Upgrade To 75g

HI all,
I just purchases a 75 gallon tank secondhand and it came with some fish. I have been planning on upgrading for a long time now so I had my own 55 gallon very low stocked. My main questions are...will the 2 sets of tank mates get along and also what can I add to the new tank?
My tank has:
A few young platies
A peppered corycat
Clown loach
1ft long common pleco (I intend to find a new home for him even though I've had him 5yrs I know he's gotten too big)
The new 75 gallon has:
3 opaline gouramis
1 rainbow shark
1 serpae tetra
1 I think might be a danio
1 common or leopard pleco (haven't gotten a good look at him)
1 albino pleco (unsure of species)

The tank has sand substrate and currently 2 top filters but I plan to switch to my marineland canister. How much sand should be in the tank cause I don't think the lady had enough? Also my other tank ended up with a colony of MTS...should I be super careful and give the canister a real good cleaning to avoid them in my new tank or should I have MTS for the sand substrate?
Thanks for the help!

 

How much sand does it have? I like to have at least 3 inches of sand, and clown loaches are schooling fish, you need to get 2 more (3-4 more will most likely overstock your tank.) Serpae tetras are schooling fish, danios are too, if you post a pic, I could probably ID the species. You need at least 5 of both. The clown loaches will also eat any snails, so there's no point trying to keep any.

 

You are going to be pleco heavy.

I think your stock are compatible but I would up the Cory and serpea to at least 6 each.

If the existing filters are cycled, I would thoroughly clean your canister with a bleach solution, good rinse, new media and Prime in the tank and run all three filters until the canister is cycled. This to avoid moving snails, or their eggs into the 75.

 

You might want to get zebra loaches to prevent any snail problems. How much sand does it have? I like to have at least 3 inches of sand, and clown loaches are schooling fish, you need to get 2 more (3-4 more will most likely overstock your tank.) Serpae tetras are schooling fish, danios are too, if you post a pic, I could probably ID the species. You need at least 5 of both.

I posted on the fish ID and I believe we have come to the conclusion it is a fathead minnow. There's probably only an inch of sand so I definitely need more like I thought. If I get 2 more clown loaches do I still need zebra loaches too? I'll get more serpae tetras but my LPS doesn't have fathead minnows. what are an adequate substitution? You recommend a snail population?

 

I edited the post because I remembered that clown loaches ate snails too, sorry, I haven't gotten much sleep recently XD. I'd still do it though, they're adorable (you need at least 5 though), and I'm actually planning to get some after I move most of the fish in my 45 (currently a grow out tank, but I'm going to turn it into a community tank.).

 

On sand. Keep it less than 3 inches. More than that you run the very real risk of hydrogen sulfide gas created by anaerobic bacteria in the O2 poor environment of the deep sand. Hydrogen sulfide gas will nuke all life in the aquarium.

But there is an ongoing debate as to whether or not the gas will move into the water column. I do not understand how this is still being debated.

 

On sand. Keep it less than 3 inches. More than that you run the very real risk of hydrogen sulfide gas created by anaerobic bacteria in the O2 poor environment of the deep sand. Hydrogen sulfide gas will nuke all life in the aquarium.

But there is an ongoing debate as to whether or not the gas will move into the water column. I do not understand how this is still being debated.

I only keep my sand so deep because I have spiny eels in one tank, weather loaches in another. If there are no fish that dig, it should stay around 2 inches.

 

Do you guys recommend a MTS population because of the sand or avoid them?

 

Do you guys recommend a MTS population because of the sand or avoid them?

Remember, once you place a prolific snail into an aquarium (short of the nuclear option) you will have them forever.

Have you thought about BDBS (Black Diamond Blasting Sand) Great substrate $8.00 for a 50 pound bag at Tractor Supply Co. I have it in 3 aquariums and plan you switch the remaining ones over. I use the med-course grit. My mysteries do fine in it...And sadly so do those bladder snails. But you have to like black substrate.

 

Do you guys recommend a MTS population because of the sand or avoid them?

If you are worried about an anaerobic event, you can slowly drag something through the sand, back and forth a couple of times a month, or keep your sand to 1.5-2”.

I have potting mix under my sand, 1.5-2” covered with 2” of sand. If something was going to happen under there, it would happen in my tank first. I can’t drag anything through my sand or I release potting mix which makes the tank cloudy.

I would avoid snails except Mysteries, nerites or other non-prolific breeders.

I regularly watch nerites and Mystery snails crawl across my sand.