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125 Gallon Mississippi River Aquarium

Started by Guest_Yeahson421_* , Apr 06 2012 11:49 PM

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34 replies to this topic

#1 Guest_Yeahson421_*

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Posted 06 April 2012 - 11:49 PM

Hey there fellow NANFAns! I'm looking to remodel my 125 gallon MN native tank (Stocking list is in my signature). I currently have Kitty Litter as a substrate, which, in combination with big fish, makes it impossible to grow plants. So, I'm looking to fix it up after school's out and want to start planning now.

LIGHTING:
4'-6' Dual Bulb Shoplight suspended above the tank

FILTRATION:
One Fluval Fx5, UV Sterilizer, a 5 gallon bucket wet-dry filled with Bio-Bale, and a sump with a 80 gallon sponge filter in it

SUBSTRATE:
6" or so of deep sand substrate, inspired by Todd Craill AKA FarmerTodd. I'm thinking 3" topsoil, 1/2" clay, capped with 3" sand.

PLANTS:
Most any MN native, mostly Vallisneria Americana

INVERTS:
Blackworms, Asian Clams, Malaysian Trumpet Snails, and any others you seem fit

FISH:
4 Northern Longears, 4 Pumpkinseeds, 1 Longear X Pumpkinseed, 1 Bluegill, 1 Warmouth, 1 Green Sunfish, 1 Black Crappie, 1 Creek Chub (I currently have all of these)
I would like to add 1 Grass Pickerel for sure, and hopefully a small school of minnows or some other fish that won't be eaten yet is still somewhat small, and any other fish you would reccomend

QUESTIONS:
How should I get the clay?
Are there any other inverts I could add? (That won't eventually fly of my aquarium)
Are there any fish you would add to the list?
Is the filtration sufficient?
Are there any other suggestions or ideas anyone has?

Here's the tank now:

043.JPG 211.57KB 10 downloads

P.S. I know it seems like I have a lot of build threads that you never get to see the final product of, but in reality, most of them actually get finished! I just never have gotten around to posting pictures. Once I finish this I may do a run through of my tanks.

Edited by Yeahson421, 06 April 2012 - 11:50 PM.

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#2 Guest_EricaWieser_*

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Posted 07 April 2012 - 10:18 AM

So, wait, why does the kitty litter mean you can't grow plants? If your fish are burrowing around in it, just cap it with 2-3 inches of gravel like you would cap soil. Kitty litter itself is very nutritious and quite capable of supporting plant life. Source: http://www.thekrib.c...rate-jamie.html

You mention wanting Vallisneria americana. Here is a thread with pictures of someone's Vallisneria americana growing right up out of a tank with pure kitty litter substrate: http://www.plantedta...trate-i-do.html (scroll down past the initial advertisement)
An example image: http://farm3.static....6ace751c3_o.jpg

Edited by EricaWieser, 07 April 2012 - 10:20 AM.

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#3 Guest_MrCatfish_*

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Posted 07 April 2012 - 10:52 AM

I had the same problem with kitty,plants and large fish.

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#4 Guest_Yeahson421_*

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Posted 07 April 2012 - 11:40 AM

So, wait, why does the kitty litter mean you can't grow plants? If your fish are burrowing around in it, just cap it with 2-3 inches of gravel like you would cap soil. Kitty litter itself is very nutritious and quite capable of supporting plant life. Source: http://www.thekrib.c...rate-jamie.html

You mention wanting Vallisneria americana. Here is a thread with pictures of someone's Vallisneria americana growing right up out of a tank with pure kitty litter substrate: http://www.plantedta...trate-i-do.html (scroll down past the initial advertisement)
An example image: http://farm3.static....6ace751c3_o.jpg

Well, dirt has many organisms already in it that help with the cycle and maintaining a live substrate. It also has many minerals and other nutrients that help both the fish and the plants. Also, for the fishkeeper, it's proven that the more time one spends touching dirt, the more mentally stable they become. It's also proven to fight off depression and they are guessing that it will also assist with alzheimers. So the half hour or so I spend putting the dirt in my tank will help me (in a very small way) in the long run :biggrin:

No, but in all seriousness, I've just had much better luck with the dirt. It also seems to bring out color in my fish. So, I'm sticking with dirt, and I would like to suggest that you try the same in one of your 75 gallons. I garuntee you'll like it.

