Recommendations For Beginner With New 75 Gallon Tank

I am a beginner, but have been reading information. I purchased a new 75 gallon tank with a glass top, stand, and LED light (it came with a 3' light though it's a 4' tank.) I plan to do fishless cycling and have the patience to do it correctly. I have not totally decided on fish, but am interested in harlequin rasboras and my husband likes sharks. I would like a variety of colorful fish that would do well together. I like bettas, but I know they are better alone. I would prefer a planted tank.

Except for the API master test kit, I have not purchased anything else and would like suggestions for equipment. Equipment that is "easier" to maintain is preferred. I was looking at HOB filters (I may prefer a quieter one). One filter better or two smaller ones? Same with heaters? Type of substrate? Basically suggestions for all things needed to get the cycle started. I am looking for good quality but not the necessarily the most expensive.

Thank you.

 

First thing you should do is read this: nitrogen cycle
What's the temperature of the room the tank will be in? You'll need a 250-300w adjustable heater, as for the HOB to go with just one I'd recommend the aquaclear 110. It filters 500 gph (on the highest flow setting) and is just short of what you want for that size tank. Prime water conditioner will be your best friend

 

HOB filters aren't quiet. I have one in 2 of my tanks and the quickly start making noise. The water evaporates out and as soon as the water drops you can hear the water falling. If you don't mind the sound of a little waterfall in your family room it's no big deal but if I had a 75 gallon tank there is no doubt I'd upgrade from a HOB to canister.

I have an Eheim Jager heater. It can be partially submerged and still be ok. The thermometer is adjust as well.

A fish tank is a major part of your decor, make sure you like it and how it looks in your home. If having clean lines in a fish tank is important, you need to find a fish that is appropriate. If you don't care what the decor of it is but are set on a specific fish, then you can find the plants that are appropriate for the fish and tank size. Remember that those high tech tanks that are so beautiful require a lot of work and almost always have a CO2 system.

For a planted tank though you want to start out good and buy a good substrate from the get-go. ADA Aquasoil is a great choice.

 

First thing you should do is read this: nitrogen cycle
What's the temperature of the room the tank will be in? You'll need a 250-300w adjustable heater, as for the HOB to go with just one I'd recommend the aquaclear 110. It filters 500 gph (on the highest flow setting) and is just short of what you want for that size tank. Prime water conditioner will be your best friend

I have read that and the process of cycling and understand it will take time. Temperature can range from 66 degrees to 72 degrees (I schedule my thermostat to be cooler at night at 67 or so). Thank you for your recommendations and was leaning towards an aquaclear.

 

HOB filters aren't quiet. I have one in 2 of my tanks and the quickly start making noise. The water evaporates out and as soon as the water drops you can hear the water falling. If you don't mind the sound of a little waterfall in your family room it's no big deal but if I had a 75 gallon tank there is no doubt I'd upgrade from a HOB to canister.

I have an Eheim Jager heater. It can be partially submerged and still be ok. The thermometer is adjust as well.

A fish tank is a major part of your decor, make sure you like it and how it looks in your home. If having clean lines in a fish tank is important, you need to find a fish that is appropriate. If you don't care what the decor of it is but are set on a specific fish, then you can find the plants that are appropriate for the fish and tank size. Remember that those high tech tanks that are so beautiful require a lot of work and almost always have a CO2 system.

For a planted tank though you want to start out good and buy a good substrate from the get-go. ADA Aquasoil is a great choice.

Depends on the brand, some can make it impossible to sleep, some are dead quiet. The AC110 fits the latter

I have read that and the process of cycling and understand it will take time. Temperature can range from 66 degrees to 72 degrees (I schedule my thermostat to be cooler at night at 67 or so).
Thank you for your recommendations and was leaning towards an aquaclear.

I'd get an adjustable aqueon pro 300w, better safe than sorry

 

HOB filters aren't quiet. I have one in 2 of my tanks and the quickly start making noise. The water evaporates out and as soon as the water drops you can hear the water falling. If you don't mind the sound of a little waterfall in your family room it's no big deal but if I had a 75 gallon tank there is no doubt I'd upgrade from a HOB to canister.

