75 Gallon New Tank help for beginner

Set up my first tank, 75 gallon, about 2 1/2 weeks ago. 2in soil, 2 in sand substrate. Used Seachem Prime and Stability for a few days, added in 4 Hifinn Black Skirt Tetra. Ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate levels were all great, added 2 more BSTs, 2 snails, and a twig catfish a week later. Also have some plants(Amazon Sword, Moneywort, and Giant Hair Grass).

I went to do my first water change tonight. Roughly 10-15% bc all my levels were reading great(0-.25ppm ammonia, 0ppm nitrite, 10ppm nitrate- these have been the steady readings I've had since adding fish, using API tube tests).
I went to vacuum the sand, and imost of the large chunks of fish waste wouldn't suck up. They floated back out of the tube with the rest of the heavy sand. What am I doing wrong??

Next. My poor plants. I'm not sure this is just molting. I got my plants from Petco from their selection that is already submerged. My Amazon Swords leafs are turning clear. I think I have the crown uncovered, but no new leafs have sprouted at all. It's been in the tank for about 2 weeks. I added Seachem Flourish yesterday, and added a root tab today, though I got really good soil so I would have doubted that's the problem.
My moneywort? All leaves are turning orange/grown and shriveling up. No new growth. Giant Hairgrass(been in tank since Saturday) the tips are turning brown, don't know if I need to be concerned about that yet.
What am I doing wrong? I have API CO2 liquid coming in tomorrow, but won't use it until I get further info.


More random tank info that might be helpful:
Tank temp: 79-80°F
Filter: HOB, on side(have a skimmer coming tomorrow for better movement on opposite side)
Full spectrum light, on from 8am-6pm at 40% brightness, moonlight(blue light 25% brightness) from 6-10.

Any suggestions for anything Ive mentioned are appreciated. I did just switch my light to pop on at 9am, it will start tomorrow.

Thank you!
Pic of tank

 

Your doing a fish in cycle, which means you have to watch the ammonia and nitrites really close. You might want to read up on fish in cycling and do a lot larger water changes. Do you have access to anyones old filter media to seed your filter?

 

I don’t claim to be much of a plant person.

As far as vacuuming goes.
lower the outlet/ bucket to get more suction.

Decreasing the diameter gives you more time before all the water is gone. The diameter effects the flow out.

Just use the hose with no big tube to get maximum suction. This is a little more difficult around fish but you will get the hang of flicking you fingers to case the fish away.

When all else fails or to smarten the tank up for visitors it’s hard to beat a turkey baster. In the salt water section of good marine shops they sell plastic turkey basters for feeding coral that are ideal . Add 8 or so inches of 3/8 inch hose on to the turkey baster and you can pick up solids without changing much water.

For a first tank you jumped in the deep end of the swimming pool.

Suggestion .
A timer for the light is on the list of must haves.

8 am to 6 pm is far to long . Seven or a maximum of eight hours once the plants are fully established and growing.

As mentioned you are finishing building the colonies of bacteria with fish in the tank . You are doing a fish in cycle.
Smash out lots of water changes to help keep the fish alive.

 

Welcome to the forum. I had answers all ready, but it looks like Flyfisha beat me to it. That's what happens when I finish my breakfast burrito before replying.

 

Don’t let me keep you from breakfast it’s 11.30 pm down under.

Hey CrystalE many of us found ourselves cycling a tank with fish in it already.

 

Hey CrystalE,
Welcome to Fishlore. Have patience, listen to Flyfisha and you'll be fine. You're going to have an awesome tank. : )

 

Your doing a fish in cycle, which means you have to watch the ammonia and nitrites really close. You might want to read up on fish in cycling and do a lot larger water changes. Do you have access to anyones old filter media to seed your filter?

I've been testing my water 2x day, and so far they're great. Ammonia is yellow, nitrite is blue, and nitrate is a burnt orange color. I'll take a pic when I test today but it has steady been those colors. None of the fish look stressed, eating well(1x day), schooling and swimming around, fins flowing and not tight in. I was prepared to do a ton of water changes, but when I talked to the guy at my good fish store he said not to do too many if it all looks good bc I don't want to throw off the newly formed bacteria.

