75 Gallon Angel Tank

So I have only been in the aquarium hobby since April. It started with a 10 gallon with Glofish and in June was upgraded to a 29 gallon. Since upgrading to the 29 I had been talking to coworkers who are into the hobby as well and they keep telling me to go bigger. After searching craigslist and Facebook marketplace endlessly for months I finally found it.

It is a 75 Gallon and came with an Ehiem 2236 and a box of accessories including an AquaClear 50 powerhead, air pump, Current USA satellite LED light and a variety of decorations and water additives and medications. This all for $150.
So once I had it loaded we proceeded to hit the LFS a few hours away. Along the way I hit Lowe’s and grabbed two bags of Quickcrete playsand for my substrate as I didn’t want to use the big rocks I got with the tank. We picked up three angels and a pleco. And by that night she was up and running.

As you can see the sand made the tank a bit cloudy but within a few hours it cleared right up.


After the first night we did lose an angel it was so small and he got pulled into the powerhead intake
This was the final product the next day

Tell me what you think.
Thanks for taking a look.

 

Beuatiful tank and stand!!!

 

Beautiful tank, you got an excellent deal. I have to stay away from craigslist because it is too tempting!

Sorry you lost one of the angels. I don't know what your future plans are as far as décor, but you will want to try and get a lot of tall plants in there for the angels. When they are adults, they can be aggressive and the extra foliage will make them much more comfortable. You should definitely fill that tank up with plants (fake or real, but preferably real) if you want it to be an angelfish tank. Also, I highly suggest you do no more than 4 angels in this tank. Just throwing that out there!!

You said you put the angels in the same day you set it up. Just curious, how did you go about cycling it?

 

As far as the cycle the pervious owner took out his fish the morning I picked up the tank and so I never emptied the canister filter and I never touched the tank as far as cleaning so there was a lot of beneficial bacteria already to go.

My future plan is to add some driftwood and try my underwater green thumb and plant some plants to see how they do. It would mostly be easier plants as I don’t want to get into CO2 systems and all that. If I fail at that then I’ll get some bigger artificial plants. I have a piece of driftwood already currently soaking. That I’m going to put in and I grabbed some local river rocks to add as well.
My stocking plan is to maybe add two more angels then add Cardinal or neon tetras, I have moved my German Blue Ram over from my 29 gallon as he was to shy in with the Glofish and he was out competed for food. I did that last night and he seems to be doing well this morning.

I have ordered a new background, a 400 watt heater cause -30 nights during the winter it will warrant it, and lastly I ordered a Sun Sun 303B to supplement the Ehiem as it’s barely rated to handle the 75 gallon. An FX4 would be ideal but considering the Sun Sun is only $65 I figured can’t hurt to try. I also have parts to build my own water changer (python) that should be here today.

 

Sounds like you've got a plan and a lot of fun development to do! Make sure to post updated photos as you progress.

Keep a close eye on the water parameters for a while. Even using seeded media, your stock is likely different than the previous owner's stock and it may cause a cycle bump. When I got my 75, I used two filters from cycled tanks, but I still went through a "mini-cycle" of sorts. You may be just fine, but I'd keep a close eye.

For your schooling fish, neons might not be the best choice. Adult angels have been known to eat neons and I also think they have temp differences. I have rummynose tetras and rasboras with my angels in my 75. But very colorful and beautiful schools.

 

wow looks great, love the black and white angel

 

Some power heads are too strong for angelfish. Did you cycle the tank? I like the colors!

 

Some power heads are too strong for angelfish. Did you cycle the tank? I like the colors!

The powerhead is an AquaClear 50 so it’s adjustable flow, plus I have it aimed up a lot to create surface agitation for oxygenation. I got a big air pump and many air stones in the purchase but I can’t stand the unnatural look of them. The cycle seems to be doing good with the previous filter media and with how dirty the tank was. I did a small 10 gallon water change yesterday testing out a new siphon system.

 

The powerhead is an AquaClear 50 so it’s adjustable flow, plus I have it aimed up a lot to create surface agitation for oxygenation. I got a big air pump and many air stones in the purchase but I can’t stand the unnatural look of them. The cycle seems to be doing good with the previous filter media and with how dirty the tank was. I did a small 10 gallon water change yesterday testing out a new siphon system.

That sounds like a nice one. Mine is just full on so I haven't been using it. I would like to get an adjustable one. Not a big fan of the airstones either, although I noticed that my mollies seem to love to surf the bubbles up. Not sure if they are riding it and having fun or if it is a weird tick for them. They also seem to like to surf the current from the output of my eheim filter.

 

The Aquaclear 50 is a great powerhead because in my experience it is good quality. It does not rattle, it does not stick and it lasts and lasts. Its handy its adjustable and its max is just right for my 110 gallon.

When I've tried cheaper brands I've ended up wasting money, just like with buying cheap heaters.

 

So just a little update I submerged my piece of driftwood I still needed some rocks to hold it down and I left one artificial tree in there to aid holding it in place.

I love the shape and a beaver had cut it on the ends so it adds a bit of character to it as well.
The Angels got a bit of company as well I added 8 Neon Tetras. ( I know adult Angels and Tetras aren’t great tank mates)

I’m hoping where the angels are little they will be use to the Neons before they get big enough to eat and leave them be.

 

Awesome driftwood!!

Neons do prefer much cooler water though. So it's more than just a size issue. Which I warned you of last week.


There are other types of schooling fish that would be better tank mates for angels. Ones that get a little bigger and prefer warmer water. Why didn't you look into those options?

