# New 100 gallon tank, need help in choosing best size,lightning,ferts ..



## Sudi (Feb 3, 2005)

*New 100 gallon tank -> change to 75gal.*

hello,

I am moving soon to the new house where i will buy 100 galon tank 
I need your advices about :
- Filtration
- Lightning
- Ferts
- Size (dimmensions)
- Gravel ,and all the other stuff 

Give me websites with good stores 
I had aquariums in the past but this one is really big 
You are probable more experienced than I am 
All the advices count. 

Sorry if I put the topic in the wrong spot...

Thx, Matt


----------



## trenac (Jul 16, 2004)

Matt... I've never had a tank this size either, but I will give it a go.

Filtration... A canister filter, I've have found the Rena Filstar to be the easiest to clean, maintain and prime. The XP3 works for up to a 175 gallons.

Lighting... I would try AH supply, that most than likely will be the cheapest lighting options for a tank your size. The second type of light I would suggest is power compacts, but that may get expensive.

Ferts... Go with our sponsor Greg Watson, you can buy ferts in bulk and mix your own.

Gravel... Eco-complete/Flourite are both great for live plants, but will be expensive to get a 2-3" depth. If you like sand, you could try pool filter sand which works great and cost only $8 for a 50lb bag.

Other stuff... How about C02, if you have 2WPG or more you will need to add pressurized C02. Here is a link: http://sammyxp.tripod.com/html/id23.html


----------



## chiahead (Dec 18, 2004)

I prefer the Eheim filters. Thats pretty much all I own, besides my HOT magnum for water polishing. They are a bit more money but worth it in my mind. I am not sure on the depth of a 100 gal tank but power compacts should be fine for it, or if you ave a hood a AH supply retrofit kit would do nicely. Ferts from Greg Watson-no doubt. Substrate is a matte rof opinion and it really depends on what you are looking for. Flourite or Eco Complete would be some choices to stick out but alot of people do soil with great success. The substrate is an important choice as with a tank this size and the fact that once its in you will prob not want to redo it. Money is also a factor with larger tanks. Maybe some info on what you are wanting to grow and what kind of maintenance schedule you are lloking at doing would help. Also, what about Co2??? Ay more info would help us recomend what path to take.


----------



## Simpte 27 (Jul 16, 2004)

I would go with canisters as well, either eheim or fluvals. I would also have 2 on my tank if it were 100 gallons. Gives better water circulation plus I don't go by the ratings companies give filters. I perfer 10x turnover per gallon on tank size (ie. 20 gallon tank = 200 gallons per hour waterflow). Also 2 heaters. For substrate with a tank that size, I'd go with a laterite base with sand over it. Mostly for cost purposes but if money is no option, I'd go with eco-complete. For lighting either power compacts (4x96) or I might try Metal halide. I don't see much difference in price there. FOr ferts I agree completely with everyone else. Greg Watson dry ferts would be the way to go.


----------



## Heather Gladney (Sep 5, 2004)

*tank size & proportions to check into*

I can refer you to George Booth's site, tons of classic info. He was the Dupla guru, as I understand now people agree and disagree with those methods, so you have to decide what *you* think in relation to other sources, but well worth reading. This is his main site.
http://users.frii.com/gbooth/AquaticConcepts/
If you look at the links on the left, under Technical Information, click on "Selecting an Aquarium" and you'll see an article from 1998 discussing the *proportions* of differently sized tanks in relation to using the least expensive-sized flourescent tubes.
I have no idea if the facts he gives about which ones you can find or not are still true, but hey, he gives you desirable measurements! That kind of stuff is hard to find!