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#5 Guest_steve_*

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Posted 07 April 2012 - 09:08 PM

......it's proven that the more time one spends touching dirt, the more mentally stable they become. It's also proven to fight off depression and they are guessing that it will also assist with alzheimers.

Cool! So Charles Schulz's Pigpen had it figured out all along, and it even helped him have clean thoughts too. :tongue:

Sounds like a great idea for a set up. Do you have room for two parallel 4' shop light fixtures that are staggered so they directly cover the whole 6' tank? I haven't priced 6'ers, but for as cheap as 4'ers are, it may be cheaper to cover it all that way. I've got two dual bulb shop light fixtures on my 75 that sit 9" over the tank and the set up works great for growing plants. Your substrate plan and some good lighting should definitely grow plants well. With high enough plant density and growth, you may even find that you won't need as much bacterial nitrification housing for biological filtration as you're starting with.

Seems like your creek chubs may be one of the safest bets for minnows native to the Mississippi drainage. Others may have had different experiences but I've had a rock bass take down some decent size striped shiners. I figure if a rock bass could do it, then maybe a warmouth and certainly a crappie could too. Creek chubs and some of the Nocomis chubs may be the only minnows in the range you're wanting that get big enough to be safe. Even at that, I've not tried it, but one of my future projects will be a rock bass/adult creek chub tank. We'll see how it works.

I like the idea. Looking forward to seeing pictures and hearing about the progress. Thanks for sharing about it.

Steve

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#6 Michael Wolfe

Board of Directors

North Georgia, Oconee River Drainage

Posted 08 April 2012 - 08:51 AM

Be careful... Creek chubs have very big mouths... and are very omnivorous... Nocomis chubs make batter tank mates for most fish... although I did have a very nice bullhead and creek chub tank for a while at work... very easy to feed, very hardy fish.

Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing. - Benjamin Franklin

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#7 Guest_Yeahson421_*

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Posted 08 April 2012 - 07:25 PM

What about Northern Studfish? I know they aren't MN native, but they are found in the midwest.

Edited by Yeahson421, 08 April 2012 - 07:25 PM.

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#8 Guest_Newt_*

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Posted 09 April 2012 - 07:58 AM

I have found it hard to keep studfish and minnows together; the studfish just aren't aggressive competitors.

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#9 Guest_Yeahson421_*

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Posted 09 April 2012 - 12:03 PM

Good point. So, how many chubs do you think I could put in there?

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#10 Guest_Yeahson421_*

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Posted 09 April 2012 - 04:23 PM

I also just thought of Golden Shiners. I've had a few before, and they seem to be competitive enough.
What about:
4 Northern Longears
4 Pumpkinseeds
1 Longear x Pumpkinseed
1 Green Sunfish
1 Warmouth Sunfish
1 Bluegill
1 Black Crappie
1 Grass Pickerel
2 Creek Chubs
4 Golden Shiners

I think that if you think about all of the filtration and cover that this would likely work out, but I'm not sure.

Edited by Yeahson421, 09 April 2012 - 04:27 PM.

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#11 Guest_scottsquatch_*

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Posted 10 April 2012 - 12:11 PM

Bullheads man! You gotta get a nice bullhead or two in there! They're very hardy and keep the bottom free of extra food. Plus, (IMHO) anything in the catfish family is just plain cool. Good luck.

Scott

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#12 Guest_Yeahson421_*

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Posted 10 April 2012 - 03:23 PM

I'd luck to, but I hear that they're rough on plants.

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#13 Guest_steve_*

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Posted 13 April 2012 - 02:39 PM

Be careful... Creek chubs have very big mouths... and are very omnivorous... Nocomis chubs make batter tank mates for most fish... although I did have a very nice bullhead and creek chub tank for a while at work... very easy to feed, very hardy fish.

Is it the L. peltastes in his stocking line-up that you would be concerned about with the adult creek chubs or do you think they could get too rough for some of the others too? It seems to me that most of these could hold their own with adult creek chubs, but then I've never kept a 10"-12" one either. I did have a 6"+ creek chub living with a 4.5" longear until a few days ago when the chub leaped to an untimely death.

