75 Gallon Tank Trying to build a freshwater aquarium for my toddler

I'm assuming the thermometer pen and a liquid test kit for ammonia/nitrite/nitrate is best.

I agree with the others, these are the best.

Nitrite/Nitrate is currently 0 ppm but ammonia didn't convert over yet I'm assuming, this tank has been running for 3 days now. I've been adding substrate to kick start that but waiting.

I'm not sure I understand, is the substrate from an already cycled aquarium? Cycling takes about a month without already cycled media/substrate.

Your lower ph would probably eliminate danios.

 

Substrate won’t do anything for your cycle unless you’ve taken it from a mature tank. Cycling can take a month but if you know someone with a tank you could borrow a sponge , it’ll kick start your cycle wonderfully !

liquid test kits are more accurate than strips but if you have them now use them up first.

if you get a temp pen that measures tds too then it’s more bang for your buck as such.

I’m excited for you !!! Buying fish after all the research is the best bit in my opinion. It’s like a reward for being patient

So I did exactly this lol I went to petco and got them to get me a bag of water from their tanks with some feces in it and poured some of it in the tank.

I agree with the others, these are the best.

I'm not sure I understand, is the substrate from an already cycled aquarium? Cycling takes about a month without already cycled media/substrate.

Your lower ph would probably eliminate danios.

Yeah from petco. Anyway to increase it, lets get it done.

I fell inlove with the list you made, can I add snails/shrimp to that? Specifically the ones I listed above.

 

Kh and gh is important for shrimp but worry about that later down the line. The focus now is cycling first and researching stocking.

that ph is helpful to know. Are you going to be adding plants ?

nooo. The water carries practically zero bacteria. Never add shop water to yours in future , it’s not worth the risk. It doesn’t matter right now though luckily as you have no fish and will likely do a wc before you add them.

 

So I did exactly this lol I went to petco and got them to get me a bag of water from their tanks with some feces in it and poured some of it in the tank.

Nice, have you started putting an ammonia source in yet? Like fish food or Dr. Tim's? You should start seeing nitrates once your tank starts cycling, but it won't happen fully, immediately. As it needs to get to your filter media, but it shouldn't take long.

So I did exactly this lol I went to petco and got them to get me a bag of water from their tanks with some feces in it and poured some of it in the tank.


Yeah from petco. Anyway to increase it, lets get it done.

I fell inlove with the list you made, can I add snails/shrimp to that? Specifically the ones I listed above.

Wait, just water or substrate too? The substrate has bacteria, but not water.

 

You’ll probably need to supplement feed the snails for there shells in that ph but yea they’ll fit. Again shrimp are for later when your tanks matured more. They need the biofilm to graze on

 

Kh and gh is important for shrimp but worry about that later down the line. The focus now is cycling first and researching stocking.

that ph is helpful to know. Are you going to be adding plants ?

nooo. The water carries practically zero bacteria. Never add shop water to yours in future , it’s not worth the risk. It doesn’t matter right now though luckily as you have no fish and will likely do a wc before you add them.

Nice, have you started putting an ammonia source in yet? Like fish food or Dr. Tim's? You should start seeing nitrates once your tank starts cycling, but it won't happen fully, immediately. As it needs to get to your filter media, but it shouldn't take long.

Wait, just water or substrate too?

I have two plants, yes. And I do add fish food for an ammonia source.

And oops I thought I was being clever doing that, duly noted however for next time (hopefully this is it tho lol)

 

I have two plants, yes. And I do add fish food for an ammonia source.

And oops I thought I was being clever doing that, duly noted however for next time (hopefully this is it tho lol)

Yeah, I was a little surprised when you said, that they gave you substrate, but it'll just take a little longer for it to cycle.

 

Nice, have you started putting an ammonia source in yet? Like fish food or Dr. Tim's? You should start seeing nitrates once your tank starts cycling, but it won't happen fully, immediately. As it needs to get to your filter media, but it shouldn't take long.

Wait, just water or substrate too? The substrate has bacteria, but not water.

Not sure, I got water from their tank with some feces and poured some of it in. Not sure whether that's considered substrate.

