Well, I bought the aquarium yesterday. Next step, get the lumber (and sawsall) and build it into my living room wall. Nothing to photograph but an empty, drilled 125 so far...

I have a tesselated filefish and clown trigger that will go in first. Any compatible tankmate ideas appreciated. I'm thinking a harlequin tusk, and maybe a pair of maroon clowns. The trigger is (so far) a real sheepish fish for its species.

Ideas on plumbing, sump, lighting, etc. all will be taken into consideration. A few years down the road, I will move the trigger to a 90 alone, the other inhabitants into other tanks as behavior dictates, and move my 65 reef's inhabitants into this.

I have a Euro Reef RS80 skimmer that I'm hoping will be able to handle the bio-load. If I need to upsize, any recommendations on that appreciated as well.:up:

Hi Russ,
What are the chances of adding one of the Larger species of Angelfish?

Nothing like an Adult Queen Angelfish.Hard to take your eyes off a Fish like that.:)
How big is the Trigger?

Larry.

Good luck with the tank, I would love to have one in the wall with a fish room behind it. I can't wait to see pictures :)

I'm quite open to an angel. The trigger is 4-5 inches right now, the file is about the same size. I actually have some zooanthids and mushrooms living in the tank with them and they've never so much as nibbled, so I will try some "extra" stuff I can frag and afford to lose (xenia, star polyps, and the like).
It'll be a few weeks before I start construction, I just wanted to start the thread to help motivate myself to keep snapping pictures. I set up my 65 since being on these forums and never really took many photographs and now regret not being more of a shutterbug.

Stand is built. I have a cabinet maker friend and have opted not to build this one into the wall. We made it all out of cherry, and it's gonna be gorgeous. I've taken pics as we went along, but not like I should've. Next step is about 7 coats of polyurethane. I'm going with Minwax's Helmsman spar urethane, which is an indoor/outdoor marine coating. It's a tad yellow after multiple coats, but is the best product I know of that will protect it from moisture and saltwater/creeps. I wish I could use pure poly, but I don't trust that this stand isn't going to get wet from time to time.
I'm going to get the stand coated as needed and begin plumbing, then working on the canopy. I had really hoped to get Solaris lighting, but with my IRS situation (long story), that's going to have to be down the road. I've looked into retro-kits, but the best value I've found is a ready made hood on Ebay: eBay Store - Tons Of Goodies Aquarium Store: Power Compact Bulbs, Replacement Parts, Overflow Box (http://stores.ebay.com/Tons-Of-Goodies-Aquarium-Store) -look up the 72" hood for $599. No links allowed here, apparently.
* MH 250W x3.
* 96W straight pin power compact x4.
* Lunar LED x8.
as far as i can tell, I might be better off cutting this one up and fitting it into the canopy. Any suggestions or help very much appreciated. Also a good source of online live rock would be nice. This is going to turn into a reef in a year or two (depending on the growth rate of the trigger).
Seriously folks; any suggestions for the sump, plumbing, lights, equipment, tips, etc. are greatly appreciated. I'll get pics up tomorrow and will have tons as this thing progresses.

If it's an issue of cost saving, you definitely dont need the MH's unless you are addicted to the shimmer, or are planning to keep corals down the road.

Just my two cents, i just know id rather spend a couple hundred on fish rather than lights :S

I am 100% going to be keeping my corals in this tank in time. I snapped some photos earlier, I'm going to apply another coat of poly, which should take two more beers and post the pics I have so far -assuming the beer doesn't make me forget!

Well, here's the stand with the tank sitting on it. At this point it's all unfinished cherry:
http://i11.tinypic.com/646xbvl.jpg

Here's a peek into the framing. Looking at other stands, I tend to think we over-did it, but the thought of the worst case scenario was just too much!
http://i10.tinypic.com/541dt76.jpg

I spray-painted the back of the tank black last night. Now I'm leaning towards blue! Haven't decided if I'll scrape it all off and start it over or stick with black.

i would just stick with the black, it is all going to be purple soon enough anyway.

BTW ... looking great. i think you will love the 125 dimensions.

Definitely agree with bobby on this one, i sprayed mine black, and now its green :p but hey, its fairly new, so it'll b purple eventually.

Love the stand, and overdoing a stand is never a bad thing :D

I love the stand too. The cherry is gorgeous!