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#14 Guest_Yeahson421_*

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Posted 13 April 2012 - 03:38 PM

Is it the L. peltastes in his stocking line-up that you would be concerned about with the adult creek chubs or do you think they could get too rough for some of the others too? It seems to me that most of these could hold their own with adult creek chubs, but then I've never kept a 10"-12" one either. I did have a 6"+ creek chub living with a 4.5" longear until a few days ago when the chub leaped to an untimely death.

I guess I never quite thought of how big the chubs would get in comparison to the Longears. Well, maybe I'll go with Hornyheads and put the Creek Chub in my pond.

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#15 Guest_steve_*

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Posted 14 April 2012 - 11:57 AM

Ah, just thought. The concern may actually be more about the quantity of food intake of a creek chub compared to other fish and the speed and aggressiveness by which it does it. Often, I had to keep the creek chub occupied with food at one end of the tank so that the longear would have a chance to eat. Either way, sounds like you're making a good choice going with the hornyhead instead.

Steve

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#16 Guest_Yeahson421_*

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Posted 16 July 2012 - 09:06 PM

Hey, so this tank IS underway. I've built the canopy and I'm waiting on the overflow box to be finished by our local glass store. I have the sump completed, too. I've revised my stocking plans. I want to get rid of my Warmouth, Creek Chub, and Bluegill. If anyone's interested, shoot me a pm. My new stocking plan consists of 4 Pumpkinseeds, 1 Central Longear/Pumpkinseed Hybrid, 4 Northern Longears, a school of Common Shiners, and 1-2 Grass Pickerel. How does that sound? I may add more Northern Longears, Pumpkinseeds, and possibly other species of Longears as time goes on.

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#17 Guest_MichiJim_*

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Posted 17 July 2012 - 10:25 AM

Just a thought,

Other people might have different experience with them, but I have never had success with pumpkinseeds in a community set up. They get as big, or bigger, than bluegills and have that same bad attitude.

I have settled on a large tank setup with several northern longears, several o-spots, and a couple of dollar sunfish, and they do well together. They may chase each other a little, but no damage. Everybody stakes out their little bit of turf and stays content. Two pairs of longears and one pair of o-spots just spawned last night.

I had redfin shiners with them, but they became sunfish food a short time ago. But they used to spawn regularily as well.

Jim

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#18 Guest_Yeahson421_*

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Posted 17 July 2012 - 11:40 AM

My pumpkinseeds are actually very mild mannered, but thanks for the suggestion! And your tank sounds beautiful! What size tank is that?

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#19 Guest_Yeahson421_*

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Posted 05 August 2012 - 08:41 PM

So we've finally got an update! I'm hoping to have it done next week! For now, here's the plumbing pieces:

This is the overflow for my sump. The airline must be attached to a powerhead for it to function.

2012-08-05 08.58.19.jpg 157.38KB 3 downloads

This is the algae scrubber that goes in my sump. (Thanks Steve for the idea! )

2012-08-05 08.57.34.jpg 263.86KB 2 downloads

Here's the outflow from the sump.

2012-08-05 08.58.35.jpg 144.84KB 0 downloads

This is the intake for my FX5.

2012-08-05 08.59.00.jpg 133.65KB 0 downloads

Here are the holes drilled in the PVC.

2012-08-05 08.59.04.jpg 139.96KB 0 downloads

Here's the spraybar for my FX5.

2012-08-05 08.58.49.jpg 140.66KB 0 downloads

That's all for now. Tuesday or Wednesday I'm gluing the PVC and then Friday or Saturday we're plumbing it in. Here's the left-to-do list:

Glue PVC
Paint PVC black
Drill hole in counter to feed PVC through
Connect everything
Finish canopy (I'll put up pictures when it's done)
Drain the tank
Glue in overflow weir to cover intakes (I will put up pictures when I get it from the glass store)
Aquascape
Fill the tank
Turn on the pumps
Let run for a few days (FX5 precycled)
Stock
Enjoy!

I'll update as I go!

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#20 Guest_steve_*

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Posted 07 August 2012 - 08:25 AM

Great update, I think your really going to like the effectiveness of the algae scrubber.(nitrate in my 150 just hit 0 last week) I like your design for hanging your spay bar. I think I'll use something similar on my next set up.

I'm not quite able to visualize how the airline attached to a powerhead is going to work. Can you explain a little further on that? Thanks and thanks for the update.