125 G Setup

[Chef Mateo]

Hi I potentially could buy a 125 gallon tank for $350 CDN ($248 US) which seems like a good deal considering it looks basically brand new. Just curious what would the approximate equipment cost look like. I currently only have a 25 gallon lagoon tank and would really like to get a second one running pretty soon.

I would have a mixed reef tank in that 125 just curious on what would be an the average pay for equipment for a 125 gal. (Protein skimmer, heater, sump and all of that)

Thanks!

 

[Dragon52]

That's hard to answer because it's going to come down to how much money you have to spend & the quality of product you want. It also depends on what comes with the tank. You could also buy some things as you go. If you want a controller for everything like an apex that will cost $$$.
1st things needed are
Lights
Sump & Overflow unless tank is already drilled.
Return pump
Heater
A skimmer can be bought later
Test kits for
Ammonia
Nitrite
Nitrate
The other kits can come a month or 2 later because you wont really need them until you start adding corals
Kh
Calcium
Magnesium
I know others will kick in with more.

 

[nereefpat]

Couple hundred for a skimmer, and that much again for a return pump. Sumps can be really expensive or under 100 bucks if you make your own.

Potentially lots of money on lights and powerheads. Lighting and flow becomes a bit of a monster when you get to 6' tanks.

What are you thinking for lights and pumps?

 

[Deschutes541]

$1,500 - $2,000 might be a good starting point.

 

[Chef Mateo]

Couple hundred for a skimmer, and that much again for a return pump. Sumps can be really expensive or under 100 bucks if you make your own.

Potentially lots of money on lights and powerheads. Lighting and flow becomes a bit of a monster when you get to 6' tanks.

What are you thinking for lights and pumps?

I currently use AI lights so I would probably use 3 or 4 of those for this tank. I might also attempt to make my own sump that would be fun.

 

[Chef Mateo]

That's hard to answer because it's going to come down to how much money you have to spend & the quality of product you want. It also depends on what comes with the tank. You could also buy some things as you go. If you want a controller for everything like an apex that will cost $$$.
1st things needed are
Lights
Sump & Overflow unless tank is already drilled.
Return pump
Heater
A skimmer can be bought later
Test kits for
Ammonia
Nitrite
Nitrate
The other kits can come a month or 2 later because you wont really need them until you start adding corals
Kh
Calcium
Magnesium
I know others will kick in with more.

An apex would be very nice I would definitely look at buying one for simplicity. Thankfully I wouldn't need to purchase the test kits as I already have those for my current tank.

 

[Dragon52]

An apex would be very nice I would definitely look at buying one for simplicity. Thankfully I wouldn't need to purchase the test kits as I already have those for my current tank.

That will help. I would look at BRS, Marine Depot & even Ebay as well as the For Sale forum here To see what else you need & read all the reviews you can to make sure your getting good stuff.
I just got an email from BRS 15% off Trigger System stuff.

 

[Victor_C3]

This isn’t going to be helpful, but I spent about $7,000 (US) getting my 115 gallon display up and running. The only thing I went cheap on was a powerhead to mix my saltwater.

Based on my past experience, I’ve found I spend about $50 per gallon of setting up a tank. It’s been pretty consistent for all of my systems over the last 14 years.

Speaking of making your own sump, I built mine out plywood and sealed it with a product called “pond shield”. I’m pretty satisfied with my first attempt, but I did learn a little later that I should have done a few things differently with my layout. I’m in not rush to replace it as what I have is functional, but I won’t hesitate build a plywood sump again.

There are some great YouTube videos out there on the subject - especially if you search a guy called “King of DIY”.

 

[nereefpat]

I currently use AI lights so I would probably use 3 or 4 of those for this tank. I might also attempt to make my own sump that would be fun.

Hydras, not primes, right?

For my current 125, I bought a 40 breeder and added some baffles for a sump/fuge.

 

[Chef Mateo]

Hydras, not primes, right?

For my current 125, I bought a 40 breeder and added some baffles for a sump/fuge.

I currently use a prime just because my tank is smaller but I would definitely consider hydras for a bigger tank or another brand. I have recently been studying the baffle method so that is what I'll likely attempt.

 

[Reeffragger]

Hi I potentially could buy a 125 gallon tank for $350 CDN ($248 US) which seems like a good deal considering it looks basically brand new. Just curious what would the approximate equipment cost look like. I currently only have a 25 gallon lagoon tank and would really like to get a second one running pretty soon.

I would have a mixed reef tank in that 125 just curious on what would be an the average pay for equipment for a 125 gal. (Protein skimmer, heater, sump and all of that)

Thanks!

Why do you need a sump or skimmer ? I use HOBs 3 cheap emperor 400s.. costed me 120$ 40 a peice. I use 4 power heads. A koralia 1500 1150 an 850 and 425 to get close in a dead spot. Spent i think 170$ on those.

My lights are the white T5 grow fixtures on amazon.. paid 200$ for the fixtures and 200 for the bulbs. But i used a 24 inch and 48 inch fixture to cover all 72 inchs.. you could technicly go with a 48 or 60 and hang it higher but i prefee full coverage


Thats about 700$ give or take in basic equipment. Not counting my home made denitrate reactors with 2 gallons of denitrate. My 36 and 24w uv sterilizer and pump for the 36.

ALLLL together with everything i have about 1000$ in equipment. Give or take.

Sand i have 2-3 inchs deep.. about 170 lbs of sand and about 170 lbs of rocks. I paid about 55$ per 40 lbs. And the sand was 17$ for 8 20lbs bags and 2 10 lbs bags of aragonite ( i mixed ootlite powder with aragonite to give a unique look. ) so for sand rock i have about 300$ give or take.


The glass tops i already had from whicker tables outside they fit perfectly being 18x18x18. The tank was 100$. The stand 40$. Silicone to reseal was 30$ or so. I habe less than 20p$ invested in the tank but 1300$ in equipment rock and sand.

My tank is 135 gallons.. same dimensions as yoirs just 2 inchs taller.


Fish wise i habe probably 1500-2000$ worth of fish... and corals about 5000$ in corals. Total cost of my tank thus far has been near 10,000$ which includes fidh and coral deaths of which i lost maybe 1000$ in fish from velvet once before i learned to qt corals and fish.. sigh.. and this is only after 2 years.

Makes me sick actually how much this hobby can cost lol...

Everyones tank will cost different.. like 2 or 3 guys up from me he said he spent 7000$ just setting up a 115g lol.. Thats just crazy stupid. His setup cost is near my entire cost for EVERYTHING fish corals. And equipment.

You certainly do not need equipment like that to be succeasful. I have 70+ corals half of which are sps acros ect..