Filters And Substrate

[NewTankGuy]

After a lot of help and advice from all of you,(thank you!

 

 

) I am picking up a used 75-gallon tank this weekend (48”L x 18” W x 20” H).  The tank is up and running now with fish and plants so I know there’s no leaks or anything funky going on with it, but the reason why I am getting it for a great deal is that it is only the tank, stand, and LED lights, because they are upgrading to a larger tank too, and using all of the old stuff. Meaning, that I need to get a filter, and substrate for it. So I am looking for some advice on a good, yet affordable (I am on a tight budget as I didn’t really plan to have to upgrade already) filter to adequately work for that size of tank.  I have my Whisper 40 now, which I want to use at least for a short time to help the new tank seeing that its media already has my good bacteria in it, but I know that is far from being enough on its own.  What I have found online that looks good (to me) is the “Aqueon 06079 QuietFlow 55/75 Power Filter, 400-GPH by Aqueon”, “Tetra 26313 Whisper EX 70 Filter, 45-70-Gallon by Tetra”, and “Emperor 400 Pro Series Bio-wheel Power Filter - Up to 90 gallon, Rite Size "E" by MarineLand”  these are just ones that fit into my budget now, but I do have some wiggle room, and the reviews online are soo back and forth, that I trust you all’s opinion much more, and likewise if there is something else I should be looking at. 
 
Also as for the substrate, I do plan on reusing all of what I have now in my 29-gallon, but I know I will need more, for the plants, and for looks.  My question here is, does it matter colors at all?  I have white gravel now, so would it make any difference at all to lay black gravel down, and then put my white on top of it?  Or does the color serve another purpose beyond just looks for people?
 
                                                                                                                                                 

 

[Ciddire]

After a lot of help and advice from all of you,(thank you!

 

 

) I am picking up a used 75-gallon tank this weekend (48”L x 18” W x 20” H).  The tank is up and running now with fish and plants so I know there’s no leaks or anything funky going on with it, but the reason why I am getting it for a great deal is that it is only the tank, stand, and LED lights, because they are upgrading to a larger tank too, and using all of the old stuff. Meaning, that I need to get a filter, and substrate for it. So I am looking for some advice on a good, yet affordable (I am on a tight budget as I didn’t really plan to have to upgrade already) filter to adequately work for that size of tank.  I have my Whisper 40 now, which I want to use at least for a short time to help the new tank seeing that its media already has my good bacteria in it, but I know that is far from being enough on its own.  What I have found online that looks good (to me) is the “Aqueon 06079 QuietFlow 55/75 Power Filter, 400-GPH by Aqueon”, “Tetra 26313 Whisper EX 70 Filter, 45-70-Gallon by Tetra”, and “Emperor 400 Pro Series Bio-wheel Power Filter - Up to 90 gallon, Rite Size "E" by MarineLand”  these are just ones that fit into my budget now, but I do have some wiggle room, and the reviews online are soo back and forth, that I trust you all’s opinion much more, and likewise if there is something else I should be looking at. 
 
Also as for the substrate, I do plan on reusing all of what I have now in my 29-gallon, but I know I will need more, for the plants, and for looks.  My question here is, does it matter colors at all?  I have white gravel now, so would it make any difference at all to lay black gravel down, and then put my white on top of it?  Or does the color serve another purpose beyond just looks for people?
 
                                                                                                                                                 

I just upgraded from a 29 Gal heavily planted to a 75 gal heavily planted. Before I moved to the 75 I ran the new filter alongside the old filter for about 3 weeks.  After the first week I was cycled and had no issues. 
 
The filter on the 75 gallon is a Sunsun 402b (~$70 on ebay) + cannister materials (~$15 or less) 
 
I highly recommend moving to a canister filter over a traditional HOB. I personally like the SunSun and have since purchased their various models for my other tanks (I caught MTS bad, lol.)
 
Color is purely aesthetic. I have a mix of black ecocomplete, brown riverstone & black moon sand (only on one side, it's my loach & cory cat 'playground') For your transfer I suggest mixing the old substrate in with the new and tossing it with your hands so the majority is in the top layer. The nitrifying bacteria also lives in your substrate and I imagine putting the old substrate at the very bottom may kill whatever is on it.

 

[NewTankGuy]

Thank you for the response!! So being new to all of this, and being the type of person that ALWAYS has a million questions,  why do you recommend the canister filter over the HOB?  Also, so when I do my move from my 29gal to my 75gal, I should mix my old substrate with my new right from the start, or should I just lay all the new substrate gravel, then put my old ontop of it for a few weeks before I mix them up/together?  
 
Seeing that you have successfully done basically the same move that I am about to do, except mine is light-to-moderately planted, how much of the water did you use from your 29gal into your 75?  Did you use it all because that would basically be the equivalent of doing a 50% w/c on a 75gal, or just some, or did you start with completely fresh/new water?  I am keeping all of my plants, decor, and substrate from my old and using it in my new tank

 

[NewTankGuy]

OK these are all about the same price, but what would be the better choice for a 75gal planted tank (with a Pelco so you know there’s lots of excess waste, on top of the mess my angles make) Cascade® 1000 Canister Filter for up to 100 Gallon Aquariums, 265gph – this has by far the highest ratings in reviews on Amazon.com, or Sunsun 4-Stage External Canister Filter with 9-watt UV Sterilizer for Aquarium, 370 GPH (OK reviews on Amazon, but mostly mixed opinions), or AquaClear 110 Aquarium Power Filter - for 60 to 110 Gallon by Rolf C. Hagen (USA) Corp??