I don’t claim to be much of a plant person.

As far as vacuuming goes.
lower the outlet/ bucket to get more suction.

Decreasing the diameter gives you more time before all the water is gone. The diameter effects the flow out.

Just use the hose with no big tube to get maximum suction. This is a little more difficult around fish but you will get the hang of flicking you fingers to case the fish away.

When all else fails or to smarten the tank up for visitors it’s hard to beat a turkey baster. In the salt water section of good marine shops they sell plastic turkey basters for feeding coral that are ideal . Add 8 or so inches of 3/8 inch hose on to the turkey baster and you can pick up solids without changing much water.

For a first tank you jumped in the deep end of the swimming pool.

Suggestion .
A timer for the light is on the list of must haves.

8 am to 6 pm is far to long . Seven or a maximum of eight hours once the plants are fully established and growing.

As mentioned you are finishing building the colonies of bacteria with fish in the tank . You are doing a fish in cycle.
Smash out lots of water changes to help keep the fish alive.

Hi thank you for the reply. I'm using a manual gravel cleaner I got off Amazon. It has a thin hose, and a thin plastic 'suction' hard hose to stick in the sand(much thinner than the python) with like a 'gun' attached to it. It had many great reviews on Amazon, so I'm assuming it's user error. I think I'll try switching to the turkey baster, that sounds much easier to control.

As far as the frequent water changes, I showed the guy at my trusted fish store my levels and they're all amazing he says, so he told me not to do too many water changes to throw them off without being well established? Fish are showing no signs of stress at all.

I will definitely turn down the light timer. My light comes with one built in and it's very easy to switch up.

Thank you for all your helpful information!

 

I will go ahead and say it , plain as day like an Australian talks to anyone.

Americans are obsessed with believing good bacteria live in the water. I do not even know if you currently live in the US?

Since about 1975 it common knowledge in the rest of the world that the good bacteria live on hard surfaces.
If I have offended any Americans I am sorry. Trust me Aussies aren’t prefect.

As you are new CrystalE I understand if you think some smart donkey on the other side of the world is pulling your leg.

As a compromise can I suggest you change whatever volume of water the shop says as infrequently as they suggest BUT do not clean the glass , do not clean the filter ( or replace it ) , do not deep vacuum the substrate or clean any ornaments for the next 8 weeks. At the end of 8 weeks you can clean one panel of glass per week/ fortnight. Clean some ornaments and slowly slowly bring the tank into a “ nice” looking tank.

When the tank has a fully functioning nitrogen cycle we still don’t change filter material for years. The filter at first gets a gentle rinse in old tank water. After a few more months you can ring the filter out as hard as you like because by then some bacteria will be ON the substrate ON the heater and ON all hard surfaces. On plants yes.

There are not very many fish currently in a big tank. That is the reason the water tests low for ammonia.
It’s possible the stability is giving a false reading for nitrates?
Actually test your tap water for nitrates as many places have nitrates in their drinking water. I would recommend no more new fish for a while.

At the first sign of a change in behaviour smash out a water change. Fish swimming at the surface. Bubbles on the surface. Cloudy water. You can test the old water later.

As a person who has done three 45% water changes on the same day on my own tanks I feel pretty confident there is almost no bacteria living permanently in the water.

If the shop tries to sell you new filter pads/ cartridges RUN A MILE.
I have sponge sheet in hang on backs that’s 5 years old.

 

Welcome to fishlore!! You’ll find lots of help here. But as said you did jump into the deep side of the pool . Hope you got your swimmies on . Your plant are melting. Most aquarium plants bought today are grown emersed with just the root in the water not submerged. This makes the plants look really good. They get to the pet store and the store submerges them. You walk in and buy them and they melt. Believe you did something wrong and go back and buy more . Win win for a store . But what is happening now is the plants have to adjust to your water and life submerged. So many will die off. Remove the dying leaves as they get bad. Leave the roots. Most will grow back as submerged plants. Some may not because the water at petco could have been very different than your and they just couldn’t readjust.