I agree with the others, these are the best.

I'm not sure I understand, is the substrate from an already cycled aquarium? Cycling takes about a month without already cycled media/substrate.

Your lower ph would probably eliminate danios.

What can I do about the pH or will the plants take care of that ?

 

Not sure, I got water from their tank with some feces and poured some of it in. Not sure whether that's considered substrate.

No, substrate is sand, gravel, pebbles, etc.

Also, sorry about some of my suggestions, in my mind, I just assume everyone has my 7.8 ph and has the experience to keep harder fish. But not everyone does, haha.

 

No, substrate is sand, gravel, pebbles, etc.

Also, sorry about some of my suggestions, in my mind, I just assume everyone has my 7.8 ph and has the experience to keep harder fish. But not everyone does, haha.

Actually retesting it , its actually 7.5. I'll post a pic of the strip. I do have gravel, but I do prefer sand.

Pretty much I have everything set up but the fish lol

The plants, the gravel , literally like 3 decorative piece (castle etc etc for my daughter to be amused, not trying to crowd the fish with them however).

 

Substrate is sand / gravel etc so not the same.

You don’t need to do anything about the ph ! A lot of fish will do well at that ph. If you manually try to change your ph you’ll just stress the fish, it’s best to get fish that suit your water rather than chasing a higher ph . It’s easier , it’s more stable and a lot less stressful long term. Plants won’t change it but most plants like that ph, they do help with nitrates though as they can use it as a food source.
If you prefer sand now is the time to change it. As soon as possible before your bacteria starts to colonise it. There’s no point doing it after you’ve cycled the tank

 

Here it is , today is the third day. Around 36 hours (7 hours from now)

 

Substrate is sand / gravel etc so not the same.

You don’t need to do anything about the ph ! A lot of fish will do well at that ph. If you manually try to change your ph you’ll just stress the fish, it’s best to get fish that suit your water rather than chasing a higher ph . It’s easier , it’s more stable and a lot less stressful long term. Plants won’t change it but most plants like that ph, they do help with nitrates though as they can use it as a food source.
If you prefer sand now is the time to change it. As soon as possible before your bacteria starts to colonise it. There’s no point doing it after you’ve cycled the tank

Agree.



So are you thinking of a cool-water tank? For now at least.

 

Agree.



So are you thinking of a cool-water tank? For now at least.

If that's what the last list you gave me prefers then yes! I'll remove the heater right now

 

The new list? Because roughly 1/2 of the fish from the other wouldn't work in cold water. haha

 

Hey formyprincess

I have just been through what you are wanting to do for your little girl, only I'm about a year ahead! I wasn't a total newbie when I set up my 65 gallon but hadn't really kept fish properly for 15 years.

My top advice is
1)Reading lots on here and then
2)watching endless YouTube videos, particularly from aquarium coop and kg tropicals (just the two channels I found simplest- there are loads of others) on set up and stocking
3)Once you start cycling, as someone said at the top of the thread, lots of trips with your girl to the pet store so she can pick what she likes, partially guided by you as they have to be easy to keep. As others have said, just be patient and leave it a month. Early deaths will kill enthusiasm.

My girl loved rainbows (don't be fooled by their bland appearance in store!) and lots of different tetras, so we ended up with a school of black neons and some boesemani rainbows. I had no interest in boesemani originally but I now am addicted, which is a nice effect of how we've gone about it. They are slow growers and long lived, and have incredible morning colours which makes for a great activity- watch and feed. Having said that I'm sure lots of species will get your daughter excited. A 2 year old should easily be able to pinch and drop some flake or bug bites with practice!

Otherwise I'd say keep it peaceful and easy to keep aka "hardy". As a fellow clinician (good luck with your new career!) I can tell you I'm glad my tank maintenance is not too taxing. I'd sacrifice a bit of colour if it means they're hardy.. though rainbows seem to have both aspects.
One final thing - I didn't realise that plants actually make it all easier by acting as living filters, and they bring out the colours in the fish so your daughter will love it. So worth investing in a good light and some beginner plants- my 65 gal came with a high-ish end fluval aquasky, but it took me ages to realise I needed about triple the power for the volume of water I had- even though it all came as a set from fluval! Since getting a second stronger light my plants have gone ballistic. You can Google 'lumens per gallon' to get a sense of this.