 

[NewTankGuy]

**** the AquaClear 110 is a HOB while the other 2 are canisters....which I have NO clue about....

 

[Ciddire]

Thank you for the response!! So being new to all of this, and being the type of person that ALWAYS has a million questions,  why do you recommend the canister filter over the HOB?  Also, so when I do my move from my 29gal to my 75gal, I should mix my old substrate with my new right from the start, or should I just lay all the new substrate gravel, then put my old ontop of it for a few weeks before I mix them up/together?  
 
Seeing that you have successfully done basically the same move that I am about to do, except mine is light-to-moderately planted, how much of the water did you use from your 29gal into your 75?  Did you use it all because that would basically be the equivalent of doing a 50% w/c on a 75gal, or just some, or did you start with completely fresh/new water?  I am keeping all of my plants, decor, and substrate from my old and using it in my new tank

 
more options for mechanical, biological & chemical filtration 
You could lay it on top but it might look like an oreo cookie.
No need to transfer the water over... there's nothing in it that is beneficial.
 
If you are moving livestock over at the same time, but sure to house them in a bucket and match the temperature of the old tank . Test the PH before you transfer on the old tank and see if it matches the new tank.
 
Both my PH & temp were the same so I just dumped my livestock in. If your values aren't the same do an accumulation as if they were new fish.
 
I'm a fan of the SunSun...I have a fluval on another tank and I don't see where the big difference is.
 
The SunSun has the included UV for some extra help. I run the UV for 48 hrs after adding new fish and slow the filter flow. Or in cases where the fish are sick.  The SunSun includes 3 filter pads but you will need to purchase additional materials to fill it. I use the 3 pads on the bottom layer, Ceramic biomedia on the second level & Purigen on the top most level. 
 
I purchase all my filters from the seller techntoy on ebay. They are vastly cheaper than Amazon and have pretty decent support.
 
Feel free to message me on Skype if you need help setting up your filter when you get it (if it's the SunSun)
 
Good luck & have fun!

 

[Freedom]

I had the Aqueon 55/75 on my 50 gallon, bought it new in Feb when I set up the 'new to me' tank.  I had terrible issues, and folks on here kept harping on me and cycling the tank.  Thank goodness I finally stopped listening to folks on here (after adding an AquaClear HOB which would not set properly on the tank rim, adding Dr Tim's One and Only, and losing 22 fish in 48 hours), and went to my local Tropical Fish Society meeting.  Two folks volunteered to come over and have a look see.  The Aqueon was garbage, definitely not worth using on anything (I had even added sponge media per folks on here) plus it was much too powerful for the fish I keep.  They showed me why it wasn't working right, and in the end I threw it out.  Lucky me, one of them had brought along an extra filter (people in this Society seem to have loads of stuff hanging around, lol), and they got me set up temporarily.
 
I bought 2 Sunsun 402B canisters, put one on the 50 gallon with the media from the borrowed filter and it has been great ever since!  I put the other canister on my 'new to me' 37 gallon.  Both tanks are running beautifully.  I'd never used canisters before, was leary of going that route, really wanted to stick with HOBs.  But these 2 folks convinced me to make the switch and I am pleased with the result.
 
When I set up the 37 gallon, I was moving everything from my 19 - 20 gallon.  I vacuumed the substrate 3 or 4 days before I planned on the move, so that was relatively clean.  For the move:  First I removed all the decor and plants and put those in 2 buckets.  Didn't bother with any water as this was not going to take long.  I put some water in one bucket for the fish.  Then I moved the 'old' tank out of the way and set up the new tank and stand.  I used the siphon to move the water over.  When there was just about 4 inches of water left, I used a net and got the fish, put them in the bucket which was waiting for them.  Once I had all those out, I used a pan from the kitchen to move the substrate, getting the remaining water with it.  I used the same water, not for any beneficial bacteria as there isn't any, but for the ease of moving water.  Why put old water in buckets, haul to sink to dump, then later fill buckets and haul to tank?  I mean, I did have to ADD water, it was a larger tank!  But I just shifted the existing water over.  Got the canister set up and ready to go.  Added the fish, decor and plants, and all done in 2 hours.
 
Attaching a photo mid move, the fish went in that yellow bucket.
 
As for substrate, the way I understand it, color is mostly for looks.  Type (gravel, sand, rock) depends a bit on the fish and plants you will keep.  Some plants need  . . . flourite?  Substrate is a place where good bacteria lives and that doesn't care re color.  I've heard that some male bettas get very picky about color, but in general I've not read that fish care.  If I hadn't already bought my gravel for the 50, I would have gone with black as that seems to make plants and fish stand out really beautifully, IMO.  But I'd already purchased my blue and white, so I stayed with that.
 
Take photos along the way, even if just for your own reference to look back on!
 

 

[NewTankGuy]

Thanks! I really appreciate the advice! Alot of very helpful information, that will make this alot easier! So it seems like SunSun is the way to go.  Everyone seems to love it.