Ok a 75 is a big tank and a great choice. Soil bottom was not! Unfortunately this is what some planted tank pros do. But for a beginner it would have been better to just use sand or gravel. Many to most plant grow great in these substrates. For gravel vacuuming get yourself a python water change system.

As to cycling your tank. Yes you’re doing a fish in cycle. But you’ve got very small fish in a large tank. So ammonia build up will take much longer. So I’d test daily and don’t be alarmed by no ammonia readings. As for now and when tne tank does cycle do 30% water changes once or twice a week. Just remove water don’t vacume your substrate.

What fish do you plan to keep other than what you have. You can add 4 more bst next week so you have a school of 8. What type of filtration are you using?

 

Welcome to fishlore!! You’ll find lots of help here. But as said you did jump into the deep side of the pool . Hope you got your swimmies on . Your plant are melting. Most aquarium plants bought today are grown emersed with just the root in the water not submerged. This makes the plants look really good. They get to the pet store and the store submerges them. You walk in and buy them and they melt. Believe you did something wrong and go back and buy more . Win win for a store . But what is happening now is the plants have to adjust to your water and life submerged. So many will die off. Remove the dying leaves as they get bad. Leave the roots. Most will grow back as submerged plants. Some may not because the water at petco could have been very different than your and they just couldn’t readjust.

Ok a 75 is a big tank and a great choice. Soil bottom was not! Unfortunately this is what some planted tank pros do. But for a beginner it would have been better to just use sand or gravel. Many to most plant grow great in these substrates. For gravel vacuuming get yourself a python water change system.

As to cycling your tank. Yes you’re doing a fish in cycle. But you’ve got very small fish in a large tank. So ammonia build up will take much longer. So I’d test daily and don’t be alarmed by no ammonia readings. As for now and when tne tank does cycle do 30% water changes once or twice a week. Just remove water don’t vacume your substrate.

What fish do you plan to keep other than what you have. You can add 4 more bst next week so you have a school of 8. What type of filtration are you using?

I plan eventually on having quite a few angel fish, I also want to add some kuhi loaches. I don't plan on doing any very big fish, I just plan on having many.
I'm using a HOB filter.

And ok thanks for the info on plants! I thought since I was buying them submerged they had probably been in their tank a bit and would have already started molting. I'll give them some time to adjust to their new life underwater.

I will go ahead and say it , plain as day like an Australian talks to anyone.

Americans are obsessed with believing good bacteria live in the water. I do not even know if you currently live in the US?

Since about 1975 it common knowledge in the rest of the world that the good bacteria live on hard surfaces.
If I have offended any Americans I am sorry. Trust me Aussies aren’t prefect.

As you are new CrystalE I understand if you think some smart donkey on the other side of the world is pulling your leg.

As a compromise can I suggest you change whatever volume of water the shop says as infrequently as they suggest BUT do not clean the glass , do not clean the filter ( or replace it ) , do not deep vacuum the substrate or clean any ornaments for the next 8 weeks. At the end of 8 weeks you can clean one panel of glass per week/ fortnight. Clean some ornaments and slowly slowly bring the tank into a “ nice” looking tank.

When the tank has a fully functioning nitrogen cycle we still don’t change filter material for years. The filter at first gets a gentle rinse in old tank water. After a few more months you can ring the filter out as hard as you like because by then some bacteria will be ON the substrate ON the heater and ON all hard surfaces. On plants yes.

There are not very many fish currently in a big tank. That is the reason the water tests low for ammonia.
It’s possible the stability is giving a false reading for nitrates?
Actually test your tap water for nitrates as many places have nitrates in their drinking water. I would recommend no more new fish for a while.

At the first sign of a change in behaviour smash out a water change. Fish swimming at the surface. Bubbles on the surface. Cloudy water. You can test the old water later.

As a person who has done three 45% water changes on the same day on my own tanks I feel pretty confident there is almost no bacteria living permanently in the water.