As for gravel, I mainly use a baked clay substrate sold for golf greens and playing field maintenance. I found it in a golf green maintenance shop for $8 per 50 lb bag, under the name Turface Pro and Turface MVP. I got hold o their main office and asked for local distributor for those names, and that's why it was cheap!
http://www.turface.com/turface/
specs:
http://www.turface.com/landscaping/lands_4.html

I found references to it on both the Krib aquarium website
http://www.thekrib.com/Plants/Fertilizer/profile.html

and on sites discussing growing bonsai in very small pots!
http://forum.bonsaitalk.com/archive/index.php/t-7266.html

Sometimes it's sold in home improvement places under other various names, including "aquatic planting soil," intended for pools (in which case it's probably about the same price as gold.) I understand Schultz is the distributor on that one.

There's also other baked clay products, all of which vary slightly depending on what clay was used to make them. They generally all have a high cation exchange capacity (good for bacterial growth, plant fertilizing & root growth). this has a red-brown color very similar to flourite (I mixed some of that in as well), it has a reasonable particle size, and none of my snouted catfish or loaches has had a problem rooting in it. It is light in weight and can drift about 3-4 inches high in the water column in the water columnn when you disturb it or siphon it, but it doesn't compact. I like light--reducing the weight load is helpful in any big tank, and I wanted a deep gravel bed.

I'd also suggest checking into some of the fishless cycling methods people have developed, which can be very useful in getting big tanks settled down sooner with no loss of scaled life. Or even shelled.

And I totally agree with Simpte, duplication of systems=good. I too run two heaters, several filters (I *only* have a 90, so I use the biggest Aquaclear made as main filter (whcih is, again, supposedly way overkill, they're right about that too, 10X at least) and I supplement with lots of submersed powerheads for water movement and a second smaller Aquaclear. They're cheaper than canister filters, but my impression has been that you have to clean those far more often than canisters. (3 days between sponge rinses=very, very good. 3 weeks, ugh.) Also, while you can certainly add filter bags of odd things to the filter bed, they don't lend themselves to some of the things you can do with canisters or sump+more powerful pump.
(umm, yeah, I'm thinking of filter upgrade. Isn't everybody??)
I've learned to like having backups when some of my old gear goes to that great fishroom in the sky.
(Since it hasn't been living in one here, here's hoping it's happier Over There, after a lifetime of very hard duty...)

PS--in case you weren't aware of it, DON"T FORGET the safety issues.
Don't mean to lecture my grandma if you already know these things, but I figure it never hurts to remind people...
1) Before tank setup is the best time to install GFCI outlets in the sockets that will be powering the tank.
2) Get one or two of those ground wire devices that will drain off stray ground faults from your tank. It's not going to cure faulty gear, but it's better than getting bit, as electricians say. It's basically a thermostat-like probe on a wire that runs to a plug. It doesn't draw juice, it drains it off from the water, plug it in, easy-peasy. Many general online places like Big Al's offer these, and they're cheap insurance. I remind people to use them on any size tank. You're still working with household juice that can electrocute you just as badly in small tank as large one, but in a big tank you tend to have lots more gear that's drawing juice and leaking it into the water. You may also be using homebuilt gear that hasn't beent ested for leaks...
Also, I've read on some discus sites that their fish did much better after they put in such a ground wire, possible from reducing electrical noise disturbances of their lateral line system.
3) check floor joists for the weight load (if you have wood floors) and check for level. Many people use various pads, such as sheet styrofoam, to level small unevenesses between tank and stand, but it wouldn't make up for lumpy concrete slab or crooked tank stand. Tilted floor=tilted water level, very annoying, and it stresses the tank's walls. Water= 8 pounds/gallon. Rock/gravel is more.

And oh yeah--gotta post pix when you set it up, you know...


----------



## MatPat (Mar 22, 2004)

I would definately run two filters and two heaters on a tank that size. That is what I do on my 75g. I run two Magnum 350's on my 75g and two 200 watt heaters. Built in redundancy is nice in case something breaks. You should always have a backup to hold you until a new filter/heater arrives. Eheim's are quiet, very reliable, and have a lower cleaning schedule but that comes at a cost

Substrate - You can buy Shultz Aquatic Plant Soil (SAPS) at WalMart for about $8 for a 10lb bag. Follow Heather's advice and go with the Turface brand. I can find it in 50lb bags for about $10 around here. I used SAPS, Flourite, and Florabase in my 55g tanks when I set them up. I would avoid the Florabase personally and go with more of the less expensive SAPS/Turface. Pool filter sand (Silica Sand) is also cheap so check your local Pool Supply store. They usually have a good volume of it on hand. No reason you couldn't mix the sand Flourite, and Turface either.

