Inital setup of 75 gal freshwater

L

LDSP

New Fish
#1
Aug 25, 2008
5
0
0
#1
Found MFT while out searching for pictures and info on setting up my tank so here I am. I am a TOTAL newbie so I will probably ask plenty of stupid questions over time:) I have a 75 gal tank with a stand and a Fluval 405 filter/pump that is sitting here waiting for gravel tomorrow. Wife wants lots of live green plants with small schools of various fish. So... after installing the gravel and filling with water, what are my next steps to getting the system up and running? Can I choose and install the plants I want right after filling the tank OR does the tank need to be up and running for a while first? What do I need to do to get the tank to cycle and what kind of testing supplies will I need? Also what kind of currents can a freshwater tank stand? Have lots of powerheads, some with nozzels that go back and forth. How many should be installed? Also I have one air pump with two air stones, is that enough? Last question for tonight..I promise... Should I use T5 bulbs in the canopy I am getting ready to build? Is there a site which shows how I should place the ballasts and is it safe to place the ballast in the canopy? Any certain liner I need to install for optimum refltion of the light?

Thsnkd
Leo
 

d3sc3n7

d3sc3n7

Superstar Fish
#2
Nov 21, 2007
1,455
0
0
44
Ft. Campbell, Ky
www.d3sc3n7.com
#2
Well, seems like you have some idea of what your doing.

Live plants will love being part of the cycle. I suggest the API Master test kit...its a drop kit, like for testing your pool. (not that I've ever had a pool you dont have to blow up first) The currents your tank can handle depends on the plants and the fish, not really the tank itself. The air stones are more for looks than anything, as long as you have some disruption on the surface of the tank...IE a filter, or a powerhead that will aerate your tank for you.

If you search the DIY section, you'll find all your lighting info
 

Kissyboots

Kissyboots

Superstar Fish
#5
Dec 17, 2007
1,889
1
36
Arizona
cid-461aece5d238e494.spaces.live.com
#5
Ooo! You have my dream tank with my dream setup!!!! Aaaah! Definitely go with live plants; they rock!

Anyway, welcome to the forum! :D

I have the API Master Test Kit that I got cheap at Freshwater and Saltwater Aquarium Supplies at AquariumGuys.com which also happens to be one of our sponsors so you get an 8% discount with the code from F8fan. :D

There's two ways to cycle a tank; fishless or with fish. The preferred way is fishless. If you find MissFishy's profile, she has a link to cycling in her signature that should help with that. You can also use Biospira that they sell refrigerated in some pet stores that you can add which will speed up your cycle and even allow you to add fish within 24 hours I believe. But research more on that.

You don't really need any more flow than what the filter is providing, but as long as you don't get a betta (which doesn't like currents,) I'd say you can add as much as you want, as long as the fish can still swim and find a place to rest that's out of the current.

And good for you to start with a 75g. :) The bigger the better! I just upgraded to a 55g from three smaller tanks (in signature) that I'm going to set up soon.

Hope you enjoy this place and good luck with cycling! :D
 

L

LDSP

New Fish
#8
Aug 25, 2008
5
0
0
#8
Ahhh.... A moments break from being extremly buzy so I wanted to say thanks for all the GOOD info and pointers. The tank is up and running now with gravel, powerheads, filters (Fluval 406 & Emporor 4000), and an airstone for apperances. I used 125 lbs of white aquarium gravel for the substrate (made for a very pretty base). Also bought ten plants (names of them I forgot) and right now I have a 4 bulb flourescent fixture sitting on top of it as I havent gotten time to make the canopy and install 2 overdriven elctronic ballasts and bulbe. Speaking of which... Should I use T8 bulbs or ???? Have to buy the ballasts to match whatever bulbs I am going to use. That is one friggin cool idea and I never knew you could overdrive a bulb!!!!
No fish yet as the tank is still cycling. The test strips I am using (havent bought a good master kit yet) say that everything is fine except that the water is too soft. So I need to check on that. Ideas or anything else I should caheck> The tank water got all brown looking for two days but it has almost totally cleared up now. Have to do some more reading to see what all else I need to check. No fish until it is right:)

Leo
 

Orion

Orion

Ultimate Fish
Moderator
#9
Feb 10, 2003
5,803
3
38
Kentucky
www.thefishcave.net
#9
Air stones are not normally a good idea with planted tanks as they drive off the Co2 in the water, and the plants need this for good growth. Any surface agitation will cause the gas exchange (like the Emperor Filter), but really as long as your not injecting Co2 into the tank, I wouldn't worry about removing the Emperor filter. I would think about removing the air stone though.

T-5's are the way to go for lights. Especially in a 75 gallon. They are more efficient than nearly any other available light available. But it's important to get quality reflectors with the T-5's or they just won't be worth the time to mess with. I don't think you can (or maybe should) over drive T-5 bulbs, but you won't really need too.