If the shop tries to sell you new filter pads/ cartridges RUN A MILE.
I have sponge sheet in hang on backs that’s 5 years old.

Alright I'm gonna try and recap just to make sure I understand what to do(sorry, I just want to make sure I'm doing this right)

-Do not clean any hard surfaces in the tank for 8 weeks(to let good bacteria establish on those surfaces?).
-Do not clean the filter media(I knew not to clean the biomedia, but I have already cleaned my sponge because when I poured water in I missed the bowl I was pouring on and sent soil everywhere I won't make that mistake again)
-After 8 weeks slowly start cleaning various surfaces in tank.

*Should I go ahead and start doing 1 water change a week, 20-30%?

What do I do if my filter sponge(I have sponge, ceramic beads, then activated carbon) starts looking brown from the stirred up soil? I realize now soil was probably a bad idea, but at the time I assumed it was great since I want lots of live plants.

I will test my water after I have a cup of coffee, until then I'm not sure my eyes can even function to read the results lol.

You also said no more fish, but will the amount I have in now, with having such a large tank, create enough ammonia to get the good bacteria started?

 

With your proposed (future) stocking don't be too surprised that you may be looking at upgrading to a small canister filter just to keep up. Angels get very big - size of a 20oz pop/soda bottle. Many don't realize this as they see the smaller versions in the store and they look adorable. Trust me, they grow..alot.

Depending on the angel itself it may get on the aggressive side. Have a plan in place should you need to separate them.

 

I will go ahead and say it , plain as day like an Australian talks to anyone.

Americans are obsessed with believing good bacteria live in the water. I do not even know if you currently live in the US?

Since about 1975 it common knowledge in the rest of the world that the good bacteria live on hard surfaces.
If I have offended any Americans I am sorry. Trust me Aussies aren’t prefect.

As you are new CrystalE I understand if you think some smart donkey on the other side of the world is pulling your leg.

As a compromise can I suggest you change whatever volume of water the shop says as infrequently as they suggest BUT do not clean the glass , do not clean the filter ( or replace it ) , do not deep vacuum the substrate or clean any ornaments for the next 8 weeks. At the end of 8 weeks you can clean one panel of glass per week/ fortnight. Clean some ornaments and slowly slowly bring the tank into a “ nice” looking tank.

When the tank has a fully functioning nitrogen cycle we still don’t change filter material for years. The filter at first gets a gentle rinse in old tank water. After a few more months you can ring the filter out as hard as you like because by then some bacteria will be ON the substrate ON the heater and ON all hard surfaces. On plants yes.

There are not very many fish currently in a big tank. That is the reason the water tests low for ammonia.
It’s possible the stability is giving a false reading for nitrates?
Actually test your tap water for nitrates as many places have nitrates in their drinking water. I would recommend no more new fish for a while.

At the first sign of a change in behaviour smash out a water change. Fish swimming at the surface. Bubbles on the surface. Cloudy water. You can test the old water later.

As a person who has done three 45% water changes on the same day on my own tanks I feel pretty confident there is almost no bacteria living permanently in the water.

If the shop tries to sell you new filter pads/ cartridges RUN A MILE.
I have sponge sheet in hang on backs that’s 5 years old.

Just checked my tap water nitrate: HUGE problem it's reading the exact same as my tank! Clearly my tank hasn't cycled any. My ammonia must be reading at 0 bc of how little fish are in such a large tank. What do I do?! How do I get more ammonia to get the cycle started without harming my fish?!
My whole world just collapsed I thought I was doing so good.

With your proposed (future) stocking don't be too surprised that you may be looking at upgrading to a small canister filter just to keep up. Angels get very big - size of a 20oz pop/soda bottle. Many don't realize this as they see the smaller versions in the store and they look adorable. Trust me, they grow..alot.

Depending on the angel itself it may get on the aggressive side. Have a plan in place should you need to separate them.

I have a canister filter already, got it from a friend it was just too complicated to try and start up with. I do know they get large and do have a plan in place if they get aggressive. I have a friend who only does Angelfish and will take any I cannot handle.