Hope that's a helpful splurge of info. Good luck!

 

The new list? Because roughly 1/2 of the fish from the other wouldn't work in cold water. haha

haha for sure so this is the list :

What do you think of this maybe:

3 blue gularis killifish

14 zebra danios

10 kuhlis

10 panda cories

3 reticulated hillstream loaches

Plus some snails/shrimp later down the line as blacksheep1 advised.

Cold/hot , these fish can dictate.

 

Is it just me that enjoys hashing out a stocking list ? Probably is …

leave the heater where it is for now just turn it down some incase you change your mind

 

Hey formyprincess

I have just been through what you are wanting to do for your little girl, only I'm about a year ahead! I wasn't a total newbie when I set up my 65 gallon but hadn't really kept fish properly for 15 years.

My top advice is
1)Reading lots on here and then
2)watching endless YouTube videos, particularly from aquarium coop and kg tropicals (just the two channels I found simplest- there are loads of others) on set up and stocking
3)Once you start cycling, as someone said at the top of the thread, lots of trips with your girl to the pet store so she can pick what she likes, partially guided by you as they have to be easy to keep. As others have said, just be patient and leave it a month. Early deaths will kill enthusiasm.

My girl loved rainbows (don't be fooled by their bland appearance in store!) and lots of different tetras, so we ended up with a school of black neons and some boesemani rainbows. I had no interest in boesemani originally but I now am addicted, which is a nice effect of how we've gone about it. They are slow growers and long lived, and have incredible morning colours which makes for a great activity- watch and feed. Having said that I'm sure lots of species will get your daughter excited. A 2 year old should easily be able to pinch and drop some flake or bug bites with practice!

Otherwise I'd say keep it peaceful and easy to keep aka "hardy". As a fellow clinician (good luck with your new career!) I can tell you I'm glad my tank maintenance is not too taxing. I'd sacrifice a bit of colour if it means they're hardy.. though rainbows seem to have both aspects.
One final thing - I didn't realise that plants actually make it all easier by acting as living filters, and they bring out the colours in the fish so your daughter will love it. So worth investing in a good light and some beginner plants- my 65 gal came with a high-ish end fluval aquasky, but it took me ages to realise I needed about triple the power for the volume of water I had- even though it all came as a set from fluval! Since getting a second stronger light my plants have gone ballistic. You can Google 'lumens per gallon' to get a sense of this.

Hope that's a helpful splurge of info. Good luck!

Fellow colleague! appreciate your input for real. Will dive deeper into this as we make up our minds.

Is it just me that enjoys hashing out a stocking list ? Probably is …

leave the heater where it is for now just turn it down some incase you change your mind

I'm seriously like a child right now in Toys R Us. All over the place, I have an image in my head and I'll get there! Already benefiting so much from all the experience on this forum! love love love it.

 

If you go with the new list, for the danios and blue gularis, you'll need some type of flakes or floating pellets. And I would suggest a variety of foods for your fish, my favorites are the Fluval bug bite line, omega one super color, and cobalt ultra nano bits slow sinking. (This last one can also double for the cories'/kuhlis' food) For kuhlis, I'd suggest the cobalt ultra nano bits slow sinking and Fluval Bug Bites Bottom Feeder Fish Food. And for the reticulated hillstream loaches, you could do anything marked for plecos or cucumbers. Haven't kept shrimp yet, so can't help you there, though I do have 2 tanks set up for them.

Hey formyprincess

I have just been through what you are wanting to do for your little girl, only I'm about a year ahead! I wasn't a total newbie when I set up my 65 gallon but hadn't really kept fish properly for 15 years.

My top advice is
1)Reading lots on here and then
2)watching endless YouTube videos, particularly from aquarium coop and kg tropicals (just the two channels I found simplest- there are loads of others) on set up and stocking
3)Once you start cycling, as someone said at the top of the thread, lots of trips with your girl to the pet store so she can pick what she likes, partially guided by you as they have to be easy to keep. As others have said, just be patient and leave it a month. Early deaths will kill enthusiasm.

