A couple of basic questions.

I just bought a 75 gal tank from my neighbor, it has not been set up for a few years now. I think I have heaters and lighting covered but one of my questions is that he was using a Aquaclear 500 filter, they were keeping Oscars. I would like to do FOWLR. Is this fither ok for the job or should I get something else?
I have freshwater tanks I could use it on if its not good for saltwater.
I am trying to read up on what else I need for equipment so I am sure to ask a few more questions.

 

HI jconnon..welcome to fishlore!! are you going to set this up as a saltwater tank?? I'm intimidated by sw tanks but I'm sure someone will be along with tons of information for you

 

Yes Saltwater, I have always wanted to do one. I currently have a 38 gal tank with goldfish that I am going to break down as I am putting the fish that are in there outside in the pond (I have two small ponds). I also keep some KOI in the ponds and I have a 300gal Rubbermaid tank that I overwinter these guys with.
So saltwater it is! And the 75gal tank,stand, filter, heaters and other junk only cost me $75 bucks

 

what a great find!!!!!!!!!! I'm in the process of doing an outdoor pond with koi..I'm looking up all the information and researching it ....got any pics of your pond? I think they are a great addition to the landscape

 

With adequate live rock, a couple of power heads, and a good protein skimmer (which I highly recommend), you actually do not need to run the aquaclear at all. Biological filtration is the main concern in a salt tank, as well as control of organic waste build up. The rock will handle the bio filtration, and the skimmer will cover the organics.

 

I just bought a 75 gal tank from my neighbor, it has not been set up for a few years now. I think I have heaters and lighting covered but one of my questions is that he was using a Aquaclear 500 filter, they were keeping Oscars. I would like to do FOWLR. Is this fither ok for the job or should I get something else?
I have freshwater tanks I could use it on if its not good for saltwater.
I am trying to read up on what else I need for equipment so I am sure to ask a few more questions.

good find. like the above poster said... If you get plenty of live rock... a few powerheads and a skimmer you are good to go.
Id still keep the filter up and running... its good for any free floating debris it can pick up to keep your water clearer...
what type of filter is it though? does it have bioballs or is it one of those with filter pads/sponge? with using this filter I highly recommend cleaning it out every three months... all the debris build up in your filter will raise your nitrates if you dont...(when cleaning it.. just make sure you rinse the filter pad? in saltwater not freshwater... if you rinse it in freshwater .. you'll kill off all the beneficial bacteria that's good for your tank... so its important.. rinse the filter pad with saltwater-remember that.)

Got a stock list already in mind?
This was my favorite part.. when I stocked my tank with fish.. kind of wish my tank was fish free so I could do it all over again.. but now that I think of it.. I'm fine with what I have..
Here's my stocklist for my 75

Australian Sailfin Tang
Coral Beauty Angelfish
Swallowtail Angelfish
Neon Goby
Yellow Watchman Goby
Royal Gramma
3 Green Chroms
2 Percula Clownfish
and a Lamarcks Angelfish... Which is about to go in my sisters tank.. she won't stop begging me for it...

I also forgot to add.. that you'll be needing some live sand too

 

The filter is a pad/sponge deal. I think this is the biggest one that they make.
I will invest in a protein skimmer, could you recommend on for this tank?
As far as a stock list I am more interested in community fish,I like the clown fish,damsels and fish like these. I also like snails,shrimp, starfish and I really like puffer fish. Not sure if these are all combinable yet.
Also where I had the tank before I had a real hard time with algae and I use a UV filter in my pond, would a UV filter be a good idea as well?

 

I can't answer the other questions but from what I understand, UV filters kill both bad and good bacteria. As a result, it's not something you want to use in a Saltwater tank.