I have an Eheim Jager heater. It can be partially submerged and still be ok. The thermometer is adjust as well.

A fish tank is a major part of your decor, make sure you like it and how it looks in your home. If having clean lines in a fish tank is important, you need to find a fish that is appropriate. If you don't care what the decor of it is but are set on a specific fish, then you can find the plants that are appropriate for the fish and tank size. Remember that those high tech tanks that are so beautiful require a lot of work and almost always have a CO2 system.

For a planted tank though you want to start out good and buy a good substrate from the get-go. ADA Aquasoil is a great choice.

Waterfall sound is fine. Thank you for the suggestions.

 

Not an expert on equipment but I'm planning out a 30 gal. I also love bettas but they can't always go in a community tank.BUT I think guppies can be a 2nd choice for the look. They can be quite colorful and have flowy tails and do well with others.

 

After enjoying our first tank ( a 20g) I started to want a larger one.

We also bought a 75 gallon thst came with a cabinet and 36" LED light.

I added a 2nd light from Amazon, a 48" Beamswork EA-series LED w/ optional timer. I should have went with the DA-series instead. It is a lot brighter. A 36" DA series is brighter than the 48" DA series. I also bought the 10,000k light and should have bought the 6,500k light.

The Beamswork light has worked well overall and the timer function has separate schedules for the white and blue actinic LED's.

For heaters, most name brands work well: Aqueon, Eheim Jager, Hydor, Finnex, Cobalt, Fluval etc etc.

I use an Aqeuon Pro 250 watt on our 75 gallon and it works well.

For substrate, I definitely recommend sand over gravel. I have gravel in our 20 gallon and hate it. Big pain to clean with the gravel vac. The 75 gallon has sand and it's exponentially easier to clean with the siphon gravel vac. I use pool filter sand. $5 / 50lb bag for the Quikrete brand.

Any brand / color of sand you choose has to be thoroughly washed in a bucket though, preferably with a garden hose and bucket. Patience is the key and will reward you with a cloudy-free tank water.

Asking about filtration is a loaded question. You will get a ton of responses, all different.

What has worked for me are Aqauclear HOB's, ATI sponge filters, and Hydor canisters. I own 4 Aquaclears and an assortment of ATI sponge filters and pre-filters. My (2) AC30's and an AC70 are quiet. My AC110 will have an occasional noise, coming from a vibration from the lid and or plastic body. It is common with AC's and usually an adjustment of the lid and/or intake tube resolves it.

Air pumps, for reference, are louder than my AC110.

Here is a link that shows ideas for effective and inexpensive ways to use DIY filter media. Another link on the forum about the Aquaclear 110.

Seachem Tidal HOB's are very popular also.

Sponge filters driven by air pumps are fantastic at mechanical and biological filtration. Most fish breeders use them in their fry and grow-out tanks, and usually more densely stocked than your average home aquarium.

ATI offers great sponge filters. Their Hydro Sponge IV and V models would do well in a 75. They even can be had stacked, where a coarse sponge is on the bottom and a fine sponge is stacked on top. ATI sponges marked "Pro" are their reticulated coarse sponges.

Also, ATI is an American company that is made in the USA. If you look at Amazon's customer reviews, most of the negative reviews are attributed to user error, or complete idiots for not researching what they are buying and then crying how it's "too large for their 2 gallon betta tank"......

For example, a very effective filtration setup would be an Aquaclear 110 with an ATI Filter Max III sponge pre-filter in combination with a decent air pump running an ATI "Hydro Sponge V" and "Pro V" in the back corners hidden by some live plants.

Canisters are another option. I have had excellent service with my Hydor 600 canister. No leaks, very quiet and large media trays has made it very enjoyable to own. It seems though Hydor canisters are not heavily marketed and popular, maybe that's why I got it for 50% off on clearance.

About the best bang-for-your-buck brand of canisters are the SunSun brand found on Amazon. Their 704B model would handle your 75 gallon tank. If I were ordering one, I would choose the "no filter media" option to save money and put my own media inside of it.