Out of curiosity though, since on the subject, would a large sponge filter and HOB do the same as a canister filter, or is canister truly superior?

 

Last thing I want to see in a large tank is this large black sponge with an air line running to it. So generally I do not run them. Given the size and number of fish you're looking at keeping, I wouldn't do it.




The one on the left is sized for a 60 gallon tank. I'm only doing this as I'm not ready yet to install my FX6. This is on a 125 gallon tank.

On my son's 75 I have a Marineland Emperor Pro 450 with 2 angels, 3 severum, 4 ebas, 6 panda cories, a yellow bn, a king tiger pleco, and a striped raphael. I plan on adding a couple more severum and am looking at upgrading his filter to a canister - probably FX4.

 

Just checked my tap water nitrate: HUGE problem it's reading the exact same as my tank! Clearly my tank hasn't cycled any. My ammonia must be reading at 0 bc of how little fish are in such a large tank. What do I do?! How do I get more ammonia to get the cycle started without harming my fish?!
My whole world just collapsed I thought I was doing so good.

I have a canister filter already, got it from a friend it was just too complicated to try and start up with. I do know they get large and do have a plan in place if they get aggressive. I have a friend who only does Angelfish and will take any I cannot handle.

Out of curiosity though, since on the subject, would a large sponge filter and HOB do the same as a canister filter, or is canister truly superior?

Take a deep breath. Your whole world didn't collapse. You probably aren't seeing any ammonia because you started stocking so light. That's a good thing.

As far as "How do I get more ammonia to get the cycle started without harming my fish?", wait a week or so to make sure things stay stable and add a few more fish. Check your water often and do water changes as needed to keep the ammonia and nitrites low. I would definitely recommend not adding any chemicals.

Keep going slow and it will all be fine.

 

You are doing good CrystalE. Very good, you found your way on to this active site.

Only a small amount of ammonia is needed to feed a small amount of bacteria. The tank will begin to cycle. However the amount of bacteria is controlled by the amount of poop / the daily bio load.

Soon in a few weeks the tank will have enough bacteria for the fish that are in it.

It’s said under ideal conditions bacteria numbers can double in 24 hours. But even when established you still must add more new fish slowly .

Even a very old tank should have new fish added carefully and the term “ mini cycle “ is used to describe the extra water changes require when lots of new fish are added to an old tank.

On the subject of nitrates in your tap water.
Thats not a big deal but it’s a black mark against the shop assistant who did not know your local water. Assuming their tap water comes from the same source?


Sorry we had to meet like this, but you are not alone. It’s all too common.

I might be a hard faced Aussie bloke but if you have a few fish die, well they die. According to some estimates anything up to 65% of fish sold to new fish keepers don’t make it.
In my town there is an endless supply of new tanks at the rubbish dump recycling shed all without a scratch and containing multiple medications as the newbie was sold as much as possible even including a bigger tank . You probably don’t need a bigger tank ( lol)

Anyway continue testing as often as you like or not.
Change some water every couple of days and do nothing more the tank will cycle using the small amount of wild bacteria that is everywhere for free.
The bacteria could be in the water or on dust in the air . Possibly ( very likely) on those tank brought plants you have if there was fish in the shop plant tank.
I have even read that bacteria is ON the fish.

To get maximum growth.
Warm water .tick
oxygen from surface movement tick.
Not being wiped off ANY hard surface.

To answer your question
Fish poop becomes ammonia eventually.
Fish breath is ammonia. With every breath they produce a little more ammonia.
Not sure if you call what fish do pee or if I can use that word but all fish waste is ammonia.

Thumbs up you have made good progress into the hobby.

 

Last thing I want to see in a large tank is this large black sponge with an air line running to it. So generally I do not run them. Given the size and number of fish you're looking at keeping, I wouldn't do it.



The one on the left is sized for a 60 gallon tank. I'm only doing this as I'm not ready yet to install my FX6. This is on a 125 gallon tank.

