75g Planted Tank Build!

[wilkieam]

Hey everybody!

Been a long time since I’ve posted much of anything, but I’ve been lurking for a long while and I’m finally getting back in the swing of things.

For Christmas, the boyfriend agreed (foolishly) to purchase me a fish tank for my gift. Last week, I finally found a deal that I wanted and we went and picked up a used 75 gallon bundled with some other goodies at an LFS nearby us.

Now that I have everything relatively planned, with purchased framed out over the next few weeks, I decided to put together a build thread to track my progress and receive input as the tank progresses.

SO… Here are the facts upfront.

Purchased a 75 gallon tank bundled with an Aquaclear 110 Filter, ATI Hydrosponge Pro IV Filter, Whisper 60 Airpump, bubble wall airstone, and tubing for the airstone and sponge filter. $160 for all of it, felt pretty good about that purchase. Picking up a stand this weekend for $40. Everything else I still need to grab, but I have it all planned out and should have everything together by the end of the month.

Basics:
75 gallon tank
Wrought iron stand
Glass lid

Lighting: Finnex Planted+ 24/7

Filtration:
Aquaclear 110
ATI Hydrosponge Pro IV

Other Hardware:
Whisper 60 Airpump
Bubble wall airstone

Substrate: Carribsea Eco-Complete in Black

Chems/Ferts:
API Freshwater Master Test Kit
Seachem Prime
Seachem Stability
Seachem Flourish (Comprehensive and Excel)

 

[wilkieam]

I have a general idea for stocking and types of plants I plan on planting, but I’m still open to input.

Flora:
Broadleaf Chain Sword
Moneywort (Bacopa monnieri)
Jungle Valisineria
Rotala indica
A. reineckii
Dwarf sag
Staurogyne repens
AR mini

Fauna:
6 x Boesman’s Rainbow
6 x Turquoise Rainbow (considering, may just go with Boesman’s and up that number)
14 x Harlequin Rasbora
14 x Cardinal Tetra
Cherry Shrimp (will start with about 15-20)
6 x Orange Laser Cory (maybe? Considering, but would be slightly overstocked)

 

[wilkieam]

Attached is a photo of the empty 75 chilling in my office and waiting to be set up...

 

[Alan79]

View attachment 292875

Attached is a photo of the empty 75 chilling in my office and waiting to be set up...

That's a nice big blank canvas to play with wilkieam. I look forward to seeing how it looks when you are done.

 

[thegundog]

You ain't no rookie are you? [emoji6]

You got it going on.... and I love you plans!

75 gallon, in my opinion, is the best all around size tank.

The Finnex 24/7 is excellent and will get the plants on your list thriving along with the Comprehensive (sorry I'm not into Excel)

I really like your stocking choices too, be nice to see you increase the Cory count somehow.

I have a 75 gallon low tech planted with 7 Turquoise and a large group of cories - I love the Rainbows, it's an awesome tank.

Looking forward to watching your build through this thread.

 

[Brookster123]

Not positive but I'm pretty sure those rainbows will reduce the shrimp population in a few days.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Aquarium Advice mobile app

 

[wilkieam]

You ain't no rookie are you? [emoji6]

You got it going on.... and I love you plans!

75 gallon, in my opinion, is the best all around size tank.

The Finnex 24/7 is excellent and will get the plants on your list thriving along with the Comprehensive (sorry I'm not into Excel)

I really like your stocking choices too, be nice to see you increase the Cory count somehow.

I have a 75 gallon low tech planted with 7 Turquoise and a large group of cories - I love the Rainbows, it's an awesome tank.

Looking forward to watching your build through this thread.

Thanks! I'm super excited about it, iffy about the cories but I may up the numbers if I stick with one rainbow species.

 

[wilkieam]

Not positive but I'm pretty sure those rainbows will reduce the shrimp population in a few days.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Aquarium Advice mobile app

I've done a bit of reading and I think they should be alright if I plant heavy and give them enough places to hide.

 

[Autumnsky]

I'd choose Boesemani and Laser Cories, love them!!! Can't wait to see what you do with it.

Maybe a little Shrimp tank on the side later? Fun to watch next to an easy chair.

 

[wilkieam]

I'd choose Boesemani and Laser Cories, love them!!! Can't wait to see what you do with it.

Maybe a little Shrimp tank on the side later? Fun to watch next to an easy chair.

That's what I'm leaning towards after some deliberation!!

And probably will do a small Shrimp tank down the road in my office, like a Spec V or something to that extent...

 

[Autumnsky]

That's what I'm leaning towards after some deliberation!!

And probably will do a small Shrimp tank down the road in my office, like a Spec V or something to that extent...

The Boesemani just look amazing. Just start looking for a store / breeder with good quality. There are big differences in color available.

 

[wilkieam]

The Boesemani just look amazing. Just start looking for a store / breeder with good quality. There are big differences in color available.

I'll start looking/asking around, going to be a bit before the Boesmani go in so I have some time to find the right specimens [emoji6]

 

[Autumnsky]

As you wander through the shops, you will hopefully find a place with great stock. Ask the mgr/owner if that is the usual color/supplier they have. If not is it a place they could order from for you in the future.

Just to make sure you can get something special. At the big box pet stores, they sell them too but there is absolutely no comparison for a well bred healthy looking fish. It makes a difference for a very beautiful tank.

Check out if there are any Aquarium clubs around, there are amazing people very often with stunning stock, good connections and so much experience!

 

[Bert2oo1]

If running AR your going to need a source of carbon either excel or presurised. Do you have plans to add co2?

 

[LiQuiD]

Cool! I was in your shoes almost a year ago with my 75. Would recommend the new Finnex 24/7 SE model that just came out. Appears to have decent improvements that the regular one does not. I have 4 of the regular 24/7's and will be getting one of these soon!

 

[wilkieam]

If running AR your going to need a source of carbon either excel or presurised. Do you have plans to add co2?

Was planning to use Excel

 

[wilkieam]

Cool! I was in your shoes almost a year ago with my 75. Would recommend the new Finnex 24/7 SE model that just came out. Appears to have decent improvements that the regular one does not. I have 4 of the regular 24/7's and will be getting one of these soon!

I'll look into that, thanks! [emoji5]

 

[wilkieam]

Update: boyfriend's dad caught wind of my new tank and has taken it upon himself to build me a stand, so I no longer need to purchase one... more money into the tank budget. [emoji6]

Going to be ordering some stuff tonight! More pictures to come as things roll in!

 

[LiQuiD]

Update: boyfriend's dad caught wind of my new tank and has taken it upon himself to build me a stand, so I no longer need to purchase one... more money into the tank budget. [emoji6]

Going to be ordering some stuff tonight! More pictures to come as things roll in!

Consider using that savings on a c02 system. Excel can't compare

 

[woodlitnight]

Consider using that savings on a c02 system. Excel can't compare

motion seconded