my new 125 gallon aquarium setup

[adamsfishes]

And here is a full tank shot of when I first set it up, which was about 2 weeks ago. There are red tiger lotus on the right side that you can't see in this pic because they are babies. They are actually grown quite a bit, but I'll wait a little longer before posting final pics of the initial setup.



The lights are Kessil A160WE. They are programmed via a spectral controller.

The pic doesn't really capture how it looks in real life. The pic looks overly bright and washed out. I need to figure out how to take better aquarium photos...

I'll update with more pics after I finish the setup and cycling.

Speaking of cycling, I just started the pick up nitrite tonight. Reading 0.25 ppm. Appears to be a hint of nitrate as well, but it's below 5 ppm. Shouldn't be long now.

 

[Stanzzzz7]

Nice set up.
I really like the scape,looks nice and natural. Should look even better once the lotus lily takes off.
Can't wait to see it when the thorichthys arrive.
What type of swordtails will you get?
Cool set up Adam, I look forward to more up dates and photos.

 

[HardBodyBullies1]

And here is a full tank shot of when I first set it up, which was about 2 weeks ago. There are red tiger lotus on the right side that you can't see in this pic because they are babies. They are actually grown quite a bit, but I'll wait a little longer before posting final pics of the initial setup.

View attachment 1191817

The lights are Kessil A160WE. They are programmed via a spectral controller.

The pic doesn't really capture how it looks in real life. The pic looks overly bright and washed out. I need to figure out how to take better aquarium photos...

I'll update with more pics after I finish the setup and cycling.

Speaking of cycling, I just started the pick up nitrite tonight. Reading 0.25 ppm. Appears to be a hint of nitrate as well, but it's below 5 ppm. Shouldn't be long now.

It looks amazing!

 

[adamsfishes]

Thanks for the comments. It's taken me a long time to get to this point, so I'm really happy to be nearing the finish line.

Darren, the swordtails I'm looking at are Xiphophorus montezumae from selectaquatics.com. I'm on a waiting list, so it could be a while. He also has X. helleri Rio Otapas like yours, so we'll see, I might get impatient.

 

[Stanzzzz7]

The montezumea are lovely swords,I always wanted some of those myself.
The otapa are not too shabby either.Im really pleased with mine.I have at a guess about 60 fry growing out in another tank at the moment.
They will probably all end up in my 7x2x2 if I can get round to making my mind up about that tank.
This hobby does cause some difficult decisions.

 

[adamsfishes]

That's a lot of swords. I'll probably start with a few pairs and see what happens. I hope they breed because I'd like to end up with about 20 swords, and it would be too expensive to buy that many (if they were even available).

Are you still trying to rehome your GTs?

I got another nitrite spike today, up to 0.5 ppm. Nitrate spiked as well, up to 5 ppm. I added ammonia back up to 2 ppm. It's rolling now. Almost fish time!

 

[Stanzzzz7]

I can feel your excitement
Keep changing my mind with the gt's not sure.
I would like to see my thorichthys in this tank though.
If you have a male and female sword they will breed like rabbits.

 

[Stanzzzz7]

Adam, do you have a small spare tank?
You will more than likely need to remove any pregnant females to give birth away from the community.
I have had the odd few make it but the thorichthys and the swordtails prey on the fry.
I put the female on her own in a tank full of hornwart. As soon as she has given birth I put her back in the main tank.I grow the fry on to about an inch before putting them back in the main tank.

 

[adamsfishes]

I don't, but I probably will get one set up. I think I'm gonna get a standard 20 gallon. I have a good spot for it. It would probably be wise to quarantine the new swords before adding them to my main tank, then I could keep that as a fry/hospital tank. The last thing I'd want is for them to infect the Thorichthys with something.

 

[adamsfishes]

That GT tank is pretty ridiculous, so I can understand your reluctance. You could always just upgrade your helleri tank to a bigger size.