Here is a video from Ben Ochart's YouTube channel of the SunSub 704B for reference......

Fluval and Eheim also make great canister filters. Petsmart has the Fluval FX4 on sale for $199 in-store. Those are beasts of a filter.

For water treatment/dechlorinators, I use Seachem Prime and Seachem Safe. I use Prime for dosing buckets of water and my 10 gallon / 20 gallon tanks. I use the Safe to treat the entire 75 gallon when I refill it with water during water changes.

For water changes in my 75g, I use a siphon gravel vac or a pump that I aamttach to a Camco brand RV water hose that is drinking water safe. They are $10 @ Walmart and Amazon. I attached plumbing fittings at both ends. One is a barb that attaches to the siphon hose (or is use the siphon hose to connect my pump to the garden hose).




I then can drain the tank into a shower drain or out the door to the back yard.

On the other end of the hose is the other fitting that allows me to screw it onto the kitchen sink faucet after removing the aerator.




This makes draining and refilling the tank easy, compared to using buckets or a Python. Pythons require you to run your faucet just to be able to drain the tank. So you waste a ton of water just to drain it.


Here is a couple of websites I have had good luck with when making online purchases.

Kensfish.com, great selection and prices, especially on fish food, sponge filters, chemcials, accessories, etc. Very large sselection of sponge filters, including great prices on ATI brand sponge filters and accessories. It's a small business and not a huge corporation. Free s&h on orders over $49

Drfostersmith, very large company with great pricing, frequent sales and free s&h on orders over $19. I would recommend getting on their email list, they are always sending out coupon codes for 10%-25% off orders.

Chewy, it may be affiliated with Petsmart, but in not 100% sure. I think Petsmart cashiers in-store will price match Chewy website prices. I think it's free s&h on orders above $49.

Amazon.com

Petsmart and Petco will honor their website pricing at the cashier in-store. I have found their in-store pricing to be higher than online in many occasions, but it's more convenient to buy in-store

 

For substrate, pool filter sand works great and has a nice, natural look (pale tan with a few darker flecks). If you're going for a more striking, dramatic look, black diamond blasting sand is black sand and also works great. Both are easy to find and cheap (around $5 for 50lbs). Neither will provide any nutrition for plants, but there are root tabs and liquid fertilizers that can take care of that. I use pool filter sand, and my plants grow fine.

 

As far as your stocking plan, make a list that would like to have, Go on line and research each fish. The rquirements for each one is different..You will need to pay attention to water requirements for each. Some need high PH, others low. Some high KH, others low, temp is a big factor as well. And for the comfort of safety some like schools , some don't. Some play well with others, some don't. One big thing to keep in mind is the size of the fish, be aware of the MAX size, not the purchase size, in a few months it will make a HUGE difference. There are many fish sales sites out there that will give you all the info you need. Take your time, research and you will do fine!!!!!!!!! Enjoy you new tank. Post pics and continue to asks questions. One thing for sure until you have a real trust in people at the LFS or chain stores, don't believe everything you hear. will be the truth.

 

Edit: when I say my plants grow "fine," I really do mean fine, as in they grow adequately and reproduce occasionally. That's a dramatic difference from well-fertilized, CO2-injected planted tanks in which plants truly thrive!

Another method for stocking: find one type of fish you like (a centerpiece fish, or maybe a schooling fish), then look up good tank mates for that fish. When I started getting into fishkeeping, the sheer mass of options was overwhelming, but I found a couple that I liked and then found lists of good companion species to choose from. That helped me through the decision-making process a lot!

 

if you get a heater and filter you could get 2 oscars they are cool

welcome btw

 

Maybe 1, but I wouldn't recommend that at all

 

well if you did get 2 you might have to clean it more or you could have 1 and it be a little more happy

or you could get like 15 to 30 african cichlids

 

if you like bettas.... maybe you could do a fancy goldfish tank! so you don't have to deal with aggressive fish, unless you want to

 

I don’t think an oscar is a good idea for 75 gallon.