Turface/SAPS can be light, meaning it doesn't hold plants down very well sometimes. This is where the sand or Flourite can help give it a bit more "weight".

Ferts from Greg Watson is a no brainer in my opinion. Commercial products just get too expensive for larger tanks.

You can search the Reviews section here (dark blue menu bar at the top of the page) for more info on lighting, heaters, substrates, etc. Look into CO2 also. There are reviews on Milwaukee and JBJ regulators along with some reviews on pH controllers and reactors in the Reviews section. Just remember the review section is based on opinions and experience (sometimes very limited) with a certain product.

DIY CO2 reacotrs are easy to construct and fairly inexpensive. One of my Magnum 350's is dedicated to running the CO2 Reactor and the other is used as a filter. Another good reason to have two filters in my opinion.

As far as lighting, AH Supply seems to be what everyone likes to recommend. Just remember, this will require you to either build a hood, retrofit an existing light fixture, or purchase one of their hoods. If time or mechanical ability are not on your side, you may be better spending the money on a compact flourescent fixture instead. I prefer Normal Output Flourescent tubes on my tanks. I like the better coverage they give both lengthwise and front to back on most tanks. I have four lamps on each of my 55g tanks and you could easily put six Normal Output Flourescent lamps on a 100g, assuming it is 18" front to back.

That being said, if you are at all into DIY, do a search on ODNO lighting. (Over Driven Normal Output Lighting). It will require you to build a hood or retrofit an existing fixture but the results are very good and the price is pretty low when comparing to buying a new CF fixture. I recently found a 2-pack of Philips 6500k lamps, 90 CRI. for about $7 at Home Depot. I spent $14 in lamps putting 4 lamps over my 55g tanks and another $40 or so for two ballasts. I have overdriven these lamps 2x and they are very bright. None of my plants are complaining and they are all growing well 

I also second Heather's advice on Reading George Booth's site as well as the info on the Krib. These are very good sites for beginners to read and have a lot of information. Chuck Gadd's site, specifically the Articles Section, has some great info for starting a new tank. He aslo has a calculator that will help you when you decide to start adding fartilizers. Give it a read...

http://www.csd.net/~cgadd/aqua/articles.htm


----------



## Sudi (Feb 3, 2005)

Hello,

So it has been a while, since i last posted here 
I moved, and now i am ready for the new tank. I decided to go with a 75gal. (standard size).

Ok, now I'll let you know what I have, and what I decided so far :
1. 75g - standard size

2. DIY stand (I'll post some pictures later or tomorrow) - it's allready done, and tested 

3. As recomended :arrow: Eheim. Model : 2215+ - got it from bigAl's, I had to return it because it was broken, so it took a little longer than expected.

4. Gravel : I decided to go with 4 bags of Fluorite and the rest plane gravel 3- 5 mm - 50% DONE (tomorrow, i am getting rest of the gravel)

5. Drift Wood - maybe i'll get some tomorrow

6. Heater - 100W + 200W (What brands do you recomend?) - will get it next week.

7. Lightning - 2 of 2x55W kits from Ahsupply.com with these bulbs. 9325K

8. CO2 - 5lb or 10lb bottle - will get it soon.

9. Ferts, Greg Watson Dry ferts 

Did I miss anything?
I will show some pic. later or tomorrow 

Thank you guys for all the advices!

*Edit:* Ok, here are two photos, and i will get more soon.

Test in the garage, I was testing both, aquarium & the stand:









The inside of the stand is all wood, except these metal parts:








matt


----------