Having a planted tank can be a huge undertaking for someone not used to it. To be blunt, if you just start tossing plants in your tank you'll probably end up with a lot of mushhy stuff at the bottom in a few weeks, get disgusted with it and say forget it. Read everything you can about keeping planted tanks and prepare yourself with knowledge. Ask questions when you have them. This will go a long way to a happy planted tank, and you keeping your sanity. Not every tank has to be a bajillion watts of lights with massive amounts of Co2 and fertilizers with constant maintance and upkeep. Some people like that, others don't. There are as many ways to keep healthy plants as there are to keep fish.

Welcome to MyFishTank.Net :)
 

roark fishies

roark fishies

Large Fish
#11
Dec 20, 2007
485
0
0
North Lousiana
#11
In case nobody mentioned it, it takes about 4-6 weeks to cycle a tank once you start adding the ammonia. So unless you have started adding the ammonia your cycle hasn't officially started. If doing a fishless cycle you can expect it to be awhile before you add fish. Most people find pure ammonia at Ace Hardware. The ammonia at wal mart and such usually has dyes, additives, and sufectants added to it. You don't want that kind. Just pure ammonia.
Welcome to MFT. Glad to see you're doing your homework BEFORE getting started!
 

Kissyboots

Kissyboots

Superstar Fish
#13
Dec 17, 2007
1,889
1
36
Arizona
cid-461aece5d238e494.spaces.live.com
#13
teevee said:
Hmm... after reading this post i don't think i want to mess with live plants?
Click to expand...
Live plants are really not that hard to keep. I've had live plants since I started fishkeeping and love them! I had to use fake plants a couple times because the lighting wasn't sufficient, but I've discovered that they get major problems with algae (at least mine did) and they are just ugly imo. Plus it looks more natural to have live plants. As long as you have the correct lighting, it's worth getting live plants. :)
 

Pure

Pure

Elite Fish
#14
Nov 1, 2005
3,216
7
0
Jacksonville, FL
#14
Yeah it's not hard so to speak. It just requires a little research and some commitment. Bit to own a tank in the first place is a commitment in of itself, so adding plants to that list of to dos isn't that big of a deal.
 

Orion

Orion

Ultimate Fish
Moderator
#15
Feb 10, 2003
5,803
3
38
Kentucky
www.thefishcave.net
#15
Without a doubt I think that Live Plants seem vastly overwhelming to anyone that just looks at a random post on a message board, or reads a few web pages about them, or even flips though some pages in a sales magazine. You need three things to keep plants: light, Co2, and fertilizers. (well really four, lots of patience :)) Stock lighting in nearly all tanks is not going to be enough to grow more than just a small handful of species. Co2 is always in the water, it just depends on the amount, so you need to know your plant so you can know if it needs lots of Co2 or not. I don't run any supplemental Co2 on my 75 gallon, but I have several different species growing very well in it. Fertilizers can be free, in the form of fish poo. Again, know your plant and know what it needs. Some plants need lots of ferts to grow well and look good, others not so much. Like the Co2, I don't add any extra ferts in my 75 gallon, and again it grows well. It doesn't grow particularly fast, but this is what I want.

Live Plants aren't anything to be more afraid of than keeping fish in your tank. It just takes additional planning, and a lot more patience.
 

brian1973

brian1973

Superstar Fish
#16
Jan 20, 2008
2,001
3
38
Corpus Christi, Texas
#16
I have to agree taht live plants arnt as complicated as they seem..my 24G has some live plants, and my 90G did have them as well until the fish tore them out. My lighting was not the greatest and I didnt supplement CO2 but they still did well..the Val's didnt grow very fast probably because of the lighting, but the others (forgot the names) did well and grew like crazy.
 

forrestcook

forrestcook

Large Fish
#17
Sep 11, 2007
224
0
0
www.forrestcook.com
#17
Orion said:
Air stones are not normally a good idea with planted tanks as they drive off the Co2 in the water, and the plants need this for good growth. Any surface agitation will cause the gas exchange (like the Emperor Filter), but really as long as your not injecting Co2 into the tank, I wouldn't worry about removing the Emperor filter. I would think about removing the air stone though.
Click to expand...
Regarding CO2 loss with an airstone...

Surface turbidation (moving water at the surface) is what promotes a gas exchange in your water... very important to keep your O2 levels up in a non planted tank. An airstone does this very well... its not the bubbles that aerate, but the movement at the top of your tank that does. Since the air around us HAS CO2 in it already, gas exchange puts a certain amount of CO2 into your water... about 8ppm, IIRC.

So. Unless you are injecting CO2 into your tank, you shouldn't really have to worry about CO2 loss, as any turbidation is going to maintain your CO2 levels.

If you intend on having a very heavily stocked tank, the fish will add CO2 as well. You don't NEED an airstone though. your plants will add O2 to your water as well as a byproduct of photosynthesis.

As far as lighting goes you have a lot of options. The biggest deal with live plants is your spectrum of lighting... look for bulbs in the 6700k-10000k range, with 6700k-8000k being optimum. (I use half 10000k to make the tank brighter... 67s are a little less... bright)

Keep updating this thread, I'm excited to see your progress. I went to the extreme with my planted tank. I inject CO2 from a pressurized system and have 216 watts of T5HO overhead (108 of 6700k and 108 of 10000k)
 

You must log in or register to reply here.