a day. I am not adding any ferts except for an occasional splash of excel.I do however have root tabs next to most all the plants. I feed pretty heavy and have a pretty heavy fish load in it as well. No algae so far but its early yet...:wink: :biggrin:

I imagine the tank would just take off if I injected it, but I really wanted to do this low tech. The c02 *is* standing by though in case I change my mind 

Honestly I would have preferred the charcoal but they had a ton of the red in stock and I didn't want to wait for them to order it.

BTW...What did ya pay for that 72" coralife? Top dollar I imagine!

tc
Mark


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## tazcrash69 (Sep 27, 2005)

Looks good Mark, glad the discus are happy.

BTW, in higher tech, my Kliener is like 14-16" tall right now. Flower stalks develop, but take much longer than say E. 'red ozelot'. to develop plantlets.

PM me know if you ever need any Klieners, or red ozelots.


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## bastalker (Dec 8, 2004)

Thank you very much Walter! :smile: 

Thanks for the offer! I will definately keep the kliener's and red ozelot in mind! I kinda want to see what this tank is going to do with whats in it over the next few months for now. 

Nice 125G you have there as well!! roud:

tc
Mark


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## crazie.eddie (May 31, 2004)

bastalker said:


> The fixture is a 48" aqua medic with 4 54 watt 10,000K bulbs. Thats why I chose this scape. Plant under 4 ft of the 6 ft tank. I use just 2 of the bulbs at the moment. A whopping 108 watts on for 8 hours a day. I am not adding any ferts except for an occasional splash of excel.I do however have root tabs next to most all the plants. I feed pretty heavy and have a pretty heavy fish load in it as well. No algae so far but its early yet...:wink: :biggrin:
> 
> I imagine the tank would just take off if I injected it, but I really wanted to do this low tech. The c02 *is* standing by though in case I change my mind
> 
> ...


Yeah, the lights were expensive, even though I got themat BigAl's. I do like the moon lights tho.

As far as the root tabs, how often do you replace the tabs? Did you have to keep adding them in the 75 gallon before? 

Do you perform gravel vacs or just WC?


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## bastalker (Dec 8, 2004)

I just let the root tabs go till I see the plants lookin a lil pale then I will stick more root tabs in. Usually about 4 or 5 months.

I really never did water changes just topped it off every week. It evaporates down a couple of inches each week. I never had Discus in the 75G. The angels an the rest of the fish loved it. I will probably do a 30% WC each week on this 125G an see how things go since the discus are in there...:smile: 

tc
Mark


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