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New 125 rock work help please ?

olzkool

Members
Hello,
I am trying to set up my new 125 gallon aquarium for an all male African tank. I am seriuosly struggling on which way to go. I was up until 1am last night playing with rocks. I am sure most have you have been through this. I can't decide wether to go with holey rocks like my existing setups, or go granite. I have acess to all the granite I want for free, and have about 50 lbs of holey rock at home, I would need about 50 more. The only reason I though about switching, and this is probably stupid, is because it will match my living room. My carpet is black and grey, furniture is grey, tables are black, aquarium stand is black, etc. I googled some tanks and thought they looked really nice. So I spent yesterday at lunch gathering rocks, then all night playing with different setups. My biggest concern is I am just not sure the granite provides enough little hiding spots for the mbuna. My fish definitely like anything they can swim under and hang out. For background info I will be using white quartzite sand, 2 fx5s, 2 850 powerheads, black background. I will have around 35 smaller fish, mostly young, with the largest at the being 3-3.5". They are Mbuna with a handful of peacocks that are larger. I will also have 7-8 homemade pvc tunnels that go under the sand. I am going to post a couple of pics of one of my holey rock setups, then some pics of the granite layouts I played with last night. Some of the rocks are still a little dirty so they look brown. You will have to use your imagination as they are laid out on a foam board and not the aquarium. The left side of the tank has the granite on end and angled. That will stay that way. The right side I am not sure about. I have 2 separate layouts I was playing with. ANY help or opinions would be greatly appreciated, especially on wether or not there is enough hiding spaces. Hopefully with your help I won't be in my basement staring at rocks again for 4 hours lol.
Thanks
Chris

HOLEY ROCK



LEFT SIDE GRANITE


RIGHT SIDE GRANITE
This one??


or this one

 

Ading522

Members
Personal opinions would really differ..but I used granite as well.. My wife helped me with the setups..so here it is..for my 125 with mbuna, I used smaller rocks and medium sized rocks to create the small spaces in between.. It looks like a mound, but the fish love it..and often times squabble over it.. My openings are note hidden by placing rocks in front or side..hard to explain..just look at my setups..maybe they can help you decide..

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Ading522

Members
I like the way you made those rocks on the left side..and for reference, I like the second option for the right..

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olzkool

Members
Granite it is. I just got done washing all the rocks. Ill be setting it up tomorrow night after work. Look for pics on Sunday.
 

olzkool

Members
Is 30-35 fish too many? Would i need more rocks and tunnels? I have had people comment saying that's overstocked. Most are small, the largest being around 3-3.5" if that matters?
 

Ading522

Members
Is 30-35 fish too many? Would i need more rocks and tunnels? I have had people comment saying that's overstocked. Most are small, the largest being around 3-3.5" if that matters?

For now? That's fine. Later down the road it could still be fine, but you're going to need a lot of circulation, and filtration.. Probably would be best to feed small but frequently everyday, and an automatic feeder can help you with that.. I have around 25 fish in my 125 and the smallest being 2.75".. And I'm doing fine with small frequent feedings, huge water changes of 50% per week, 2x800 gph koralia powerheads, and a single fx5 customized for mechanical filtration..I will be adding an Eheim 2217 by next week..I aim for 30 fish for this tank.. So far my water parameters are normal, and maybe when I get to that point of 30 fish I'll change to biweekly water changes..tunnels are also good as they can provide hideouts for less dominant fish, I would change the decode every once in a while to help other fish re establish territory..if this is too much work for you, maybe cut down on the fish number..its just my two cents..hope that helps..

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+1 that stock sounds perfect. I am a bit ovetstocked at about 40 fish from 1.5- 5 inch. Circulation is key I also use two karolia and two canisters, something like 2500 gph flowing through the tank. I keep the karolia low so nothing has a chance to settle to the bottom. I do however do filter maintenance quite ofter do to the large amount of waste. You have inspired me to rescape my tank going out rock hunting in the snow today! I agree the granite looks better there was a post about the golden ratio a few days ago. I learned a lot from the link and look foward to applying it in my new scape. Stay tuned for updates and good luck.

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olzkool

Members
It helps. Not too much work. All my tanks get a 40% once a week. I am a freak about water changes and cleanings as it is. 1 more tank won't matter. I have 2 fx5's and 2 korelia 850 power heads for this tank. I was going to set them up with sponges on outside, bio in the top 2 baskets, and some poly fil in the bottom basket. I have a ton of tunnels premade I just have to find room for them. I made 3 different sizes. I made them from 1", 1 1/2" and 2" PVC. I used a 45 on each end and a 1-3" pipe between them. I then coated the ends of the 45s with thin layer of silicone and dipped them in the white sand so the small portion that protrudes from the substrate looks like its part of it. They work pretty well and can barely tell they are there
 

olzkool

Members
I also used a version of the golden ratio called the rule of thirds . That's why the lines are on the pink board. We will see how it turns out
 

Ading522

Members
nice plan on the tunnels..i was going to do this, but i was scared of food particles being caught up in the tunnels, and would maybe cause something to happen in the tank.. so my nooks and crannies are all made out of the rocks..my rocks do not take up the back portion of the tank, but are spread out in different angles and spaces of the tank to create a "swim" space and a sight break that looks natural..i have noticed my smaller fishes hanging out by those rocks that provide cover while the bigger fish roam the free swim space and middle to top area of the tank.. makes it look more natural in my opinion.. i also keep the one of the powerheads on the low side, to keep things moving along towards my filter intake..sand is about .5 " deep..less in some areas..just so that i can see them do some of their sand digging.. i will post a video of the 125 soon.. it will be the last of the current setup as some of the fish are finding new homes by next week, and i will be turning this setup into an all male tank..
 

olzkool

Members
Just an update. Rocks are in. Changed it up a little. Tunnels are in, 1 fx5 is up and running and I'm on my way to get some media for the second fx5 and a background. One thing im fighting is the powerhead placement, and filter intake placement. If I put the power heads on the ends to blow through the rocks I have to put both intakes near the middle of the tank and I don't know how that would work. If I put them in the middle the intakes have to go on the ends and the power heads won't swivel enough to blow through the rocks. Anyway, I post some pics when the tiny bubbles are gone.
 

F8LBITE

Members
With the all male tanks you'll want to crowd them until they figure out the hierarchy. Then you'll have to weed out some trouble makers. I used to trade trouble makers out with my friends. If they don't work in your tank, they may work out in another.
 
With two fx5's and two power heads I don't think much of anything will have a chance to settle. I would do power heads and returns on one side or half and intake on the other. I have noticed no mattet how well I plan there are always a few dead spots that have to be adjusted once everything is done. With that much flow you may run into an issue with waste being blown right past the intakes. If more water flows past the intake than is being sucked up the waste may perpetually float around, if that makes sense. Defiantly a trial and error type thing.

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olzkool

Members
Pretty much done. Still got the tiny bubbles of a new tank, need to work out placement of powerheads and intakes, need a 72" or (2) 36" lights. Here are some pics so far. I included some pics of my tunnels. Please excuse the crappy pics. Its late, didn't feel like getting thecamera and just used my phone.








 
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