On my son's 75 I have a Marineland Emperor Pro 450 with 2 angels, 3 severum, 4 ebas, 6 panda cories, a yellow bn, a king tiger pleco, and a striped raphael. I plan on adding a couple more severum and am looking at upgrading his filter to a canister - probably FX4.

Ok. Yeah, I don't like the look of sponge filters, but I think I've scared myself from being ready for a canister filter. When we originally set up the tank we tried the canister filter and it leaked out and flooded our floor. I think it needs new gaskets where the top and base connect, that's where it was leaking out of. I didn't want to spend time trouble shooting it then, but I also didn't want to fork up the money for a whole new canister if I can get the other one up and running. But at the same time, I'm terrified to flood my floors again, it was pretty bad. The leak was mainly coming from the side we weren't looking at, and it was seeping into the carpet so we couldn't tell there was a problem until it was absolutely drenched.

Take a deep breath. Your whole world didn't collapse. You probably aren't seeing any ammonia because you started stocking so light. That's a good thing.

As far as "How do I get more ammonia to get the cycle started without harming my fish?", wait a week or so to make sure things stay stable and add a few more fish. Check your water often and do water changes as needed to keep the ammonia and nitrites low. I would definitely recommend not adding any chemicals.

Keep going slow and it will all be fine.

Ok, ok. Whew. That's pretty much what I have been doing, minus the water changes(I did do a small one last night though).

I won't add any more chemicals.

Thank you for all of your help today. You have taught me a lot and I hope it will ensure I raise happy fish

 

If you're concerned about the canister leaking once the seals/connectors/hoses are replaced, stick it in an open plastic tote that can catch some of the water. Let it run for a while to see if there's something going on as the bottom of the tote should remain dry.

I plan on doing just this to protect my hardwood floors.

You'll get there with cycling the tank. Just going to take a bit of patience and resist the overwhelming urge to start making drastic changes. Once you go down that path, you're setting yourself up for chasing a cycle. It's no fun once you're doing that.

 

I think canister vs sponge is just a matter of opinion, both work very well. I use a large double stack filter sponge with a hob for my goldfish because they produce a large amount of waste. You can get sponges that are rated for very large tanks, and some people use only sponges. I'm a bit intimidated by canisters, and I don't have a place to put one anyway. While I'm not crazy about the look of sponges, you can minimize that easily. I use black sponges with black airlines against a black background, with plants or decor in front of them. Another benefit of a double stack, you always have a sponge ready if you need to start up a quarantine tank.

 

If you're concerned about the canister leaking once the seals/connectors/hoses are replaced, stick it in an open plastic tote that can catch some of the water. Let it run for a while to see if there's something going on as the bottom of the tote should remain dry.

I plan on doing just this to protect my hardwood floors.

You'll get there with cycling the tank. Just going to take a bit of patience and resist the overwhelming urge to start making drastic changes. Once you go down that path, you're setting yourself up for chasing a cycle. It's no fun once you're doing that.

I didn't plan on adding any more fish for a while, I hit my budget with startup. I do have some plants coming in the mail, but I had planned for the foreseeable future to work get my plants up and going, as I want those to be a main focal point in my tank as well.

My end goal is to have a fully planted tank resembling nature for the fish as much as possible. Little did I know before getting into the hobby was how expensive driftwood and rocks were so that is going to take a bit of time.

 

Ok being a 75g I’d go with 2 filters. One either a tidal 110 or aqua clear 110 hob. Either of these should be enough with regular water changes. Because I like 2 filters. If one breaks down the other is still pumping. Now as a second filter I use these
this is a 350 but they aLeo sell a 250 which all you’ll need. Squeeze these sponges at water changes into old tank water and you’ll be fine!

 

I think canister vs sponge is just a matter of opinion, both work very well. I use a large double stack filter sponge with a hob for my goldfish because they produce a large amount of waste. You can get sponges that are rated for very large tanks, and some people use only sponges. I'm a bit intimidated by canisters, and I don't have a place to put one anyway. While I'm not crazy about the look of sponges, you can minimize that easily. I use black sponges with black airlines against a black background, with plants or decor in front of them. Another benefit of a double stack, you always have a sponge ready if you need to start up a quarantine tank.

