I haven't had a tank in years and when I did it was a 10 gallon. Now that I am interested in setting up a new one I was interested in going between 55 to 75 gallons. I was wondering if that is to big for a freshwater tank? Also, what kind of filter would I want to use for a tank that big, would it be just a bigger version of what is used on a 10 gallon tank? I was also wondering what you do for a lid on a 75 gallon tank, I've seen 55 gallon tanks with 2 hoods and you simply lift the door in the front to access the water, does a 75 gallon tank come with something similar or does it need a custom hood made for it. And finally, I am fresh out of college and don't have much money to work with, I recently saw 75 gallon tank at petsmart for 200 bucks, not sure if it comes with a hood like the 55 gallon I saw at the same petsmart did. I' m not sure if that is a reasonable price or not or how much more I would need to put into this (filter, gravel, etc). In terms of what I would want to put in the tank, I'm looking to put some turtles and fish in it, pretty basic, but I like the big tanks (nicer to look at). Thanks
New Tank
- Thread starter jmirault
- Start date
Lots of options available to you. the water quality is easier to maintain in a biger tank...so the 55 of 75 should do nice. If I was you, I'd be looking in the newspaper ads..or even on ebay for a deal near you. I just snagged a 75 gal off ebay less that 50 miles from me that was a complete set up for $300.00. I figure $700 worth of stuff...and most still in boxes with user manuals and gently used.
You can get the double hoods for the bigger tanks too. WHat you may want to look at is the glass tops and then a single power light for the top of the tank. I personaly like the cannister filters, but there are some why like the hang on backs just as well. You will need to look at all the options and decide for yourself what you want. Also think about what kind of fish you want...and you mentioned turtles too. Not sure if they go together or not. What you want to keep will to some extent dictate what kind of equipment you get, and what kind of decor you want in your tank. ALso...do you want live plants? If so..low light or high lioght with CO2 injection. All things to think about. I started out my second time around by buying a good fish reference book and looking through..deciding what fish I liked, and what would go together. You really need to put thought into it and plan so you don't buy equipment that you don't use...or set up a biotope for fish that it sin't suitable for. Ask lots of questions...it helps!!
You can get the double hoods for the bigger tanks too. WHat you may want to look at is the glass tops and then a single power light for the top of the tank. I personaly like the cannister filters, but there are some why like the hang on backs just as well. You will need to look at all the options and decide for yourself what you want. Also think about what kind of fish you want...and you mentioned turtles too. Not sure if they go together or not. What you want to keep will to some extent dictate what kind of equipment you get, and what kind of decor you want in your tank. ALso...do you want live plants? If so..low light or high lioght with CO2 injection. All things to think about. I started out my second time around by buying a good fish reference book and looking through..deciding what fish I liked, and what would go together. You really need to put thought into it and plan so you don't buy equipment that you don't use...or set up a biotope for fish that it sin't suitable for. Ask lots of questions...it helps!!
Turtles and community fish will get along just fine as long as the fish are too big to fit in the turtle's mouth, at that point they become expensive food.
However there are a couple things to keep in mind if you decide to get turtles (I used to have two red-earred sliders in my 55 gallon). First you will lose about 25% of your water space to create land for the turtles, whether you build excess gravel on side of the tank or stack multiple pieces of slate to give the turtles a place to rest. I tried to get away with floating a piece of cork on the surface, that I had attached a suction cup to, to keep it anchored in one spot, but found that the turtles just seemed unhappy with such a small space. They stopped eating and became very lethargic. With the remaining space you will need to make sure that they have enough room to swim around freely. If you crowd the area with a lot of plants and decorations you will find yourself spending many a mornings resetting your tank back to the way you had it. They are also one of the dirtest animals that I have ever owned. Most of the time my fluval 304 was barely keeping the water clean. You will also find your ammonia levels skyrocket, not only is that bad for the fish but the tank stunk to high heaven . It wasn't until I pulled my old, loud and pain in the @$$ 303 out of storage to run in conjunction with other filter that everything balanced out. Actually now that I look back it probably wasn't the best idea to have the turtles in the first place, maybe you'll have better luck then I did.
However there are a couple things to keep in mind if you decide to get turtles (I used to have two red-earred sliders in my 55 gallon). First you will lose about 25% of your water space to create land for the turtles, whether you build excess gravel on side of the tank or stack multiple pieces of slate to give the turtles a place to rest. I tried to get away with floating a piece of cork on the surface, that I had attached a suction cup to, to keep it anchored in one spot, but found that the turtles just seemed unhappy with such a small space. They stopped eating and became very lethargic. With the remaining space you will need to make sure that they have enough room to swim around freely. If you crowd the area with a lot of plants and decorations you will find yourself spending many a mornings resetting your tank back to the way you had it. They are also one of the dirtest animals that I have ever owned. Most of the time my fluval 304 was barely keeping the water clean. You will also find your ammonia levels skyrocket, not only is that bad for the fish but the tank stunk to high heaven . It wasn't until I pulled my old, loud and pain in the @$$ 303 out of storage to run in conjunction with other filter that everything balanced out. Actually now that I look back it probably wasn't the best idea to have the turtles in the first place, maybe you'll have better luck then I did.
