Bought a 75 gallon tank....lots of questions

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carbine_kyle

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jan 16, 2012
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ohio
So just today I bought a 75 gallon tank and couldnt pass up a dollar a gallon. Me and my girlfriend are fairly new to the aquarium hobby but we have done fairly well so far. I am trying to go "cheap" as in getting the quality stuff in a good deal being as im a bargain shopper as is probably everyone in this economy.

Anyways i am very into live plants and have only used regular gravel, but i know there some way better stuff for plants such as flourite. Ive noticed that it is quite pricey and wasnt sure if this was something you mix with gravel substrate for extra plant nutrients or was supposed to be used as your primary substrate.

As for filtration i was gonna just use a sponge filter or maybe 2. Is this a good idea or should i do a HOB filter in orchestra with the sponge filtration.

Finally is the lighting, I have no clue for a light panel. Never had to shop for one. So what would you guys suggest for a tank this size?

Im really not sure whats type of fish are gonna be going in here just for now im trying to get the tank itself together then do my fish.
 
Hello and welcome to MFK! I think your going about setting up your tank the way a lot of hobbyist should go about it....... go slow and buy the fish last:)

If live plants are and area of interest, then filtration is not a huge issue and a couple of sponge filters would be a great "cost effective" way to start. You can always add a hob further down the road, but you'd be surprised how well a couple of sponge filters can work. Flourite is a great substrate for planted tanks too.

Lighting will be a bit more important than filtration for getting plants going, but a great strip is the Hagen dual t5ho 48". You can select several different color tubes, but it will provide ample light for most species and doesn't cost an absolute fortune.

Sounds like you're on the right track. Find the plants you really like and then add a few small fish to get the plants a food source and take things slow, but ask a lot of questions as you go.

Welcome to the hobby!!
 
I have read alot of foul things being said about sand though. You dont think a mixture with sand would cause the issues presented when using sand as a substrate?
 
All depends on the sand you go with and the time you take cleaning it. If you get a fine powdery sand you will have clarity issues any time it gets stirred up and it will pack harder. If you get a bigger grain sand, like pool filter sand or even a fine gravel, it won't have the clarity issues and won't pack as hard either. I would mix 25% pool filter sand, 10% fine gravel, and 65% fluorite.

You may also want to look at the sticky for sponge filters, it has a lot of good info and product info too.
 
Lusus_Naturae said:
All depends on the sand you go with and the time you take cleaning it. If you get a fine powdery sand you will have clarity issues any time it gets stirred up and it will pack harder. If you get a bigger grain sand, like pool filter sand or even a fine gravel, it won't have the clarity issues and won't pack as hard either. I would mix 25% pool filter sand, 10% fine gravel, and 65% fluorite.

You may also want to look at the sticky for sponge filters, it has a lot of good info and product info too.
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pfs (pool filter sand) is great stuff. very clean and larger grain size. Play sand can be tricky
 
I love sand in my tanks... I'll never use gravel again (I do add a bit to the sand to give it visual texture). If people have problems with sand, they likely used something too fine and/or didn't wash it.
 
aclockworkorange said:
I love sand in my tanks... I'll never use gravel again (I do add a bit to the sand to give it visual texture). If people have problems with sand, they likely used something too fine and/or didn't wash it.
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+1, i have sand (play sand) in a couple of my tanks with no issues at all those that have issues with it most likely didnt wash it well enough, however im still in the process of seeing how it works for plants, but the couple i put in one of the tanks are slowly taking off.

I will also like to add that unless your looking into some of the more demanding plants, you dont really need a fancy substrate IME. I used some fairly course sand on top of a layer of "aquarium gravel" and the plants i have had in there grow just great.

Another concern i have is that if you are wanting to grow lots of plants, you will most likely run into the issue of c02 at some point. In which case you are going to want to limit disturbing the water surface to a minimum, which will rule out a HOB style filter in the long run, although i can be done, its better to limit surface disturbance.

I am no exert on planted tanks, and im sure someone thats more into planted tanks will pick this post apart, but i am merely speaking from my experience.
Welcome to MFK by the way
 
That actually makes sense, i tend to overlook the reasons things not working usually being human error and then them blaming the item as trash or defective. The fine gravel sounds like a great idea, the fine gravel looks fantastic also.

I slept on the Co2 issue last night and figured im probably gonna have to get a pressurized Co2 tank for this aquarium. I gotta start doing my research on those i guess. How does a complete setup usually run, without skimping on junk, i dont do junk.

Also from my research i understand that if you are doing a low light tank that co2 isnt necessary because of the lack of light?

What is classified as a demanding plant? I was probably gonna do a couple mosses, dwarf hairgrass, some type of anubias, spiralis, and java fern. Those are the plants i know for sure so far.

Thanks for welcoming me also guys
 
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