 

Yeah that's the minimum recommended tank size and they are so incredibly mean

 

if you get a heater and filter you could get 2 oscars they are cool

No with even 1 its a tight fit they are big powerful fish. Tank busters in a 75. And yes I had it happen. A big betta sorority could work. I have one as well as NickAu .

 

I will not be getting oscars, never planned on it.

 

you could get angelfish

 

As far as your stocking plan, make a list that would like to have, Go on line and research each fish. The rquirements for each one is different..You will need to pay attention to water requirements for each. Some need high PH, others low. Some high KH, others low, temp is a big factor as well. And for the comfort of safety some like schools , some don't. Some play well with others, some don't. One big thing to keep in mind is the size of the fish, be aware of the MAX size, not the purchase size, in a few months it will make a HUGE difference. There are many fish sales sites out there that will give you all the info you need. Take your time, research and you will do fine!!!!!!!!! Enjoy you new tank. Post pics and continue to asks questions. One thing for sure until you have a real trust in people at the LFS or chain stores, don't believe everything you hear. will be the truth.

I have been doing research online and looking at stores. Online searching brought me here. I realized today I made an account on here years ago. I have been interested for a while. My husband and I finally decided to purchase a tank. Went with a bigger tank since we had the space and learned it's easier to stabilize.

After enjoying our first tank ( a 20g) I started to want a larger one.

We also bought a 75 gallon thst came with a cabinet and 36" LED light.

I added a 2nd light from Amazon, a 48" Beamswork EA-series LED w/ optional timer. I should have went with the DA-series instead. It is a lot brighter. A 36" DA series is brighter than the 48" DA series. I also bought the 10,000k light and should have bought the 6,500k light.

The Beamswork light has worked well overall and the timer function has separate schedules for the white and blue actinic LED's.

For heaters, most name brands work well: Aqueon, Eheim Jager, Hydor, Finnex, Cobalt, Fluval etc etc.

I use an Aqeuon Pro 250 watt on our 75 gallon and it works well.

For substrate, I definitely recommend sand over gravel. I have gravel in our 20 gallon and hate it. Big PITA to clean with the gravel vac. The 75 gallon has sand and it's exponentially easier to clean with the siphon gravel vac. I use pool filter sand. $5 / 50lb bag for the Quikrete brand.

Any brand / color of sand you choose has to be thoroughly washed in a bucket though, preferably with a garden hose and bucket. Patience is the key and will reward you with a cloudy-free tank water.

Asking about filtration is a loaded question. You will get a ton of responses, all different.

What has worked for me are Aqauclear HOB's, ATI sponge filters, and Hydor canisters. I own 4 Aquaclears and an assortment of ATI sponge filters and pre-filters. My (2) AC30's and an AC70 are quiet. My AC110 will have an occasional noise, coming from a vibration from the lid and or plastic body. It is common with AC's and usually an adjustment of the lid and/or intake tube resolves it.

Air pumps, for reference, are louder than my AC110.

Here is a link that shows ideas for effective and inexpensive ways to use DIY filter media. Another link on the forum about the Aquaclear 110.

Seachem Tidal HOB's are very popular also.

Sponge filters driven by air pumps are fantastic at mechanical and biological filtration. Most fish breeders use them in their fry and grow-out tanks, and usually more densely stocked than your average home aquarium.

ATI offers great sponge filters. Their Hydro Sponge IV and V models would do well in a 75. They even can be had stacked, where a coarse sponge is on the bottom and a fine sponge is stacked on top. ATI sponges marked "Pro" are their reticulated coarse sponges.

Also, ATI is an American company that is made in the USA. If you look at Amazon's customer reviews, most of the negative reviews are attributed to user error, or complete idiots for not researching what they are buying and then crying how it's "too large for their 2 gallon betta tank"......

For example, a very effective filtration setup would be an Aquaclear 110 with an ATI Filter Max III sponge pre-filter in combination with a decent air pump running an ATI "Hydro Sponge V" and "Pro V" in the back corners hidden by some live plants.

Canisters are another option. I have had excellent service with my Hydor 600 canister. No leaks, very quiet and large media trays has made it very enjoyable to own. It seems though Hydor canisters are not heavily marketed and popular, maybe that's why I got it for 50% off on clearance.