My girl loved rainbows (don't be fooled by their bland appearance in store!) and lots of different tetras, so we ended up with a school of black neons and some boesemani rainbows. I had no interest in boesemani originally but I now am addicted, which is a nice effect of how we've gone about it. They are slow growers and long lived, and have incredible morning colours which makes for a great activity- watch and feed. Having said that I'm sure lots of species will get your daughter excited. A 2 year old should easily be able to pinch and drop some flake or bug bites with practice!

Otherwise I'd say keep it peaceful and easy to keep aka "hardy". As a fellow clinician (good luck with your new career!) I can tell you I'm glad my tank maintenance is not too taxing. I'd sacrifice a bit of colour if it means they're hardy.. though rainbows seem to have both aspects.
One final thing - I didn't realise that plants actually make it all easier by acting as living filters, and they bring out the colours in the fish so your daughter will love it. So worth investing in a good light and some beginner plants- my 65 gal came with a high-ish end fluval aquasky, but it took me ages to realise I needed about triple the power for the volume of water I had- even though it all came as a set from fluval! Since getting a second stronger light my plants have gone ballistic. You can Google 'lumens per gallon' to get a sense of this.

Hope that's a helpful splurge of info. Good luck!

Agree on most, though kgtropicals has, IMO, a lot of misinformation. But agree on letting her choose a lot of the fish, but run it by us to see if they're compatible, also plants are a must.

 

I feel like you need some middle tank activity … the corys , loaches and khulis are bottom folk. The danios are top of the tank folk .. I’ve not kept kili’s so can’t say for those …

 

I feel like you need some middle tank activity … the corys , loaches and khulis are bottom folk. The danios are top of the tank folk .. I’ve not kept kili’s so can’t say for those …

Also top dwellers. Yeah, the middle probably is lacking.

 

I feel like you need some middle tank activity … the corys , loaches and khulis are bottom folk. The danios are top of the tank folk .. I’ve not kept kili’s so can’t say for those …

blue gularis killifish, how about these? where are they usually? such beautiful fish tho like my god , the blue on them is absolutely stunning.

 

One thing I will say is do not get a pleco. Your floor activity is maxed , don’t be talked into it by anyone in a shop selling you fish.

 

Tiger barb are apparently mid dwellers, compatible?

One thing I will say is do not get a pleco. Your floor activity is maxed , don’t be talked into it by anyone in a shop selling you fish.

I won't, promise. I'll find a reputable vendor online and order them. I'll also split the final list into top/mid/low dwellers and make sure I have a balance. Literally just learned about that now from your post + SouthAmericanCichlids

 

Tiger barb are apparently mid dwellers, compatible?

They would probably be good, known to be nippy but only in smaller groups, though I've never kept them.

But if you get a second school, I would do the danios and the other school both at 10.

Also, blue gularis are the killis we were talking about earlier., they stay near the top.
Other ideas for schoolers could be wcmm or rosy barbs. Rosy barbs are gorgeous.

 

They are . . . if you can find some from a private breeder. I've struggled to keep commercially raised guppies alive longer than 30 days, and I've seen numerous similar reports from others.

Unfortunately, you're correct. My oldest pet store guppy lived a year and died from a random ulcer. The tank was in great shape, established for yrs, happy plants, healthy fish but as soon as I added Prime he developed strange symptoms and a painful ulcer...poor Lolli

 

They would probably be good, known to be nippy but only in smaller groups, though I've never kept them.

But if you get a second school, I would do the danios and the other school both at 10.

Also, blue gularis are the killis we were talking about earlier., they stay near the top.
Other ideas for schoolers could be wcmm or rosy barbs. Rosy barbs are gorgeous.

