I have a marine land 75 gal (18”L x 48”W x 21”H) and I’m looking to set it up freshwater, I’ve kept angels before and I’d love to have another angel setup and I’m wondering what else I could stock with the angels, (fish, plants, and what kind of sand or gravel), also what heater and filter should I go with? Or maybe a sump? Would love to get everyone’s thoughts on this and thank you in advance!
75 gallon setup
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- 5,165
You can either go with community fish, or some SA/CA cichlids.
A school of geophagus red head tapajos and an electric blue acara would make for a very nice looking tank with Angelfish for example.
The Tapajos are not an agressive cichlid, which only get 5"-6" fully grown. They have great colors as well.
A 75g gives you a lot of options.
For filtration, you have a ton of options.
You can go with just sponge filters. Most breeders and fishkeepers with multiple tanks only run sponge filters, even in 55g and 75g tanks. 3 large sponge filters would work fine. Many brands can even be double stacked.
Depending on budget, there are many hang on back filters suited for a 75g as well.
Many people run both sponge filters + HOB filters.
For example, a pair of large sponge filters and a large HOB filter will work in most cases, unless you are severely over stocking.
If you do not want to run sponge filters driven off an air pump, then consider a pair of HOB filters.
On the lower end of the budget, Marineland Penguin 350's can usually be found online for $22-$27 each.
Aquaclear is one of the higher end models of HOB filters. I own a couple, and can recommend them.
For the longest time when our 75g was a community tank, I ran Aquaclear 70 and 110 filters plus a sponge filter.
I like Aquaclears because they dont have near the bypass as the Tidal filter and their reservoir that holds the media basket are huge.
If you go with an Aquaclear, I suggest to consider double stacking the foam sponge blocks.
Aquaclear sells 3 packs of repalcement foam blocks for their filters. They are about the equivalent of 20ppi foam (pores per inch) where the larger the number is more fine and lower the number the foam is more porous.
If you want to add a layer of slightly more fine foam and not break the bank, Amazon sells the Aquaneat brand of sheets of 30ppi foam that's 2" thick. 20ppi is also available. I think the sheets are something like 11" x 19". I've bought the 20 and 30ppi sheets to add to my canisters and some of my Aquaclears.
Foam sponge media in my experience acts as an excellent mechanical and biological filtration media. Most cost effective than fancy bio-media, pumice rocks, etc in my opinion.
The included Fluval "bio-max" that comes with Aquaclears are not really porous and the surface feels very hard. For some strange reason, Fluval's bio-max sold in a bulk 500g box is completely different than the Bio-Max included in Fluval/Aquaclear filters. That stuff actually feels porous.
You mentioned substrate, it's really up to the individual fishkeeper, but I prefer sand.
In my experience, it is a lot easier to clean and uneaten fish food and fish detritus doesnt sink down into it like it does with gravel.
My tanks use Quikrete Pool Filter Sand. You have to be extremely patient while rinsing it in a 5 gallon bucket and garden hose. The end result will be a sand that sinks immediately when disturbed with zero clouding. Home Depot sells 50lb bags of it for $7-$8.
A school of geophagus red head tapajos and an electric blue acara would make for a very nice looking tank with Angelfish for example.
The Tapajos are not an agressive cichlid, which only get 5"-6" fully grown. They have great colors as well.
A 75g gives you a lot of options.
For filtration, you have a ton of options.
You can go with just sponge filters. Most breeders and fishkeepers with multiple tanks only run sponge filters, even in 55g and 75g tanks. 3 large sponge filters would work fine. Many brands can even be double stacked.
Depending on budget, there are many hang on back filters suited for a 75g as well.
Many people run both sponge filters + HOB filters.
For example, a pair of large sponge filters and a large HOB filter will work in most cases, unless you are severely over stocking.
If you do not want to run sponge filters driven off an air pump, then consider a pair of HOB filters.
On the lower end of the budget, Marineland Penguin 350's can usually be found online for $22-$27 each.
Aquaclear is one of the higher end models of HOB filters. I own a couple, and can recommend them.
For the longest time when our 75g was a community tank, I ran Aquaclear 70 and 110 filters plus a sponge filter.
I like Aquaclears because they dont have near the bypass as the Tidal filter and their reservoir that holds the media basket are huge.
If you go with an Aquaclear, I suggest to consider double stacking the foam sponge blocks.
Aquaclear sells 3 packs of repalcement foam blocks for their filters. They are about the equivalent of 20ppi foam (pores per inch) where the larger the number is more fine and lower the number the foam is more porous.
If you want to add a layer of slightly more fine foam and not break the bank, Amazon sells the Aquaneat brand of sheets of 30ppi foam that's 2" thick. 20ppi is also available. I think the sheets are something like 11" x 19". I've bought the 20 and 30ppi sheets to add to my canisters and some of my Aquaclears.
Foam sponge media in my experience acts as an excellent mechanical and biological filtration media. Most cost effective than fancy bio-media, pumice rocks, etc in my opinion.
The included Fluval "bio-max" that comes with Aquaclears are not really porous and the surface feels very hard. For some strange reason, Fluval's bio-max sold in a bulk 500g box is completely different than the Bio-Max included in Fluval/Aquaclear filters. That stuff actually feels porous.
You mentioned substrate, it's really up to the individual fishkeeper, but I prefer sand.
In my experience, it is a lot easier to clean and uneaten fish food and fish detritus doesnt sink down into it like it does with gravel.
My tanks use Quikrete Pool Filter Sand. You have to be extremely patient while rinsing it in a 5 gallon bucket and garden hose. The end result will be a sand that sinks immediately when disturbed with zero clouding. Home Depot sells 50lb bags of it for $7-$8.
- Messages
- 75
Good Morning Nate,
I have a 75 gallon dirted tank with three silver lace angels and one gold lace. I keep them with one bristle nose placo (female), 13 neon tetras, and 5 pepper corydoras. They all get along the only time where there is any competition for anything is at feeding time; then it’s every fish for itself, it’s so funny to see that behavior in my fish. The tank is heavily planted and everyone is doing well. For filtration I am running Marineland filters. I have the Emperor 400 and the Magnaflow 360. I have used their filters for 24 years and absolutely love their reliability, quality, and overall performance. I have never had any issue with my filters at all. The Emperor I’m using in this built is 15years old and it still runs like it’s brand new. I even have an old HOT Magnum which I run in my 55 gallon tank. I fertilize the plants using the EI method, I do a 50% water change on day seven of the cycle and I start all over again. I use root tabs every four months and keep up with the daily maintenance. I love the way everything is turning out. Patience and observation is the key in this hobby.
Random Great Topic!
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