Stocking a 75 gallon freshwater aquarium? Two HOB filters vs. one canister?

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JadeAmp

Aquarium Advice Newbie
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Aug 1, 2015
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I'm currently cycling a 75 gallon lightly planted tank and planning out stocking options. I've done loads of research and understand the compatibility between these fish and how to keep them together peacefully when it comes to tank size, school size, hiding places, territory etc. I also know that in a few years I will need to move several of the fish species up to a larger tank as they will get too big for the 75. I know which fish I want, I'm just figuring out the right amount of numbers. Here is what I'm working with:

2 Dwarf Gouramis
8 Tiger Barbs
8 Cherry Barbs
8 Cardinal Tetras
5 Clown Loach
1 Red Tail Shark
1 Bristlenose Pleco or a couple Oto Cats (or both, depending on how the algae gets)
And eventually 1 Black Ghost Knife (he'll be moved out before he gets big enough to eat the tetras)

I'd like to keep the schools on the larger size (no less than 6 each) as it'll hopefully deter the shark and the gouramis from messing with the smaller fish. The loaches, the shark and the knife will be moved into a 125g+ tank as they get larger.

I was also wondering about filter options. I know that a canister is the best choice for larger tanks but I'm hoping that two HOBs can do the job well. The Aquaclear 110 and the Aquaclear 70. Together it'll be at least 800gph. Could I possibly only need just the 110? Or would adding the 70 be a better choice with this stock load? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
 
Hi. I'm a canister man so am very biased, I don't think you can beat them for pulling debris out of the water column and and have the capacity to prevent clogging. However, with any tank over 50g I would use two filters. One filter will be unlikely to pull debris from all corners of the tank and overall water flow could be low giving dead spots. I also like to have two filters so the maintenance can be staggered. No matter how carefully you clean a filter the bacteria levels are reduced. Having the other filter running allows the cleaned filter to 'catch up'. Also if a filter goes down you have the other to run the tank until the first is restored. I also have two heaters as a precaution against failure and to give a more even temperature within the tank.


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