About the best bang-for-your-buck brand of canisters are the SunSun brand found on Amazon. Their 704B model would handle your 75 gallon tank. If I were ordering one, I would choose the "no filter media" option to save money and put my own media inside of it.

Here is a video from Ben Ochart's YouTube channel of the SunSub 704B for reference......

Fluval and Eheim also make great canister filters. Petsmart has the Fluval FX4 on sale for $199 in-store. Those are beasts of a filter.

For water treatment/dechlorinators, I use Seachem Prime and Seachem Safe. I use Prime for dosing buckets of water and my 10 gallon / 20 gallon tanks. I use the Safe to treat the entire 75 gallon when I refill it with water during water changes.

For water changes in my 75g, I use a siphon gravel vac or a pump that I aamttach to a Camco brand RV water hose that is drinking water safe. They are $10 @ Walmart and Amazon. I attached plumbing fittings at both ends. One is a barb that attaches to the siphon hose (or is use the siphon hose to connect my pump to the garden hose).

View attachment 527999

I then can drain the tank into a shower drain or out the door to the back yard.

On the other end of the hose is the other fitting that allows me to screw it onto the kitchen sink faucet after removing the aerator.

View attachment 528000

This makes draining and refilling the tank easy, compared to using buckets or a Python. Pythons require you to run your faucet just to be able to drain the tank. So you waste a ton of water just to drain it.


Here is a couple of websites I have had good luck with when making online purchases.

Kensfish.com, great selection and prices, especially on fish food, sponge filters, chemcials, accessories, etc. Very large sselection of sponge filters, including great prices on ATI brand sponge filters and accessories. It's a small business and not a huge corporation. Free s&h on orders over $49

Drfostersmith, very large company with great pricing, frequent sales and free s&h on orders over $19. I would recommend getting on their email list, they are always sending out coupon codes for 10%-25% off orders.

Chewy, it may be affiliated with Petsmart, but in not 100% sure. I think Petsmart cashiers in-store will price match Chewy website prices. I think it's free s&h on orders above $49.

Amazon.com

Petsmart and Petco will honor their website pricing at the cashier in-store. I have found their in-store pricing to be higher than online in many occasions, but it's more convenient to buy in-store

I most likely purchased the same tank. Thank you for the info.

 

Have you considered new world cichlids?

They are colorful and you can choose some that are non-agressive and lesser-agressive, compared to Oscars or African mbuna cichlids.

Some examples....

-Gold, Green, Red Spotted, Red Shouldered or Turquoise Severum

-Blue Acara

-Electric Blue Acara

-Yellow Banded Acara

-Electric Blue Jack Dempsey (not the more aggressive regular J.D.)

-Red head trapajos geophagus

-Firemouth cichlid

 

Have you considered new world cichlids?

They are colorful and you can choose some that are non-agressive and lesser-agressive, compared to Oscars or African mbuna cichlids.

Some examples....

-Gold, Green, Red Spotted, Red Shouldered or Turquoise Severum

-Blue Acara

-Electric Blue Acara

-Yellow Banded Acara

-Electric Blue Jack Dempsey (not the more aggressive regular J.D.)

-Red head trapajos geophagus

-Firemouth cichlid

I will look into them.

I will also consider interesting fish that a young child would enjoy watching instead of colorful.

 

My 75 has a canister filter. I also have a shorter light than the length of the tank. I have it on a thick piece of glass which I use as a top. I would like to get 2 pieces of plexI to put in the frame later on. I have angelfish and 2 blood parrots, and then a handful of tetras. The blood parrots are super playful so the tank is fun to watch. Once the algae problem is gone, I think I will be totally happy with it.

 

Pythons require you to run your faucet just to be able to drain the tank. So you waste a ton of water just to drain it.

Just a small correction here - this is not really true (perhaps if the tap is really high). I just run the tap water dor a few seconds to get the suction goinf and then it flows by itself, no need to keep the water running.

 

If your going for movement danios always seem like pretty active fish. Pretty tough too. Can run the tank in the low to mid 70's.

