# 125g Tank Complete Overhaul



## therizman1 (Jan 6, 2006)

Here are photos of the process... it was a complete overhaul of the tank and everything in it!

What I had to start with... hadnt done much maitenance in a month or two, lots of over growth, little algae, just overall not that pleasing... had eco-complete, diftwood, large rhom, lots of smaller fish (espei rasbora, choprae danio, harlequin rasboras, volcano rasboras, apistogramma cacautoides, whiptail catfish, amano shrimp, ghost shrimp, and german blue rams)









Tank almost all emptied out, just the eco left and a little water.









My living room looking like a disaster during the change.









The pagoda stone I was using for hardscape and the 150lbs of soilmaster I had on hand.









Two nice pieces of driftwood that my LFS hooked me up with for a great price.









100lbs of soilmaster in my tank (ended up using 125lbs)









One side with some hardscaping.









Other side with some hardscaping.









Some plants in, water still a little cloudy.









Tank redone... living room still all messy with containers from plants and fish... and I have no clue why it looks like my couch has a wood patter, it doesnt in real life.









Three casualties from the move.. no idea why the died, just thinking it was stress... was three beautiful espei rasboras from my group of 9 of them... kinda sad about losing them, they are hard to find and take a good 6 months to get to the size they were.









Tank complete and all cleared up... lookin pretty good I think!









Left side of the tank...









Right side of the tank...









Male German Blue Ram... he likes to pose for the camera!









Markov my big black diamond rhom... also the one who bit me previously, no bites this time though

















Hope you enjoyed it all... spent around 10hrs working on it Sat and 4 hours today... given wasnt working the whole time, takes a while to drain and fill a 125 a few times and such, but a lot of time went into it, was no small undertaking and I put a lot of planning into it.


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## spinalremains (Nov 10, 2006)

Very nice. I hope markov doesn't kill the blueram!


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## Bsixxx (Aug 31, 2006)

wow what an amazing job









and a very beautiful Rhom


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## pioneer1976 (Jan 14, 2007)

outstanding job man, looks awsome


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## Genin (Feb 4, 2003)

you filthy wh*re I loathe you!

awesome job on the scape, that will be incredible when the blyxa grows in around the wood borders. Markov is awesome looking as well.


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## therizman1 (Jan 6, 2006)

spinalremains said:


> you filthy wh*re I loathe you!
> 
> awesome job on the scape, that will be incredible when the blyxa grows in around the wood borders. Markov is awesome looking as well.


I am not a filty wh*re... I took a shower today, thank you very much









Thank you though, and yea, once the blyxa grows in around the pagoda stone, it should look nice... I wanted to leave some areas for my rhom to chill in cause he likes to be near the bottom of the tank from what I have found out about him.


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## SNAKEBITE (Oct 7, 2006)

wow its looking a mazing!!!

your main focal point is the blk in your background, are you planninig on covering that up?

other than that for a 16yr old kid(j/k) its looking damn good


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## therizman1 (Jan 6, 2006)

SNAKEBITE said:


> wow its looking a mazing!!!
> 
> your main focal point is the blk in your background, are you planninig on covering that up?
> 
> other than that for a 16yr old kid(j/k) its looking damn good


Center is staying open for now for room for my rhom to swim around a bit... maybe get a lotus or aponogeton... not sure... for now it is staying the way it is, the blyxa will get taller and the ammania and aromatica should grow in from each side nicely after a couple months.

16 plus 8 and then you would be correct...


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## flashover00 (Oct 19, 2006)

Looks good mike. 
Post up some pics when it grows in more.

lol.."lfs hooked you up"...you must know someone there...haha


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## DiPpY eGgS (Mar 6, 2005)

Very nice Mike!
I love it. Your L aromatica has a nice color to it as well
I can't wait to move-- Not for the new house, but to rescape lol jk


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## therizman1 (Jan 6, 2006)

flashover00 said:


> Very nice Mike!
> I love it. Your L aromatica has a nice color to it as well
> I can't wait to move-- Not for the new house, but to rescape lol jk


Yea, my aromatica gets amazing color for some reason, no idea why, I neglect it and it gets better color it seems. I just signed my lease for another year, so figured I might as well rescape and make something I can enjoy more... couple months of growth and it should look awesome come summer time.


