Starting a 75 Gallon planted tank..specs w/ questions

Bio Load means bacteria bio as well as fish. So it depends on what you plan on keeping. If you're going to have live plants then Cichlids are out of the question because they will shred the live plants to pieces. So you need to figure out what fish you plan to keep in the tank.

Your list looks fine but in a 75 you can have more then one piece of driftwood unless the driftwood is huge in which case it may be hard to get the right placement in the tank. You may want to consider a few smaller pieces. As far as co2 injection goes, it depends on the lighting you have for the tank. Generally 2 watts of light or less is considered low to medium lighting and co2 injection is usually not necessary. When you get to 2.5 to 3 watts of light or better, co2 injection is recommended or you will end up with a ton of unwanted algae all over the plants and substrate. That is really not a pretty site to behold. It is really up to you how far you want to go with this and the planted tank adventure.

Marinemom

I have a 75 w/o CO2 and it's pretty heavily planted with low light plants (all I did was change the bulb to give better spectrum). Like MM said above, it really depends on the type of plants and lighting needs you choose. The liveaquaria standard pack is primarily low light plants that should do well. Biospira is the only one I've personally used and I think it helped some (hard to really quantify). If you do go that route, make sure to remember that there has to be ammonia present for the bacteria to survive on and make sure to keep it refrigerated (take a cooler and cold pack with you when you get it). Also you may want to think about going with an XP3 &/or adding a HOB. It's better to overfilter than under and the XP2 is good "up to 75G".

My 75 is heavily planted and overstocked. It has an Eheim pro II 2026, AquaClear 300 and a HOT Magnum. It has an inline hydor 300w- but the tank is an inwall so it stays warm. Otherwise I would have 2 heaters.

You indicated a Perfecto top but not the make of tank, perfecto tops may not rit right on AllGlass tanks and vice versa- I have had that problem.

I have a couple of Corallife digital thermmometers in a drawer someplace. They are there cause when I put them both on the same tank. they read several degrees apart. While not auper accurate, they are consistent. So if you know one measures 2 degrees low- odds are good its 2 fegress low at most temps.

You only need co2 if you want to do plants that need high light levels and regular fert dosing. You might consider Flourish Excel instead.

In terms of lighting you will need about 100-150- watts for most of what would be in a lower light package. I prefer having a fixture on the back and on the front rather than all the watts in the back, it gives more even light. Two 48 inch standard fluor fixtures would give you 160 watts. if you go that route I would suggest full spectrum, tri-phosphor datlight bulbs with a CRI of 90 or better. if you go with compacts you can get 2x55w for the back and a single 48w standard fluor. in front. I am partial to AH Supply kits for compacts- get the 6700k bulbs if you buy from them. I would also get a timer to turn the lights on and off automatically.

There are a number of maintainance items you don't mention: dechlorinator, nets, tank vacuum, algae scraper, etc.

Unless you are doing more sophisticated things than indicated you don't really need the GH or kh test kits. Most lfs/lps will test this for you. Normally these don't change much so if you know what your tap water levels are, chances are good they wont change much. Moreover, the only time you will ever use a nitrite kit is during cycling. It is not really essential but nice to have.

I currently have 18 tanks up and running. The first one was cycled with fish, all the rest were either fishless cycled or instant cycled. I have never used any of the bacteria starters and have never recommended them to anyone. Bio-spira is about the only one that may work, but for the price and risks (loss of refrigeration any time from factory to tank damages or destroys them), I will stick to ammonia and a few weeks wait to fully stock a new tank.

One last note, there are very few cases of only one right or best way to do things when it comes to tanks. In the long run most of us find what works best for us and our specific tanks. So don't be surprised if you get a diversity of opinions from experienced fish folks.

The XP2 looks a little small to me for a 75. I am running one on a 29 and it does a marvelous job but I wouldn't go over about 55 with that filter. It is rated or "up to 75" which means that unless your bioload is on the low side, it might not be quite big enough. It would be safer to go with the XP3. I have one on my 125 and is is doing a great job there but its rating at 175 and the fact that there is only about 110 gallons of water after you subtract out the gravel and decorations. I know because I filled it using gallon jugs.

WaterBug said:

Wow, Thanks for all the informative replies!


Thanks for the recommendation about the xp2 vs 3..I will be going with the 3..I was trying to be a bit cheap but I can't do that to my fishies, can I? And major n00b question..what exactly is an HOB?

Click to expand...

No worries. I wish I would have started off by asking questions BEFORE I had the tank and problems! HOB is a "Hang On Back" filter. I have a canister (XPs) and a HOB (ACs and Marineland) on my tanks. The Canisters do the majority of the work, but the HOBs are great for surface aggitation and provide backup. One thing I wish I knew beforehand... you can never have too much filter unless the current from the outputs is too strong.