75 gallon planted tank help

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wseguy420

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jun 2, 2005
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Ok, so I have been keeping fish for 20+ years, mostly predators and african cichlids and i want to do a 75 gallon planted tank(Tried years ago but never really had the info that is available now about co2 and such). Hoping you guys can help me with the following setup:

96Watts from PC
80 Watts from dual Floresnt light (What should the photo period be for both 10 hrs?)
Canister 350gallon filter(for water movement and large particle removal)
50/50 florite/aquarium gravel
WIll be dosing with Florish excel(Got a great deal so almost for free) as recommended
Presurized CO2.

With this setup what kind of plants could i use that would thrive in the amount of light i will be using(Upping the light is really not a possibility, unless there is a cheap way i dont know about).

ALso i will be stocking the tank with shrimp, school of 30 or so neons, fancy guppies, 5 angels, and 6-8 cories.

Thanks in advance
 
wseguy420;606301; said:
Ok, so I have been keeping fish for 20+ years, mostly predators and african cichlids and i want to do a 75 gallon planted tank(Tried years ago but never really had the info that is available now about co2 and such). Hoping you guys can help me with the following setup:

96Watts from PC
80 Watts from dual Floresnt light (What should the photo period be for both 10 hrs?)
Canister 350gallon filter(for water movement and large particle removal)
50/50 florite/aquarium gravel
WIll be dosing with Florish excel(Got a great deal so almost for free) as recommended
Presurized CO2.

With this setup what kind of plants could i use that would thrive in the amount of light i will be using(Upping the light is really not a possibility, unless there is a cheap way i dont know about).

ALso i will be stocking the tank with shrimp, school of 30 or so neons, fancy guppies, 5 angels, and 6-8 cories.

Thanks in advance
Click to expand...

I dont really have any proof, but i think you can have almost any plants you want with those lights, that is speakin of plants that love high intensity lighting. swords, will be a no brainer for an answer... All i really know is that will look awesome. not too often people set up a 75 for guppies and neons.
 
If the filter is a HOB, don't bother with it. It will defeat the purpose of having a co2 tank on there, unless you are bubbling 15 bps. Any low light plant will do fine. Many other plants will survive, but not thrive.
 
AquataHolic420;606305;606305 said:
I dont really have any proof, but i think you can have almost any plants you want with those lights, that is speakin of plants that love high intensity lighting. swords, will be a no brainer for an answer... All i really know is that will look awesome. not too often people set up a 75 for guppies and neons.
Click to expand...
I have a friend with a 125, with cardinals. Heavily planted though.
 
Yes i mean power compacts(PC)
I am not using a HOB filter, this is a canister filter that is located under the stand.
I was worried about the lights b/c it is only 176 watts of light which works to 2.something per gallon and i have read that you need 4-5 for good growth for some plants(Those are the ones i want to stay away from).

Yeah i thought neons and guppies would be nice in a heavly planted tank but i really dont have room for more lights b/c i use a canopy to give the tank a finished look since it is in a high traffic area
 
Well most plants will do better with a higher lighting for growth, but it depends on what you want.
 
wseguy420;606530; said:
Yes i mean power compacts(PC)
I am not using a HOB filter, this is a canister filter that is located under the stand.
I was worried about the lights b/c it is only 176 watts of light which works to 2.something per gallon and i have read that you need 4-5 for good growth for some plants(Those are the ones i want to stay away from).

Yeah i thought neons and guppies would be nice in a heavly planted tank but i really dont have room for more lights b/c i use a canopy to give the tank a finished look since it is in a high traffic area
Click to expand...

For the kind of Lightning you have, you can grow low lights plants (like crypts, Fern, moss, anubias) and some medium plants (like Moneyworth, Ambulia, wisteria, sword etc..)

If this tank has a pressurized co2, you dont need to dose excel on it. 3-4wpg is the High Light setup.

Note: that your 80 watts NO is not considered as 80 watts because of poor reflector and re strike of lightning. So make it 40 watts
 
Ok, so would it make that big of a difference to add another PC in place of the floresents? So a total of 192 watts per gallon?

Also short of doing a HO system, way too expensive, how could i get more light other than 2 48" PCs?
 
Well there are several types of 48" pc hoods. 1 = 2x65w bulbs, double = 4x65W bulbs, Deluxe 4x96W bulbs. There may be more, but those are the three common ones. Other options, HO T5 setup, which is actually cheaper than a PC hood if you get a retro kit, metal halides = expensive, pfo solaris = RIDICULOUSLY expensive.
 
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