 

happah , gotcha. Thanks for correction.

Some videos I saw had the user continue to run the faucet while the tank drained.

So much for believing everything I see on YouTube! Ha

kathy7878 , the new world cichlids are both interesting and colorful !

I have kids also. I have one 75 gallon with a bunch of small tropical community fish, but my thinking is our next tank will have a handful of larger 4"-8" fish that will be more engaging for our family.

Easier to give names to 5 -7 large fish in 1 tank, compared to dozens and dozens of 1-3" fish, LOL.


Just throwing it out there for options.

Which ever direction you go, the best decision your family has made was going with a larger tank and joining the Fishlore forum! All the members here are great, full of info, and always have positive comments to make.

I wish I would have know about the forum before bringing home our first 20 gallon this time last year. I would have avoided a couple of mistakes and would have been exposed to more options for tank setups, stocking, etc.

 

Is the Black Diamond blasting sand really safe? I saw a post where someone said it was rusting. Though there are more posts of people using it without issue. I have a Tractor Supply store in my town.

 

What about a big school of silvertip tetras? They're not big, but they're colorful (males are gold/orange and females are silver/lemon yellow). Even better, they're super active: always chasing each other around and showing off, and they'll swarm to your finger and follow it around if you touch the glass. I'm gettting them for my tank, mainly for my boys (yeah, ok, for me too!) in hopes that they'll catch the fish bug and I'll have an excuse to get more tanks!! I've heard reviews of silvertips being jerks to other community fish, but all of those are from cases where there are 3-4 fish in a school or the school is crammed into a tiny tank. A big school in a big tank = well behaved, active, flashy, fun fish!

 

get a school of clown loaches

you could get a raibow shark in a community tank

 

Is the Black Diamond blasting sand really safe? I saw a post where someone said it was rusting. Though there are more posts of people using it without issue. I have a Tractor Supply store in my town.

It's perfectly safe

get a school of clown loaches

They can get huge, and it'd be risky, but it might work...

 

No with even 1 its a tight fit they are big powerful fish. Tank busters in a 75. And yes I had it happen. A big betta sorority could work. I have one as well as NickAu .

I Might have to look into that, that sounds like an interesting experience, unfortunately, my floors aren't strong enough for anything larger than 50 gallons.

I like bettas, but I know they are better alone

Just for the record, males don't have to be kept alone, just without other bettas, though you should be ready with a 5 gallon to 10 gallon tank in case he turns out to be psycho and starts being aggresive. Had that happen once. never again...

- Dino

 

I Might have to look into that, that sounds like an interesting experience, unfortunately, my floors aren't strong enough for anything larger than 50 gallons.
Just for the record, males don't have to be kept alone, just without other bettas, though you should be ready with a 5 gallon to 10 gallon tank in case he turns out to be psycho and starts being aggresive. Had that happen once. never again...

- Dino

I have seen bettas with other fish, but I am not sure if I want to take the risk. The extra tank would be a good idea.

 

Going back to your original post, what kind of sharks is he into? You could have a large school of harlequin rasboras with a redtail shark or rainbow shark

 

Going back to your original post, what kind of sharks is he into? You could have a large school of harlequin rasboras with a redtail shark or rainbow shark

Not sure, but redtail shark was recommended when I was at a store looking at the harlequI'm Rasboras.

I am ordering a heater that's on sale on Petco but looking to add other items (besides a filter) for free shipping ($49). Heater is not available in store for pickup. Any suggestions for other items? I added Seachem Prime but need to spend another $7.50.

 

I am ordering a heater that's on sale on Petco but looking to add other items (besides a filter) for free shipping ($49). Heater is not available in store for pickup. Any suggestions for other items? I added Seachem Prime but need to spend another $7.50.

Which heater? Maybe finish it off with a small bag of gravel?

 

Aqueon pro

 

Sorry, I should've been more specific; what size/what watt?

 

Sorry, I should've been more specific; what size/what watt?

300

 

300

That's good
Just out of curiosity, what do you need another $7.50 for? Free shipping?
Your substrate/gravel should get you there