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## russm4a3 (Aug 24, 2005)

That tank is amazing! What kind of filter are you using and how much CO2 are you pumping into it? Also what is the really tall grass like plant?


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## skubasteve! (Feb 14, 2007)

Very nice Riz!


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## Round Head (Sep 26, 2005)

Wow!!! I really like your setup.
Its going to look amazing after a couple of weeks.
Keep a journal for this fabulous tank OK bro. I love to see progress and changes. I also want to pick up a few tricks from you too.
And don't forget about the body count too; I also want to know rhom-proof tetras


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## eightreds (Mar 2, 2007)

looks great man! i am in the process of redoing mine too!


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## therizman1 (Jan 6, 2006)

russm4a3 said:


> looks great man! i am in the process of redoing mine too!


Thanks man! Redoing a tank of size is no small undertaking, but I think well worth it in the end!


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## flashover00 (Oct 19, 2006)

therizman1 said:


> Looks good mike.
> Post up some pics when it grows in more.
> 
> lol.."lfs hooked you up"...you must know someone there...haha


Yea... I know a few people there...









BTW, have you been in lately? They setup holding tanks for Koi and got a new rack for more freshwater fish and they are def getting in more piranhas... working on some baby golds, etc.

[/quote]

i was in last week just to look around...actually one of the few times ive walked out of the store w/o purchasing something. lol
i saw the koi in the back(must be pond season...but you wouldnt know it from the weather)...i saw the empty tanks in the middle and was wondering when they were gonna fill them up.

I saw that they had baby reds, that sanchezi(which has been price reduced down to reasonable) and some mid size pygos in that back tank. 
To be honest, i was hoping rick would start breeding some discus, but he said that was like 10 years down the road...lol


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## blazednosferatu (Feb 27, 2006)

Thats a really good job, nice diamond rhom too


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## therizman1 (Jan 6, 2006)

flashover00 said:


> Looks good mike.
> Post up some pics when it grows in more.
> 
> lol.."lfs hooked you up"...you must know someone there...haha


Yea... I know a few people there...









BTW, have you been in lately? They setup holding tanks for Koi and got a new rack for more freshwater fish and they are def getting in more piranhas... working on some baby golds, etc.

[/quote]

i was in last week just to look around...actually one of the few times ive walked out of the store w/o purchasing something. lol
i saw the koi in the back(must be pond season...but you wouldnt know it from the weather)...i saw the empty tanks in the middle and was wondering when they were gonna fill them up.

I saw that they had baby reds, that sanchezi(which has been price reduced down to reasonable) and some mid size pygos in that back tank. 
To be honest, i was hoping rick would start breeding some discus, but he said that was like 10 years down the road...lol
[/quote]

Yea, it is hard not to buy stuff... usually I end up with at least a bag of brine shrimp for a treat for my fish or some crickets for my frogs.

The middle tanks they just need to finish cleaning and hooking up lights and they are good to go, he said they have all the plumbing stuff.

Discus... so OVER-RATED :rasp: I just dont think that there is that high of a demand for them, and they are so expensive for the really nice big ones which are what people want, but they dont want to pay the price usually.


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## DiPpY eGgS (Mar 6, 2005)

If the previous setup has T moss in the front center, I miss it.

Everything else looks great


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## ZOSICK (May 25, 2005)

that's a very good looking tank.
man your living room is cluttered.


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## therizman1 (Jan 6, 2006)

DiPpY eGgS said:


> that's a very good looking tank.
> man your living room is cluttered.:laugh:


Thanks! Yea... you have no idea how many times I almost ate sh*t into one of those Sterlite containers I had all my plants in... python laying around, towels, rocks... it was an accident waiting to happen.


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## Doktordet (Sep 22, 2006)

Great job!


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## joefish219 (Feb 8, 2005)

nice rehaul, looks much organized and cleaner. i see your plants flourish under that incredible hood.


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## therizman1 (Jan 6, 2006)

joefish219 said:


> nice rehaul, looks much organized and cleaner. i see your plants flourish under that incredible hood.


