need some help with a 75 gal tank

[rkilling1]

i am about ready to go to petsmart and purchase a 75 gal tank and stand.

questions:

i want to use PFS, but i don't know how much. i have seen a calculator on here somewhere, but i cannot find it.

i want to use an in-line heater, but the eheim 2026 has 5/8" inlet and 1/2" outlet. the in-line heater needs to be used on the 5/8" tube. will it hurt anything by using the heater on the inlet vs the outlet?

thanks.

 

[SCFatz]

I would think 4 bags of sand....maybe five.If you over purchase you can always bring it back for a refund.Its also a matter of personal taste as to how deep the sand bed is so you will know as you go.

will it hurt anything by using the heater on the inlet vs the outlet?

I can't not imagine that being a problem for any reason,but I've never used one.

 

[JustOneMore20]

http://www.plantedtank.net/substratecalculator.html
A substrate calculator.

I think PFS comes in 50 lb bags, so that will tell you have much you need...just plug in the tank width and length.

 

[TomK2]

No problems with the 1/2 or 5/8 tubes and an inline heater. that 1/8 difference is no big deal. Cram the hoses on the heater and you are set to go. Varius ID tubes Worked for my Hydor inline heater.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

1 50lb bag gave me more than I needed for my 55G, and the 75G is just a little wider. So I'm thinking at least 1 50lb bag, plus a little extra for a 75G.

 

[rkilling1]

thanks. just put the tank in my living room. hardest part was moving my other tanks to make room. tomorrow i will go and get the sand. my filter should be here in about a week and then the cycle starts.

my poor fish are going to love their new home. they have been over crowded for awhile now.

list of fish in my 30 gal tank: (planted)

1 - 9" bichir
1 - 9" albino pleco
4 - 4" rainbows
2 - 8" african knifes
2 - 1 1/2" tiger barbs
1 - 5" albino rainbow shark
1 - 9" bala shark
1 - 7" alge eater
various live foods (guppies and shrimp)

i do not plan on adding any more fish. as you can see i have plenty already. ok maybe 2 more bala's just to settle down the lone one.

EDIT:

one more question:

how far away from the wall do you leave the tank?

i am getting the in-line heater, so i know i have to make room.

don't really want to set the tank up and then have to move it. rightnow it is 4" from the wall. is that enough? thanks

 

[JustOneMore20]

Oh yes, your fish will definitely be happy. Those fish were way overcrowded.

The african knives and bala shark will also outgrow the 75g. I think you will still be overstocked. That's a little too many big fish.

 

[rkilling1]

another question:

my filter will not be here for another 3 days. would it be a good idea to add plants now or should i wait until the filter gets here. i have an air pump running a spong filter just to clean up the water some. tank is 3/4 full and room temp stays @ 72. i would just like to get the aquascaping done before the filter gets here. what do you think?

it will only be some low light plants. java fern and moss for the driftwood and anacris(sp?) for the background.

so far:
2 1/2 bags of PFS gave me 3 inches of substrate.
two pieces of driftwood are already in the tank. (boiled first)
hydor heater is here.
bio-spira is going to be 2 day aired this monday.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

You can add plants at any time.

 

[rkilling1]

update:

got the tank ready by putting NH3 in it. i kinda over did it. after 1 50% and 1 75% water change, it was at 4 ppm. this is before the filter got here. (red plants turned green with that high of NH3. lesson learned)

two days ago the filter arrived (eheim 2026 with both install kits and media) what a great filter. hooked up the filter and the hydor in-line heater and let the tank come up to 78 degrees. next day (yesterday) my bio-spira arrived from TN. put it in the tank as soon as it arrived.

initial readings:
NH3 - 4 ppm
NO2 - 0
NO3 - 0

came home from work this morning( 18 hours after spira) and tested.

NH3 - 2 ppm
NO2 - 0
NO3 - 0

thought the drop in NH3 was weird due to no increase in NO2.

i am impatient so i took my filter out of my 30 gallon tank and cleaned it in the 75 right next to the intake and then performed a gravel vac on the 30 and put that in the 75.

now 6 hours after the extra bacteria and 24 hours after the bio-spira:

NH3 - 4 ppm (added more)
NO2 - .1 ppm
NO3 - 0

thats great, 24 hours and i am starting to cycle.

FWIW. this is an aquarium advice tank if you will. everything i have done to this aquarium was read on here. PFS, Hydor Heater, Eheim filter, boiling driftwood, fishless cycle, Bio-spira, ect...

thanks everyone. Randy.

 

[MSU Fan]

Well Randy: Congrats! I have also learned a bit on here, and am putting it to use as well. It's always good to hear success cases! Keep in touch on how the fish get along in the new tank!

 

[davidtcb1]

I bought my PFS at Home Depot. Only used 2.5 .5 cu ft bags in a 125 gallon tank.

 

[rkilling1]

All done cycling. this morning was all zero's and 20 ppm no3.

fish have already been added.

 

[joannde]

I like it alot The moss on the driftwood on the right is my favorite part along with the driftwood arrangement on the right - very nicely done ! congrats !

 

[davidtcb1]

yep looks nice...cool piece of driftwood...

 

[norolo]

i am about ready to go to petsmart and purchase a 75 gal tank and stand.

questions:

i want to use PFS, but i don't know how much. i have seen a calculator on here somewhere, but i cannot find it.

i want to use an in-line heater, but the eheim 2026 has 5/8" inlet and 1/2" outlet. the in-line heater needs to be used on the 5/8" tube. will it hurt anything by using the heater on the inlet vs the outlet?

thanks.

 

[davidtcb1]

i got my sand from home depot...it came it .5 cu ft bags which i think is about 50 lbs. i used two and a half bags on my 125gallon....so you'll probably only need two bags and shouldn't use both fully. i have egg crate in the bottom of my tank too, so take that into account.

sorry, i can't help you on the eheim as i have no experience yet with inline heaters...

hope this helps

 

[rkilling1]

thanks. the one peice of driftwood on the left still isn't saturated with water, so it just semi floats for now.

i also used 2 1/2 bags. i like a lot of substrate.

the eheim had both intake and exhuast @ 5/8". so the heater was a non issue.


EDIT:

you have to look hard to find the inlet and outlet tubes. the only thing thats noticable is the airline tubing on the right. i am really liking this setup. thanks everyone, Randy.

 

[RoK]

Cool fishes and tank!

 

[kmgriff72]

Nice looking background on the tank.