Setting up first larger aquarium, need advice

Hello all, looking for a little advice on seeing up a "new" 75 gallon planted community tank.

I've done small tanks in the past but this is my first go at a larger tank. Right now I have two canister filters, a Magnum 220 and a Fluval 205. Eventually I plan to swap to a larger single canister with a couple of powerheads to drive the UGF (currently air driven). I've got a 200 and 100 watt heater, that will eventually be controlled outside the tank. I'm also using a pair of Command USA Satellite LED strips with 6.6k white and blue.

Big questions are substrate, how much, blend with gravel, better brands for plants? I realize my light set isn't ideal for plants, but I'll eventually change that. I have to plan within my budget, which isn't unlimited, but I want to give the plants the best chance I can.

Next up is fish selection, there is such a huge selection that I'm having a hard time figuring out what is going to work, be available locally, and provide the vibrant living community I want. I'd love to have some schooling smaller fish, but beyond that figuring out what will get along, fill the tank at all levels, and not destroy my plants.

Any help is appreciated.

 

Let's focus on the start up first as I will be cycling with no fish for at least a month. I'm just not sure if I want to start cycling with any plants, or establish the cycle then add plants and fish slowly.

 

Ok first off you have a few options as far as substrate. You can do eco complete which is like gravel but with tons of nutrients for plants, fluorite sand by seachem which is black sand with plant nutrients, plant soil with sand on top (I don't know a lot about this option so ask around and do research if you go this route), or just plain gravel/sand but if you have heavy root feeders you will need to add ferts and iron under the plants (this is the method I do). As far as how much it depends on what depth you want. 75 gallon with 75 lbs will give u about 1-2 inches. I personally prefer deeper with plants but I know a lot of people don't due to air pockets that can build up and kill the fish if not aerated regularly.

Lights you can actually do fairly cheap too. If you go to lowes/home depot you can get clamp on lights (usually found in the electrical aisle) for $6-10 each (you will need 3-4) and then buy CFL 6500k 19w bulbs for a few bucks and there is a planted aquarium light for about $50 vs the $100+ you will spend on big brands.

Fish: figure out what your main fish would be and find tank mates suitable from there. It's always easiest to decide what you want your main/show piece fish first. Stay away from cichlids, goldfish and so forth as they love to eat plants for breakfast.

As far as adding plants, you can do this right away as the cycle won't harm the plants at all.

 

Shameless plug for my build out thread, dirt planted tank:

You can read about my experience setting up a 55 gallon community planted tank. With dirt, patience is key. Like leaving the tank alone for a month while the soil adjusts.

What kind of water do you have? Hard or soft? That would influence plant selection and fish selection.

 

Thank you both for the responses, I've been reading through the build thread. How much different will it be establishing with flourite? Do I need to start with a fertilizer from the get go, or start fertilizing after the cycle?

Visited the local pet shop and found the Flourite sand from Seachem, unfortunately they only had one small bag in stock. They are supposed to contact me Monday to get 100 pounds for my tank. Sadly, that means waiting another week, but patience is likely going to be key to insuring a great environment.

At least at the moment, new lights are not in the plan. The tank will receive some early morning sunshine, and I priced out a new 48" LED for plants, but it will be a bit. In the meantime they had some small LED plant lights that I'll add to the setup until I can do the bigger programmable setup.

As far as water, ours tends to be very hard, I'm not sure what I can do to safely soften it short of buying water. The fish I've had have tolerated it, but I really want to see this tank active for many years, so I want to do the best I can.

 

Yes all about patience. My tank wasn't stocked with all the fish I originally had in mind until a year in. 12 months!

If you want the tank to last a long time, I suggest getting plants and fish that match your water. Means less work in the long run which means the tank will probably be going for longer. I thought about setting up a shell dweller tank but that means changing water chemistry for me which means more work each week, which may get old after a while. My planted tank is super simple because I just drain water and replace with tap water. No headaches.

 

Fixed your thread title

 

Hey there, I used pea gravel. No other substrate added except root tabs. I've got six plants blossoming beautifully in my 90 gallon. I got it for 2.50 a bag from lowes which is a lot better than you'll get from a fish store. My tire track eel is still able to bury yet big enough that he does not eat it.

 

Big dreams, patience is something I'm learning. I've had this tank for almost three years with dreams of doing this, now I've finally gotten to the start point and patience is harder to come by.

Rivieraneo, thank you it was bugging me.

75 gallon, I do like the looks of the pea gravel, but I like the look of the sand more. The black sand will really help highlight the colors of the plants and fish.

Ok, so two questions for now, since I have a bit of time before the sand gets here and I can finally start it:

1) When I bought this tank it came with about 40 lbs of regular gravel. I want to prevent the sand from sifting through the UGF so I was thinking of laying the coarse gravel in a thin bed first, then the sand on top. Any downsides to doing this?

2) As I mentioned I'm using two canister filters, a Magnum 220 and a Fluval 205. Both filters are new but the person I got the setup from raided some of the media from the Fluval. Since I need new media, what would be a good blend? Right now the Fluval has carbon, but I'm thinking of not using carbon in it. I'm leaning towards using two baskets of Biomax and using the polishing foam in the last. The Magnum will still be using carbon, so will not having carbon in the Fluval hurt anything? Is there something else that I should consider? My concern is the carbon and fertilizer having issues.