 

The filter is a pad/sponge deal. I think this is the biggest one that they make.
I will invest in a protein skimmer, could you recommend on for this tank?
As far as a stock list I am more interested in community fish,I like the clown fish,damsels and fish like these. I also like snails,shrimp, starfish and I really like puffer fish. Not sure if these are all combinable yet.
Also where I had the tank before I had a real hard time with algae and I use a UV filter in my pond, would a UV filter be a good idea as well?

skip the uv filter.
there are a bunch of ways with dealing with algae.... hermits .. snails... will keep the algae down on your rocks and glass.... you can get some sort of Tang... a tang will absolutely devour any algae on your rocks... no doubt about that... but you'll still have to clean the inside of your glass every few days... no going around that.
the skimmer I have in my tank is a Red Sea Prizm skimmer rated for 100 gall... works real good, keeps the water crystal clear. always foaming... so I know its removing the impurities in my tank...
you could go for the smaller species of puffers? Like the tobies?
but if you want snails ... shrimp... a starfish.. or any inverts...
I wouldnt recommend a puffer in your tank...
also, skip the damsels
You can risk it.... I think if you keep the puffer well fed.. it won't go after your inverts... but don't put it on me.



got a stocklist yet?

 

Just curious...what kind of lighting does it have? How much wattage?

 

Just curious...what kind of lighting does it have? How much wattage?

Hes doing a FOWLR (Fish Only With Live Rock)... lighting isn't important. Whatever lighting is adequate.

 

That's why I was only curious. Just wanted to know what kind of light he got with the tank.

 

lighting isn't important. Whatever lighting is adequate.

Lighting is always important.
In this case, the concern would be "does the aquarium have an excess of light?" or possibly "Is the current owner going to be wasting electricity on unused MH light?" If a previous owner had kept hard corals, there might be a seriously overpowered setup in there.
Anyway, if there's a ton of light and nothing soaking up extra nutrients, this tank could very quickly become covered in algae.
It's just something to be aware of. It also may affect certain non-coral choices, such as clams or anenomes, that can be kept in the tank.

 

I agree with sirdarksol, and would add that lighting will affect the Coraline algae. If you are using standard T8 lights, you should use 50/50 mix of bulbs as just using the "white" bulbs will produce more light in the red spectrum and this can lead to algae problems.
IMO, T5 lights would be a better option as you will find yourself looking at some corals sooner or later..

 

So I'm getting a 10 gallon planted tank with a couple of dwarf puffers. I just had some general questions:
-How exactly do I set up the substrate for a planted tank? And could I use sand if I wanted to? What are done easy plants you guys would recommend? And could the plants eventually outgrow the tank?
- How does I feed them frozen blood worms? Is there any way I can do so that will minimize the amount of food scattered on the bottom of the tank? Is there any other cleaner food alternative?
-How would I go about cleaning the substrate in a heavily planted tank?
-Any aquascaping tips?
Thanks!

 

For the blood worms I buy them frozen in portion packs. I break off a piece soak it in hot water, then I use chopsticks to feed it to the fish, instead of dumping it into the water. This helps to reduce the amount on the bottom.

Sent from my SM-G925V using Fish Lore Aquarium Fish Forum mobile app

 

Well the lowest maintenance plants I have had are anacharis, marimo moss balls, wendtiI crypts, and java ferns. I'm not sure on the crypts but the anacharis and the java ferns will more than likely outgrow your tank eventually. Java ferns however are slow growing in my experience if you aren't using ferts and CO2 so it is not something to worry about right away if you wanted them. However, the anacharis grows quickly and propagates easily. You just have to keep it thinned out every month or so and trim it (from the bottom not the top) so that it doesn't completely take over your tank. I keep a lot of it in my tank because it soaks up so much ammonia.

 

Thanks guys! Can anyone else answer my other questions?

 

If you use sand you're going to want to add root tabs if you have root feeding plants such as swords.

 

Root tabs?