I'm not familiar with double stack, but I will go look into that bc that's seems like a great benefit. I eventually want to breed Angelfish(I have a LFS that says they're always looking to buy them) and that sounds like a great way to start a fry tank. Excuse me if I'm wrong there, I haven't done all that much research yet on breeding bc it's not something I'm doing any time soon.

 

They're egg layers. Last batch they laid on my filter which I had to pull out and put into a 10 gallon so they (and the other fish) didn't eat the eggs.We moved the surviving babies, I had 3 make it this far, into a 29 for further grow out. The yield was low compared to what you can get out of breeding session but not horrible to overrun our tanks.

It's a lot of work afterwards...we did 2x daily baby brine shrimp. They're now on flake food about 3 months in...about the size of a quarter.

 

They're egg layers. Last batch they laid on my filter which I had to pull out and put into a 10 gallon so they (and the other fish) didn't eat the eggs.We moved the surviving babies, I had 3 make it this far, into a 29 for further grow out. The yield was low compared to what you can get out of breeding session but not horrible to overrun our tanks.

It's a lot of work afterwards...we did 2x daily baby brine shrimp. They're now on flake food about 3 months in...about the size of a quarter.

I'm so ready for that that sounds like such an amazing journey to take with fish.

 

Well like I said earlier I’d up tetras to 8. It’s a big tank and tetras do like to have company. The more will relieve stress. 8 tetras in a 75 is still next to nothing. Also adds more waste to help with ammonia to start the cycle.

 

I'm not familiar with double stack, but I will go look into that bc that's seems like a great benefit. I eventually want to breed Angelfish(I have a LFS that says they're always looking to buy them) and that sounds like a great way to start a fry tank. Excuse me if I'm wrong there, I haven't done all that much research yet on breeding bc it's not something I'm doing any time soon.

One more thing about sponge filters. I'm not a fan of the super coarse sponges. When I go to clean them it seems that much of the fish waste escapes back into the tank water, so I stick to the ones that are a bit finer.

 

One more thing about sponge filters. I'm not a fan of the super coarse sponges. When I go to clean them it seems that much of the fish waste escapes back into the tank water, so I stick to the ones that are a bit finer.

Ok that makes sense. I wanted a finer one anyways go polish the water better. Thank you for all your help!

 

One more thing about sponge filters. I'm not a fan of the super coarse sponges. When I go to clean them it seems that much of the fish waste escapes back into the tank water, so I stick to the ones that are a bit finer.

I'm not a fan of them because juvenile snails and shrimp always seem to get stuck inside them, but the cleaning issue can be fixed. Raise it up a little bit and slip a plastic bag around it while it's still completely submerged, then lift the bag out. All (or at least the vast majority) of the gunk will stay in the bag.

. . . Little did I know before getting into the hobby was how expensive driftwood and rocks were so that is going to take a bit of time.

They don't have to be. You can probably get rocks at a landscape supply place, and almost any wood that's completely dead and dry will work fine. I picked mine up while I was in my pasture checking cows. While I realize that not everyone lives in a rural area where that's possible, you might find other alternatives.

 

Rivers, streams, beach, etc....I've used stone from these locations in the past for years with no ill effects.

 

I'm not a fan of them because juvenile snails and shrimp always seem to get stuck inside them, but the cleaning issue can be fixed. Raise it up a little bit and slip a plastic bag around it while it's still completely submerged, then lift the bag out. All (or at least the vast majority) of the gunk will stay in the bag.

My 1st snail got sucked up on my filter it's shell was outside, soft body stuck in a hole. It was...not something I knew I needed to worry about. I put a piece of sponge coarse enough to let enough water in over the inlet to prevent it from happening again. That 1 snail loves hanging out on my inlet pump. I'm glad he survived, but I definitely thought he wasn't gonna make it bc he went so far up in his shell and stayed there for like a day, and there was a fluid coming from him but he's up and moving again, lesson learned the hard way.