Brand New Tank- What Now!?

[Kairi]

Ok, yesterday, I bought a new 75 gallon tank. At the moment, it's sitting completly empty (no water even). I am going to do a fishless cycle on it, but as I was doing some reading on it, it said something about raising the water temperature. Now the big question- what watt heater do I get?! I'm not going to begin the cycle til I know exactly what I'm doing.... plus I still need to get the gravel for the tank (how much of that do I get too?) I'm just full of questions, and I'm determined to start this tank out right. I'll take all the help I can get.

 

[pokagon55]

Here go to this web site http/www.ratemyfishtank.com/ and then go to interactive tools, Go to fishtank wizard and type in your info. It will give you all you need to know

 

[Kairi]

cool. thanks.

2- 60 gal filters is ok too, right? they came w/ the tank.

 

[cujoho78]

Hi. The basic rules for heaters and filters are as follows: Heaters should be 3-4 Watts per gallon minimum. So a 75 gallon tank should have a heater with a wattage of 225W to 300W minimum. I would go with at least a 300W for my tank, or two 150-200W heaters placed at opposite ends of the tank. Filters should be able to filter all the water in the tank at least 4-5 times per hour. So a filter for a 75 gallon tank should be rated at 300-375 gallons per hour minimum. More is better, you just don't want to have too much current. So your two 60 gallon filters should be fine. If you follow those basic guidelines then you should be ok. As for gravel, you can have as much or as little as you'd like really. If you have live plants you'll need more. I think 4" is recommended but don't quote me on that. If you don't have live plants, then an inch or two or three would be fine. Good luck!

 

[pokagon55]

cool. thanks.

2- 60 gal filters is ok too, right? they came w/ the tank.

Yea, not a problem dude. You will be ok with that setup.

 

[itsmedeanna64]

What I was told about how much gravel is, 1 pound of gravel per gallon. In my 29 gallon I have about 40 lbs and it looks nice......and plenty. In my 55 gallon I have 65 lbs. I wanted a little more because I like the look of more, but at least with that you have an idea......

Hope this helps!