 

I am pretty sure UGF in a planted tank is a bad idea. You may want to rethink that.

Sand will make its way down and the larger pebbles or gavel will make its way up. So using coarse gravel with sand above it won't last long.

Edit: you got me curious so started doing more research. Seems like some people do a reverse flow underground filter, others use a regular UGF. I personally don't see the need for one, curious how your set up turns out.

 

I am pretty sure UGF in a planted tank is a bad idea. You may want to rethink that.

Sand will make its way down and the larger pebbles or gavel will make its way up. So using coarse gravel with sand above it won't last long.

Edit: you got me curious so started doing more research. Seems like some people do a reverse flow underground filter, others use a regular UGF. I personally don't see the need for one, curious how your set up turns out.

It appears I'll have some time to research, going to need to rethink my filtering. I made an attempt last night to test both of my canisters, and both may be new but they both have issues. The Fluval won't prime, although I was able to get it to prime using my faucet. Once primed and pumping it spews water from the sides as well as from the Aquastop valves. The Magnum simply flowed out around the sides, and was extremely hard to prime. My choice is do I try to fix these two, knowing they aren't really enough for my tank, or do I buy a new filter?

I know I need media for the Fluval, plus the cost of parts to fix it, then there are still reports of more leaks popping up. I'm thinking this is a good excuse to get a new unit, then repair the Fluval for the QT.

Right now I'm considering a Hydor Pro 350, or possibly the 450. I don't really like HOBs and really want to keep the cleaner look of the canisters. I looked at Aquatop as well, but the reviews of the Hydor are a bit better.

If I eliminate the UGF, I'll need to look at getting a couple of circulation pumps probably sooner. Air driven wouldn't have been much circulation but it would've helped. I'll have to look into what's available to ensure good circulation especially around the heaters.

 

Being a Walstad tank fan, I say, try out a Walstad tank! 1" dirt (I used Miracle Gro Organic Choice Potting Mix), 1" gravel or sand (or Eco-Complete), get a Aquaclear Powerhead (something not too strong.. maybe a Powerhead 30) with a DIY filter made from a water bottle (stuffed with foam, sponges, perhaps polyfill for polishing), .,.. or a couple of DIY internal filters (again, water bottle filled with foam and BioMax or Matrix) driven by air pump (if you can stand the humming), and a gentle circulation pump. This way, all the filtration is internal to the tank.. no leaks.

Get a few amazon swords, java fern, etc. and lots of stem plants. and you should be all set. Over the past year, I've realized how much money I could have saved making some things, like DIY internal filters and surface skimmers, myself, or keeping it simple.

I went overboard w/ my setup (started with a Aquaclear 70 HOB filter, then replaced this with a 29 gallon sump, etc.) I later realized I could probably get away with no to minimal filtration on my setup (my parameters are 0/0/0 after one year of running the tank, with somewhat regular weekly water changes) because my stocking level is reasonable and because the plants were doing so well and soaking up all the ammonia. (Walstad herself advocates no bio filtration, but suggests circulation and some mechanical filtration). I like my sump b/c the water level in the display tank never drops, so the sump was worth it to me -- plus it was fun to work on it.

 

I'm going over my collection to see how I want to proceed. A sump is an option with one of my smaller tanks strictly for mechanical filtration. I'm going to grab a sample of my tap water and get it tested then look at what I reasonably need before I spend any more money. I'm also reading more into your setup.

 

I don't know why this didn't post last night, but here goes.

Bigdreams, I'm going to continue researching but it looks like I'm going to give the Walstad a try. Should be picking up soil this weekend and likely going to run a flourite sand cap. I'm also going to follow your lead on the oyster grit. I like the look of the flourite over the eco-complete. The black sand just helps bring the attention to the tank. I do have some ideas for landscaping it, but I'll keep them to myself for now.

Likely going to let it soak until after the holidays and the start filling and planting. Once it starts cycling I'll slowly add fish.

I'm also going to set up a sump, but it won't happen right away. Need to plan for how I want to do it and collect a few parts. I will be adding a couple of small circulation pumps in the meantime to keep the water moving, and I'd like to have a couple, or more, bubblers as I like the look.

This has the added advantage of allowing me time to decide how I want to change the lighting.

I'm sure I'll have questions as things progress.

 

I don't know why this didn't post last night, but here goes.
I like the look of the flourite over the eco-complete.

make sure to add the "@" sign before my handle so I get notified , otherwise it won't work, I won't get a notification you mentioned me in the post.. so, use bigdreams instead of just "bigdreams".

sand over eco-complete is a bad idea... as I learned... the eco complete will find its way up, and the sand its way down... so you need to divide the tank, and have eco complete (over dirt) in one section of tank, and sand over dirt in another section of the tank.. but NOT sand over eco-complete over soil. that won't look good after a while.

how's it going? any updates? there are a bunch of walstad build out threads recently on fishlore, so bunch of people tryign different things. good luck, keep us posted!

 

bigdreams, my wife worked all weekend and I focused on getting the decorations done before she woke up, so no updates yet.

I realized that could be confusing, I meant using just flourite as I prefer the look. Not going to use eco-complete at all, just cap with flourite over the soil.

I'm going to swing by the stores this week and get what I need so I can start next weekend.