Confusion setting in again cause of the names scientific/common name issue haha . Can you please please make me a new list ? Maybe break it up into top/mid/low dwellers ? I know I'm asking alot here <3

 

Confusion setting in again cause of the names scientific/common name issue haha . Can you please please make me a new list ? Maybe break it up into top/mid/low dwellers ? I know I'm asking alot here <3

Oh, it's completely fine, a killifish is a group of fish. (Including blue gularis) Sorry if we were confusing you by using them interchangeably. Here's a list:


Top Dwellers

• Blue Gularis (Killifish) 3 (1 male, 2 females)
• Danios 10

Mid Dwellers

• Tiger barbs 10

Bottom Dwellers

• Kuhli Loaches 10
• Panda Cories 10
• Reticulated Hillstream loaches 3

 

Oh, it's completely fine, a killifish is a group of fish. (Including blue gularis) Sorry if we were confusing you by using them interchangeably. Here's a list:


Top Dwellers

• Blue Gularis (Killifish) 3 (1 male, 2 females)
• Danios 10

Mid Dwellers

• Tiger barbs 10

Bottom Dwellers

• Kuhli Loaches 10
• Panda Cories 10
• Reticulated Hillstream loaches 3

Next time you look yourself in the mirror, repeat these "I am amazing". <3 Seriously, looooove it.

So my Blue Gularis will be the center piece of the tank, given that there are 3. Is there anyway to go down to 2 and get something a tad bigger? (they grow up to 4", correct me if I am wrong) but 3x4 = 12, can I be looking at 2x6 and maybe get 2 fish that grow up to 6"? That are also just as beautiful?

 

What kind of filter do you have? That can make all the difference when it comes to how much you can stock.

 

What kind of filter do you have? That can make all the difference when it comes to how much you can stock.

As of right now I have the aqueon (2x) but open for suggestions, I'm not trying to cheap out here or any of that.

I'm investing here to teach my child/ see her smile for many years to come so please, if you can chime in about filters.

 

What size aqueon filters?

Maybe for the centerpiece fish a male and female striped panchax; I don't know much about these fish, but they are the only other commonly available cold-water fish that gets to 4-5 inches.

Also, don't do paradise fish, I have wanted to do them before and I had a million people say that they are demons and will never leave your fish alone and bite out their eyes.

 

ooh good call ! I like the temperament better than the barbs, they can be nippy little things given the chance.

 

I've heard that that was just a misconception, that people kept keeping barbs in groups of 3-4 and became super nippy, but when in groups of 10+ are fine. (Or even 6+)

 

What size aqueon filters?

Maybe for the centerpiece fish a male and female striped panchax; I don't know much about these fish, but they are the only other commonly available cold-water fish that gets to 4-5 inches.

Also, don't do paradise fish, I have wanted to do them before and I had a million people say that they are demons and will never leave your fish alone and bite out their eyes.

​

Aqueon Quietflow canister filter 55-100 gallons.
And honestly I wouldn't replace the Blue Gularis for either of those haha.
Cold-water , so the list above is cold-water fish?

 

​

Aqueon Quietflow canister filter 55-100 gallons.
And honestly I wouldn't replace the Blue Gularis for either of those haha.
Cold-water , so the list above is cold-water fish?

I'm sorry what is your question?


Also, 2 canister filters that big, should filter amazing, your only restriction will be the room in the actual tank, rather than filtration.

 

I've heard that that was just a misconception, that people kept keeping barbs in groups of 3-4 and became super nippy, but when in groups of 10+ are fine. (Or even 6+)

Larger groups do help a lot with aggression but they can be fin nippers. I’ve also heard of penguin tetras going rogue and they are peaceful fish. Every fish has it needs and there’s always an exception to the rule

 

​

Aqueon Quietflow canister filter 55-100 gallons.
And honestly I wouldn't replace the Blue Gularis for either of those haha.
Cold-water , so the list above is cold-water fish?

But before getting dead set on blue gularis, I'd wait to see what people say who've kept them. I think chromedome52 may know a bit about them.

I've heard they may go after smaller fish, (Like your danios) so if you really want the gularis maybe switch those out for more tiger barbs.

 

I wish there was a kudos button for threads. It's so refreshing to see someone actually doing their research before getting any fish and properly setting up an aquarium for them. When you do stock the tank we would love to see!