I have a 75 gal tank that I have dreams of becoming a lush green tank, but no go so far. I know I have a less than ideal setup, but on my budget, I don't see many upgrades in the immediate future. The tank is 48" x 12" x 30". I have 2 standard 24" fluorescent hoods, single bulb, with full-spectrum bulbs. Would it help if I upgraded to double-bulb strips? That would be affordable. Anyway, substrate is sand, tank temperature is kept 82-84 degrees. Water hardness is off the chart and pH is consistently 8.6. Current occupants are: 2 discus, 1 angelfish, 1 gold gourami, 2 clown loaches, 2 balloon mollys, 1 kissing gourami, 2 platys, 1 clown pleco, 1 sailfin pleco, 1 dojo loach, 2 corys, 1 black neon tetra, 2 mystery tetra, 2 white clouds, 3 bettas, 8 dwarf neon rainbows, 4 harlequin raspboras, and I think that's everyone (plus a barely-controlled snail population). Oh, I have 2 Penguin HOB filters (rated for up to 75 gal and 30 gal respectively) on the tank. Not ideal, I know, but I have had bad luck with canister filters. Any ideas are much appreciated!
What will thrive in this tank?
- Thread starter JenNewbie
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malkore
Aquarium Advice Addict
Several things here.
That's not a standard 75. is it really 30" tall? if so, that's a big problem. you're gonna need metal halide lighting to achieve enough penetration to get good light intensity to the bottom of the tank. Double bulbs or even PC/CF tubes wont' help. HO T-5 with a Tek5 reflector might cut it...might not.
pH of 8.6 is indeed off the charts. some plants won't like your liquid rock water, but since you can't afford high light and CO2 injection, you couldn't keep those plants anyway.
even with twin tube flourescents, that's gonna give you 80w of light in a deep tank. You'll still be limited to java ferns, anubias nana, crypts, and maybe hornwort and anachris.
Also, why do you keep the water so warm? 72-78 is the range for the tropicals you have listed.
That's not a standard 75. is it really 30" tall? if so, that's a big problem. you're gonna need metal halide lighting to achieve enough penetration to get good light intensity to the bottom of the tank. Double bulbs or even PC/CF tubes wont' help. HO T-5 with a Tek5 reflector might cut it...might not.
pH of 8.6 is indeed off the charts. some plants won't like your liquid rock water, but since you can't afford high light and CO2 injection, you couldn't keep those plants anyway.
even with twin tube flourescents, that's gonna give you 80w of light in a deep tank. You'll still be limited to java ferns, anubias nana, crypts, and maybe hornwort and anachris.
Also, why do you keep the water so warm? 72-78 is the range for the tropicals you have listed.
It really is 30" deep. The water is kept that warm as a compromise for the discus who prefer 85+ degrees and the other fish who prefer it below 80. Petsmart.com of all places has a triple fluorescent hood for around $100, which is not an unreasonable cost for me to consider if that would be an acceptable upgrade to increase light penetration. Unfortunately, this has been my "learning tank," so I have a kind of random assortment of equipment as I've tried to save money before I learned the correct equipment, etc. to buy. Now I have to realize that to have the tank of my dreams, I have to do a lot of upgrading, but one thing at a time, hopefully. 
Lonewolfblue
Aquarium Advice Addict
Putting 2 260W fixtures might cut it, but then you risk more algae problems. That's 520W on top of the tank.
