125 gallon stocking SA/CA themed

Aquamaniac96

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jun 10, 2016
33
20
8
28
Alright let's cut to the chase... I went to aqadvisor, filled out the info on the fish I wanted. It told me 80% stocking, filtration was in 340's%, WC at 37% a week. Now I would like people with experience to put in their two cents. It's a standard 125. I'll have sand substrate (quikrete pool filter sand), rocks (some new and some from my 10 gallon, Malaysian wood (and maybe the two pieces from my 10 gallon), live plants (amazon swords, frogbit, camboba caroliniana, with seachem flourish tabs and the liquid fertilizer), A fluval fx6, marine land 350bx2, and three pre-filter sponges. Since I have the sponge pre-filter I decided to use both the top and middle trays with seachem matrix (in The Bag), and the bottom will have the water polishers and some seachem purigen (also in The Bag). Stock lighting, I'm assuming T8. OK now for stocking. I am getting a EBJD, Nicaragua/Macaw Cichlid, 6 Geophagus sp. Tapajos, and a school of lemon tetras. So Im pretty sure the filtration is adequate enough. Right now I have it listed as 10 lemon tetras. Now my question is, would 10 be enough to make my tank look active or should I get more since I have the space for it? Also I haven't got the chance to test my waters chemistry but I'm assuming its on the basic side, I'm hoping I can bring it down to about neutral. So my goal is to keep the pH as close to 7 as I can. I know the GEOS prefer acidic water while the Macaw prefers basics so this is my solution to that issue. I'm aware the tetras and plants may be lunched in the future but I want my aquarium to be naturalistic and I want the fish to exhibit natural behavior. If you have seen any issues with my stocking please let me know and perhaps provide alternatives (I'm dead set on the ebjd though), if you think I should keep it where its at or add more tetras let me know. Not sure how I'll layout the decor and plants but my general idea is rock territory on one end, driftwood on the other, plants spread around but maybe creating a barrier between those territories, then leaving the middle more open for the GEOS. Do the GEOS need territory/places to hide or would they prefer the open space like I planned? I'm not opposed to more driftwood or something like mangrove roots, just finding something large enough for them to fit may be an issue. Alright all done. Thanks for your time to at least read this, hope I get the answers I need! :)
 

bbortko

Polypterus
MFK Member
Mar 3, 2010
3,165
219
96
Northwest, Indiana
Had a nic, ebjd, and tapajos when I set up my old 125. The nic picked it's spots and didn't care what went down in the rest of the tank, if the ebjd got close to the NICs spot they'd flair and posture for a bit then went on with their day. I'm fairly confident that the ebjd and probably the nic as well will make short work of the lemons once they become snack sized.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Aquamaniac96

Aquamaniac96

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jun 10, 2016
33
20
8
28
Awesome! I figured that would be the case. I didnt realize Lemon Tetras only get 2" max. Would a school of Buenos Aires or Columbian tetras be a better choice? I'm also planning on feeding 2-3 times a day to hopefully prevent them from being eaten. Did you have anything tankmates with those cichlids? How many Tapajos?
 

bbortko

Polypterus
MFK Member
Mar 3, 2010
3,165
219
96
Northwest, Indiana
Either tetras would be better. I had 3 tapajos, 3 silver dollars and a jurapari. Everything worked for me. 5 tapajos and 5 SD would have been fine.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Aquamaniac96

Aquamaniac96

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jun 10, 2016
33
20
8
28
Alright thanks. I'm leaning towards the Columbians. They look more bulky. Awesome, jurapari look great, I'm just trying to lean to the smaller sized geos. I definitely want a school cause I used to have one all alone in a 55 with a JD and he was a bully.
 
zoomed.com
hikariusa.com
aqaimports.com
Store