 

I think sand is a great choice. I know a lot of people use diamond blasting sand, which comes pretty cheap. I used pool filter sand in my 10G. I bought it as Leslie's Pool Supplies for $20 for 50lbs. It lasted me forever! I'm sure you could also get it at Home Depot. Just wash it really well beforehand until the water looks clear. Then place it into your tank and slowly fill it to the top to minimize cloudiness. It should clear up in a few hours after it goes through your filter. Because this type of sand does not have nutrients in it, you'll have to supply your root-feeding plants with root tabs, which are pretty easy to find. Peabody's Paradise is a great place to buy root tabs (you get a lot of quality tabs for really cheap). Root tabs would be for plants such as crypts, which are heavy root feeders.

There are lot of easy low-light plants you can keep. I personally love anacharis and rotala. Dwarf Sag and Crypt wendtiI will grow like crazy if you give them some root tabs. You can also dose with liquid fertilizer, such as Flourish Comprehensive, which will provide nutrients for water column-feeding plants such as anacharis. But plants such as anacharis are really low-maintenance plants and to be honest, as long as you give them light, they'll grow anyway. They'll just grow better with fertilizer.
Frogbit and hornwort are awesome too. I love them. Frogbit spreads like crazzzy! I highly recommend using live plants in your aquarium. They have so many benefits and they make your tank look beautiful!

I'm using ADA Aqua Soil in one of my other tanks, which is a live substrate with beneficial nutrients for plants. I love it because I don't have to provide as many fertilizers for the plants and the plants grow like crazy in it! Just a thought. But this alternative is not as cheap as the sand+fertilizer route.

In regards to cleaning your substrate, you can use a siphon to clean off the surface of the sand whenever you feel like it's getting too dirty. But the fish poop/fallen leaves (as long as it isn't excessive) will actually eventually become nutrients for your plants to take in. Just siphon up a little of the debris whenever you do a partial water change and you should be fine.

In terms of feeding them bloodworms, you could thaw the bloodworms in some tank water (be sure to use tank water and not untreated tap water) and then take it up with a dropper and squirt it towards the puffers in the tank. Or you could use a small terracotta dish (they're really cheap at Michaels) or glass dish at the bottom to place the worms in and just suction out whatever is left over so it doesn't rot in the tank.

 

Thanks! This is really helpful info. Quick question, will the poop and leaves still be used by plants if I use sand?

 

When I feed bloodworms, I have a dedicated coffee mug. I cut the frozen bloodworm cubes into 1/4, based on the number of fish I have. I scoop up a mugful of tank water, put in my 1/4 cube, wait for it to thaw, then pour the entire mug back in. My fish love the bloodworms so much that there is never any worry about any of them falling to the bottom.

 

In theory, yes. It doesn't seem to hurt my plants in my tank with sand. Just be sure to siphon out any piles that you see when you do water changes. My planted tank with the pool filter sand has been growing insanely since I started dosing with Flourish Comp and Peabody Paradise's Root Tabs. They also sell live plants, by the way. I recommend you add a generous portion of sand at the bottom, as it will be easier to plant things that way. 1in-1.5in should be enough for low-maintenance plants.

Once you get to 50 posts, you can post in the Buy, Sell, Trade, Free section of the forum and people are always selling low-light, low-maintenance plants there for fabulous prices! Dolfan was really helpful in particular with getting me the plants I needed for my recent tank.

Good luck and please feel free to reach out if you have any further questions!

 

Another place to get cheap root tabs is ebay. I buy osmocote root tabs off of there as many people do



That's probably more than you need but you get the idea

 

FWIW: I have been reading this section as I think about starting a planted tank...

https://www.fishlore.com/aquariumfishforum/threads/aquarium-plant-important-topic-stickies.14287/

from another section of the freshwater forum. Good luck to us both!

 

Thanks everybody!

 

Here is a link to an article I put together on getting started with a low tech/low light planted aquarium. Check out all the links as there is a lot of good info there and should answer most of your questions.....

https://www.fishlore.com/aquariumfishforum/resources/how-to-set-up-a-low-light-low-tech-planted-tank.24/