New plan for Aquarium - 75G

Sookielee

Would love to hear opinions and suggestions on this please. We decided to go bigger on the aquarium. So many of the fish we liked needed a bigger aquarium than the 45 gallon plus the cost of getting the hood was ridiculous. My other half will build the stand for this and it will look like we want it too.

Here is what we are planning. How's it look?

75 Gallon Aquarium Hood Combo
API Filstar xP3 Canister Filter
2 Fluval 200 watt heaters
XL gravel Vacuum
Thermometer
API Master Test Kit
Water Conditioner, Net, etc

Nilet699

what fish is it that you will be putting into in sookie? or still undecided?
what about substrate/plants etc?

Sookielee

substrate will be a mix of sand and small gravel. Fish are undecided as yet. Plants will be live, not sure one exact ones yet.

Nilet699

All in all you have zero idea as of yet then!?! haha i like it will be interesting to see how this turns out then!

hmmm.......as you know from my other thread......im going to do the same with the substrate very soon, probably wednesday arvo/thurday as i have some time off, how are you planning on doing this?

Sookielee

I simply love the idea of terraces, but I have not totally figured out how I can accomplish this. Juwel is not available here in the US, plus I would like at least one terrace higher than what Juwel offers. I am going to need to do more research to figure out if what I want is even possible with the combined skills of me and the other half. (he is very creative with building things though)

Fish will probably be some type of Cichlid for sure.

We are contemplating changing to an Eheim canister. Problem is we are confused as to which of the Eheims to get for the tank. help

Sookielee

These are the canister filters we are looking at, any suggestions?
in no particular order

• API Rena Filstar xP3 Canister Filter
• EHEIM Ultra G Series with Substrat Pro & Filter Pads
• EHEIM Classic External Canister 2215/2217

Byron

My suggestion would be to work out the intended fish first. Reason being that other things such as the substrate and the filter should be acquired to suit the fish species, and some have specific requirements. For instance, cichlids are best with sand as they filter feed. Filtration can be less with some fish, or with live plants. Etc.

On the filters mentioned, those are all good quality. Eheim are in most minds the best filters available. I have two Eheim Pro II canisters that have been running continuously for more than 13 years now. I also have a Rena Filstar XP3 on my 115g tanks. This is doing the job, no doubt of that, but being newer on the market there are many who think it does not have the durability in construction that will match Eheim.

Byron.

Sookielee

I am thinking Cichlids, perhaps a Lake Tanganyika community tank and both of the substrates are sand and should do well, but the play sand will probably win out.I will also have some plants, mainly grassy ones like Vallisneria and maybe some Java. Even though this is not typical for a cichlid tank, I love real plants in the aquarium and looking at pictures of the Lake Tanganyika area many water grasses grow near and in the lake perimeter.

Byron

Yes, Vallisneria is a species found in this or one of the other rift lakes, can't remember off hand. But with the hard water it will thrive.

For substrate sand in this setup you can use one of the calcareous sands, like aragonite/crushed coral. This helps if your tap water is on the soft side as the substrate will add calcium and magnesium to raise GH and pH. If you already have fairly hard water with a basic pH, this is less important, and ordinary play sand will work fine. I would prefer the play sand as its colours will be more natural, even here. You can also get rock that matches, which allows for a very unified aquascape that will be very authentic.

Byron.

Sookielee

My water is like 400 ppm, so I really doubt we need anything to make it harder - - Our ph is 7.4.

We bought the tank and a stand today We also went ahead and purchased the API Master Test Kit. Now comes the fun part of doing all the aquascaping and getting down to the nitty gritty with fish selection.