Yup.. custom made hood by yours truly... 3 sets of 3' Nova Extreme HO T5 lights and 3 Coralife LEDs for at night otherwise my rhom gets spooked too easily in complete darkness. Hood is holding up very well actually... waterproofed the entire inside and no problems with any rot or mold taking place or the wood expanding due to the constant moisture, so I am very pleased with it.


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## locust (Aug 2, 2005)

excellent, love these type of informative threads , do you not gravel vac the substrate during water changes because the plants live off the waste or what ? where did you put your rhom/filters during the overhaul?


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## AKSkirmish (Jun 24, 2005)

Absolutely beautiful Mike-


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## therizman1 (Jan 6, 2006)

locust said:


> Absolutely beautiful Mike-


Thanks AK!


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## Winkyee (Feb 17, 2003)

Damn your tank look great Mike.
So does the rhom


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## therizman1 (Jan 6, 2006)

Winkyee said:


> Damn your tank look great Mike.
> So does the rhom


Thanks Winkyee... and youre still not getting your rhom back!


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## locust (Aug 2, 2005)

one more question, did you use new water to refill or did you save some old?


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## moron (May 26, 2006)

wow very nice job you did there... where did you get the soilmaster from?


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## therizman1 (Jan 6, 2006)

locust said:


> wow very nice job you did there... where did you get the soilmaster from?


Thank you. I bought the Soilmaster Select from Lesco.. there is one about 6 miles from my house.


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## ICEE (Feb 3, 2007)

Very nice job Rizman Markov looks great and so does the tank


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## Joga Bonito (Oct 30, 2004)

very nice!


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## Guest (Apr 15, 2007)

the tank looks great







, now i need mine to finish cycling.


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## Winkyee (Feb 17, 2003)

As good as the pictures are, they do no justice to this tank..
I was in awe today when I seen rizmans collection.


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## therizman1 (Jan 6, 2006)

Winkyee said:


> As good as the pictures are, they do no justice to this tank..
> I was in awe today when I seen rizmans collection.


Thanks Pete! Glad you finally made it to America!


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## moron (May 26, 2006)

> Thank you. I bought the Soilmaster Select from Lesco.. there is one about 6 miles from my house.


is that some kind of hardware store?


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## therizman1 (Jan 6, 2006)

'SHADOW said:


> > Thank you. I bought the Soilmaster Select from Lesco.. there is one about 6 miles from my house.
> 
> 
> is that some kind of hardware store?


If you google the name, you will get their website. It is more so a golf course/sports field/landscapers supply house, but they sell to anyone.


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## moron (May 26, 2006)

therizman1 said:


> > Thank you. I bought the Soilmaster Select from Lesco.. there is one about 6 miles from my house.
> 
> 
> is that some kind of hardware store?


If you google the name, you will get their website. It is more so a golf course/sports field/landscapers supply house, but they sell to anyone.
[/quote]

thanks


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## rocker (Aug 12, 2005)

tank looks awsome

what is soilmaster select?

i dont think this is in canada huh?


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## therizman1 (Jan 6, 2006)

rocker said:


> tank looks awsome
> 
> what is soilmaster select?
> 
> i dont think this is in canada huh?


It is actually used for baseball fields or the infield or something, but they have another color which is more the color of red clay that is used primarily. I am not sure if you can get it in Canada or not... not sure how close to the US you live, but you could always see how far one in the US is from you.


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## Genin (Feb 4, 2003)

so where's the update riz?


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## BlackSunshine (Mar 28, 2006)

DiPpY eGgS said:


> Yea, my aromatica gets amazing color for some reason, no idea why, I neglect it and it gets better color it seems. I just signed my lease for another year, so figured I might as well rescape and make something I can enjoy more... couple months of growth and it should look awesome come summer time.


WTF you talking bout in a couple months. sh*t man it looks freaking awesome right now. 
Lovin the orange and red's you have in that tank. I want some! lol My rotela rountund seems to not want to orange up. and my ludwigia outgrows my 20l too damn fast. and after turning a briliant red it turns to crap cause it wants to grow emerged.


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## CloneME (Feb 24, 2006)

Nice job on the rescape man, love the driftwood. Nice looking rhom also glad to hear he could restrain himself from taking a chunk out of you this time. 
E


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