Yay new 75 gal planted tank

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
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Sirspifalot

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Feb 6, 2009
176
2
0
Illinois
Ello everyone. I made the decision a while back to upgrade my 30gal discus tank and get a 75 and mega plant it. So I figured I'll document it as a go from now on. Picked up the tank a couple of weeks ago and I have been doing a little bit of work on it when I can while I scour the ebay and craigslist for stuff. So far I have the tank, stand, and canopy and I have busted one of the glass lids (go me). I have also finished most of the wet/dry. Wed. I picked up the sand which was Colorquartz black S-grade and added it today and filled the tank up. Thats about where I am currently I think. Just waiting for some silicone to dry so I can finish the filter. Maybe tomorrow.

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Going to come out nice. I hope cuz you now have black gravel that your discus dont start to pepper. But all in all get some tall swords that should look nice. Co2 at all? Lighting go HOT5 by GLO ive used them on 60-100 (4foot print) n loved them. Altho the the light color is clear might be my bulbs but still goood.
 
yea I think I have been convinced to go with CO2. Looking around for deals on the internet because of my budget but I intend to go with the CO2. Same with the lighting...still looking but I have a candidate in mind.
 
OK so today I have finished building the filter minus a few details. I chose to go with 1" pvc for the overflow and 3/4" for the return. Mag drive 7 for the return pump which should turn the tank over somewhere around 6 times an hour or so. Going to have a partially submerged sprayer bar so I don't screw up the co2 injection and blast my plants and sand all about. I also chose to go with pond matrix as my bio filter. I have 2 liters of it which says it filters up to 200 gal. Should I increase this? I put the matrix in a tray made from a 5 gal bucket and carbon if needed in another tray and then both into another bucket as the filter chamber. I heart filter socks so I have 2 that are on back order coming eventually. So far going quite well. If the gods love me they will have my lights arrive today :D.

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Hey, where did you get the colorquartz, I can't seem to find any?
Nice tank can't wait to see it progress
 
Several problems, first being that your pump will likely out do your overflow. My 75g couldn't take a mag 5's flow without overflowing. Second, don't bother with co2 if budget is a problem. Your wet/dry choice will mean using a lot of co2, in the range of 15-20bps, verses the normal 1-2 for moderate lighting. Finally, your dark choice of substrate will likely cause darker colors for your discus. I would have chosen a much lighter gravel.
 
Today I did a test run of my overflow and everything went well. The mag 7 at the head height that its at should be running at around 450gph or so. I chose 1 inch pipe for the overflow which according to the info provided by chompers should max out at 600 gph. I was a little worried that something might not work right and the overflow not keep up but today I ran it for an hour and the water level in the main tank and the sump was rock steady after a few adjustments of the pipe length on the inside.

Also I reworked the budget and I am able to work in the co2 now. I purchased at 216 watt light that will be coming soon. Would you suggest co2 for this wattage?
 
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