 

Well to be honest I got the neons the day you responded to my post and the other big hurtle is the LFS (aka Pet Smart and Petco) either don’t carry and can’t get what I want and they are always sold out of most fish. I was lucky to even get the Angels the few times I’ve traveled down since they have been sold out.

 

Well to be honest I got the neons the day you responded to my post and the other big hurtle is the LFS (aka Pet Smart and Petco) either don’t carry and can’t get what I want and they are always sold out of most fish. I was lucky to even get the Angels the few times I’ve traveled down since they have been sold out.

Oh, I see, so the picture you just posted of them in the bag is from over a week ago. I figured you just got them since all you had was a pick of them in the bag. lol

What is it that you want that you aren't finding at petsmart or petco? Both stores should have other schooling fish options that don't require cooler temps like the neons do. What types of schooling fish do you run in to when you go to there? Were neons the only option? or were they just the only option you liked?

 

Oh, I see, so the picture you just posted of them in the bag is from over a week ago. I figured you just got them since all you had was a pick of them in the bag. lol

What is it that you want that you aren't finding at petsmart or petco? Both stores should have other schooling fish options that don't require cooler temps like the neons do. What types of schooling fish do you run in to when you go to there? Were neons the only option? or were they just the only option you liked?

They are the only option I’ve seen. I saw two Rummy nose there once when I first set up my 29 gallon. But that’s it slI'm pickings.

 

So for an update I lost my pleco last night. It decided to go eat dinner in the intake tube of my power head and even though there is a filter screen a half inch in I believe the suction was to much to allow him to back out. The worst part was I received the Aqua clear filter kit that day but did not find the time to get it installed. It’s installed now as I refuse to lose another fish to that power head.

I also added another batch of fish.

This batch was made up of 8 more Neons (16 total), 4 Mickey Mouse platy and a nicely colored blue Gourami.




The Neons when introduced had no color after the 2 hour rough car ride but within 15 minutes of being introduced they were colored up and schooling with the existing 8. It was pretty amazing how fast their color came back.

After two nights I had one tiny Platy that wasn’t doing well, he was my runt. Just hid never ate and just floated in the current behind some driftwood at the bottom of the tank. I put him into a breeding box and fed him individually and after a few days he was full of energy. I released him back with the others and now he is racing around and keeping up and feeding well with the others.

My Blue Gourami was a little scared and very skittish for three days he would see me enter the room and go hid behind some tall grass or driftwood. Now that he knows I’m the keeper of the food he’s a puppy dog and like the angels comes running whenever I enter the room.

 

Also where I lost my Pleco I’m looking for suggestions for another substrate cleaner/ scavenger fish. Hit my with your suggestions. I’m thinking maybe a medium sized catfish or 3-4 Loaches or Cory’s (no clowns due to adult size)

 

Ya I suggest a school of cories or I think kuhlI loaches but I’m not sure if they r temp compatible so wait for someone ale to say what they think

 

KuhlI loaches can adapt to most community tanks that are kept between 75°-85°F and would do very well with a sand substrate. I've had them around 30 yrs ago between 1-3 at any given time and they did great in my 30 gallon community tank with keyhole cichlids, betta and a few others (a baby arowana!). Now that the internet is around, I keep reading you should have 5-6 at least. I'm getting back into aquariums and I just picked up 2 KuhlI loaches today for my new 20 gallon tall. Still trying to figure out how to stock it. So far, a betta (helped cycle the tank) and a BN Pleco with the 2 KuhlI loaches.

 

So for a look at my equipment I still have to mount my electrical but I have an Ehiem 2236, a SunSun 303b, a 400watt hydor heater, a US Current 48” Satellite light, and lastly the “killer” Aqua Clear 50.

 

Looking awesome!

 

Keep you eye on the gourami and the angels. Sometimes that combo works fine but often they end up stressing one another out. Lots of tall plants will help. Great looking tank.

 

Keep you eye on the gourami and the angels. Sometimes that combo works fine but often they end up stressing one another out. Lots of tall plants will help. Great looking tank.

That’s my next goal I would like to do some easier plants like Vallisneria in the back and some Anubias along the driftwood. I am still waiting for my big piece to finally sink.

 

I figured I'd give you a few update photos I did get my new background on and I changed things around a bit. Hope you enjoy.

 

Love it!

 

Love it!

Me too!!!

 

Hey it's been a few weeks things are going good. I did break a handle tab on my Ehiem so that was down for a few days before the replacement part came in. During the last few weeks I had a Detritus bloom but it has since leveled off after cleaning and some water changes. The Angels are getting noticably bigger but seem to be doing well with the smaller Neons. My drift wood still floats but not as bad few more weeks and I should be good. I do have green algae starting to grow on it. Below are a few updated photos. I am throwing one in of the 29 Gallon glofish tank as well. ( To celebrate the holidays)

 

weakest part of the Ecco-filters

 

weakest part of the Ecco-filters

Yea I can tell wasn't a hard fix though so that made me happy.

 

Yea I can tell wasn't a hard fix though so that made me happy.

Having some spare ones is a good idea hahaha

 

I know it’s been awhile so I figured I needed to update everyone. I ended up losing my gourami after fighting with some internal parasite in my 10 gallon I set up as my quarantine tank. I have added 2 bristlenose plecos, and 6 cory cats although only 3 made it 3 were big peppered and 3 tiny pandas. Only one panda made it.








I also just planted two small strings of jungle val that I’m excited to get growing.





Here is a full shot as you can see the angels are huge compared to the first photos.