New Tank Up And Running

[powerdyne6]

I purchased my 2nd tank about 2 weeks ago it is a 75 gallon, I let that run with some filter media and a little bit of gravel from my existing tank for about a week to let it build up enough of the good bacteria

At the end of the week I ended up with these results ammonia: 0, nitrite: 0 and nitrate about 60ppm
I did a nice size water change before I added the fish from my existing tank with treated water

I put in my 5 green tiger barbs, they are about 1 1/2 inches and my 2 bala sharks, they are about 2 1/2 inches
Before someone says "the sharks shouldn't be in there cause it isn't enough room" I know this is why a went bigger, and then when they grow some more I intend to get around a 100 gallon, and then bigger when they get bigger

I am running a penguin bio wheel 200 hang on power filter and it was doing fine with the 7 fish, I decided I wanted to get an oscar, I went and got one from big als fish store, it is about 3 inches long right now

about 2 days after I added the Oscar I tested the water again my readings were as follows ammonia: .25, nitrite: 0 and my nitrates are at about 20ppm

Do you guys/girls think I need a bigger power filter or can I just add another hang on filter to the tank, like the penguin 150 or another penguin 200

I know that oscars are big wastes producers so maybe I should get a bigger filter???

Thanks in advance Mike

 

[rdd1952]

You say you set up the 75 gallon tank and let it run to build up some bacteria. Were you adding ammonia during that time? What filter did you have on it at the time. What filters do you currently have on it, just the one from the old tank or both that one and a new one? The Bio Wheel 200 definitely won't be able to handle the 75 gallon tank. You need a filter that processes the water at least 5 times (more is better) per hour so you need a filter rated at least 375 gallons per hour. For 4' tanks like yours, it's also better to have dual filters and dual heaters for better circulation and more uniform temperature. For a 75 gallon tank, I would suggest canister filters rather than HOBs. I am running 2 Fluval 304s (along with inline heaters) on my 75 gallon and they work great.

 

[scorphonic]

Also you will find that an external filter works wonders in a tank your size...I cycled my tank in 1 week using mature bacterial medium, an external filter filled with the mature media. I now have a tank that is nearly fully stocked in less than 5 days...and all my stats are perfect with 0 Ammonia, 0 Nitrite and so far only 20ppm Ammonia.

Get an external filter, the TetraTec EX1200 would be perfect for your tank.

 

[powerdyne6]

You say you set up the 75 gallon tank and let it run to build up some bacteria. Were you adding ammonia during that time? What filter did you have on it at the time. What filters do you currently have on it, just the one from the old tank or both that one and a new one? The Bio Wheel 200 definitely won't be able to handle the 75 gallon tank. You need a filter that processes the water at least 5 times (more is better) per hour so you need a filter rated at least 375 gallons per hour. For 4' tanks like yours, it's also better to have dual filters and dual heaters for better circulation and more uniform temperature. For a 75 gallon tank, I would suggest canister filters rather than HOBs. I am running 2 Fluval 304s (along with inline heaters) on my 75 gallon and they work great.

alright thanks for the help
yes I did add ammonia during this time, and I had a penguin bio wheel 200 on the tank, basically the one from the old tank.
currently I have the one penguin 200 on the tank which is definatly not enough

I was thinking about putting 2 penguin 200 filters on the tank and (adding another heater (this I didn't know about))

if not can you recommend me some canistar filters that would fit my application
thanks Mike

Also you will find that an external filter works wonders in a tank your size...I cycled my tank in 1 week using mature bacterial medium, an external filter filled with the mature media. I now have a tank that is nearly fully stocked in less than 5 days...and all my stats are perfect with 0 Ammonia, 0 Nitrite and so far only 20ppm Ammonia.

Get an external filter, the TetraTec EX1200 would be perfect for your tank.

alright thanks I will look into it

 

[rdd1952]

The TetraTec 1200 really isn't big enough for that tank it is only rated for 1200 lph which is about 320 gallons (needs at least 375 gph). That only gives him about 4.25 gph which isn't enough unless the tank is lightly stocked. If you use one filter, it needs to be rated at least 375 gph (1420 lph) or you could use dual filters rated around 200 gph each.

 

[scorphonic]

But the tetratec 1200 is designed for 200 to 500 litre tanks?

 

[rdd1952]

But the tetratec 1200 is designed for 200 to 500 liter tanks?

That is the manufacturers statement. It is very suited for the 200 liter tank but I don't think anything larger. Any filter that can't process the tank 5 times an hour isn't big enough unless it will be minimally stocked. It is always better to overfilter to make up for overstocking and over feeding errors.

 

[scorphonic]

Ah ok!! My filter only filters my water 3.8 times an hour...but the internal filter probably makes up for the difference.

 

[rdd1952]

Even with internals, 5 is really the minimum. As long as you're understocked, you will be ok but if you start pushing the stocking limit or have messy fish (plecos, oscars, goldies) you will have problems.

Just FYI, minimum wattage for a heater is 3 watts per gallon.

 

[powerdyne6]

Even with internals, 5 is really the minimum. As long as you're understocked, you will be ok but if you start pushing the stocking limit or have messy fish (plecos, oscars, goldies) you will have problems.

Just FYI, minimum wattage for a heater is 3 watts per gallon.

could I get away with 2 penguin bio-wheel 200 filters, cause that would be 400 GPH which is right on 5 times more
if I did this would I just add the 2nd filter to the tank and let it run and eventually it will have grown the proper bacteria, or should I put the filter media from the old filter and put it in the new one

 

[rdd1952]

You could run the 2 penguins on it and that would be fine. I prefer canisters now that i have used them but from a financial standpoint, it makes sense for you to do that since you already have one of them. As you said, just start the second one running and let it start building bacteria. Don't start adding a bunch of fish at once. Build your stock up slowly so the bacteria growth can keep up.

 

[for_my_fish]

from the world of pond keeping. Length of water contact with the media is as important as flowrate. Hence bigger canisters = good!

If the filter isne't big enough in terms of media then yours simply pushing water back into the tank that hasn't been touched by the bacteria. I'd be tempted to add two large externals and turn the flow down a little. (two ex700's or better two ex1200's) the 1200 have much larger filer media capacity

 

[powerdyne6]

from the world of pond keeping. Length of water contact with the media is as important as flowrate. Hence bigger canisters = good!

If the filter isne't big enough in terms of media then yours simply pushing water back into the tank that hasn't been touched by the bacteria. I'd be tempted to add two large externals and turn the flow down a little. (two ex700's or better two ex1200's) the 1200 have much larger filer media capacity

I haven't done anything yet but I will look into the canistar filters next time I am at the fish store
I also am not adding anymore fish to the tank, I have 8 of them and that is it