[Noahma]

Larger tank requires a new journal lol.

I am in the process of retiring my 40b aquarium, and planning the next big thing which will be a 75gal. full of fun!

I recently got the nod from my wife to upgrade to a 75 gal. aquarium all hinging on a Christmas bonus this year. (keeping my fingers crossed)

If for some reason the bonus does not pull through, It will just take longer to get things going.

my last couple larger tanks were all more of a progression. Fish moved from the previous tank to the new tank, plants made the move as well as all the internals. This tank is going to be a fresh start, all new fish, all new equipment all new new new lol.

I am choosing to go with my beloved Rainbow fish, but it will not be only be stocked with bows. I plan to add a couple other fish from the same area of the world to round out an interesting tank.

More details to come, but here is my plans so far.
The bows that I will add will not be from the LFS's. They will only be sourced from a known lineage IE can be traced back to the collection point or the collector IE Gary Lange etc. That way I can ensure I have the purest of bows in the tank which just show better than any of the mass bred Florida fish. having gotten my first taste of these superior fish with my m.nigrans and the one boesmani I have I want more!!!

I am going to attempt to ONLY have fish that originate from that particular quadrant of the world, the Oceania areas consisting of Australia, Papua new Guinea, the Philippines etc. I have a pretty good idea of the bows I want to keep, but availability and sourcing them might be a bit of a challenge, so things may change as I move forward.

I have been wanting to keep a pair of empire gudgeons (hypseleotris compressa) for some time, so they will probably be on the very short list for the tank as well.

The one thing I am having a hard time finding is a bottom dwelling fish that would work in a tank such as this. I cannot go with any crustacean as they would be a tasty snack for just about every other living thing in the tank. I am open for ideas.

I really don't care where the plants come from though lol. I have a few favorites which will find a spot in the tank, and a few I have not attempted to grow yet.

This will be fun!

Stay tuned for the next update, which will consist of my planned equipment.

 

[NuclearArmedBarbies]

Excited to see where this goes!

 

[Noahma]

Excited to see where this goes!

Its going to be a bit of a wait. I am very early in the planning phase, but have a good idea of what I will do, and stock. stay tuned for more

 

[Curt_914]

Keeping an eye on this one noah. I am going to try to get back in with my 20 for now. Trying to keep it simple. Just looking for a good replacement light for it. And want to go LED. Cant wait to watch this progress.

 

[Noahma]

Keeping an eye on this one noah. I am going to try to get back in with my 20 for now. Trying to keep it simple. Just looking for a good replacement light for it. And want to go LED. Cant wait to watch this progress.

Wow, got so busy I forgot to reply lol. progress is well. Not happening until the end of Dec. I've been thinking of how I want to scope the tank, and thinking of what species of bows I want. I will also have to reinforce the floor under the tank. not a big deal. But something I have to do.


I love the bml fixtures great quality! I'll have two on this tank. The 36" one I currently have on the 40b, and a 48" one.

 

[Curt_914]

Sounds good I got the Finnex planted + 24/7 for my 20. Should be in today. When can I come get some plants from you?

 

[Noahma]

Sounds good I got the Finnex planted + 24/7 for my 20. Should be in today. When can I come get some plants from you?

Plants may be a while lol. I only have really high light plants, and a couple swords at the moment. And the trims are being used to grow the bushes thicker at the moment. Once I get the 75 gal up, I am going to go after a bunch of plants I have not had yet, so there should be more than enough to go around. I think I am much closer to you now lol. I am off 120th and Glenco st. now.

 

[Noahma]

Here is a quick list of what I am hoping for.

Equipment list
75 gal. tank, stand and glass top (I always remove the plastic strip from the middle of the top to avoid any light drop off at that point)
250 watt Jager heater
cf500 Aquasun filter
70mm diffuser from Green leaf Aquariums
hydor Koralia 750gph power head
48" Dutch MC series Build My LED fixture with spliters so I can put it and my 36" light over the tank. I already have the solunar controller and its programmed with a nice sun rise / set schedule

I will be setting up a whole second quarantine tank as well. And after the tank is stocked it will be used as a grow out for babies.

My preliminary fish list

non - bow species
Hypseleotris compressa (empire gudgeon)
Tateurndina ocellicauda (peacock gudgeon)
Danio choprae (glowlight danio)
maybe a small loach species. Not sure though.

Bow species
m.parkinsoni
m.herbertaxelrodi
m.pygmea
m.garylangei
m.lacustrus (My wife REALLY wants these.)

exact quantities I have not decided yet. I tend to stock heavy so It will be a full tank lol

I know all of the species are going to be pretty easy to get, although I really want them from good quality stock with known lineage. It may not matter too much for lacustrus and herbertaxelrdi since the lines have not had a wild collection in a very long time.

I may substitute a couple species as the tank starts to take shape.

The scape will be a mixture of Dutch and nature. I love the look of Dutch, but don't want to have to trim every day as I did with my last 40b scape lol.

More later.

 

[Audionut]

This link may be useful.

Clicking on the names will give an overview of general info, cultivation notes and distribution on the species.

 

[Noahma]

This link may be useful.

Clicking on the names will give an overview of general info, cultivation notes and distribution on the species.

Wow, great thanks for the info. Its not going to be a biotope in regards to the plants, but I am very sure I will find some plants in that list that will make it into the tank. I know one plant for sure will make it in and that is the Franz stoffels sword created by florida aquatic. I have one in my 40b at the moment and its a VERY nice sword. Older leaves are green, but the new ones are very bright pink.

 

[Audionut]

Did you scroll down for native invertebrates and fish?

 

[Noahma]

Did you scroll down for native invertebrates and fish?

I had not lol. Looks good. There was one species I am going to have to look into more. It was one of the glass fish

 

[Noahma]

Quick update. Still here lol. Still planning. I did receive a Christmas bonus YEA!!!! The money is sitting in a safe place waiting until I get the go ahead to get the stuff from my other half. She really only wants one large tank, and a nano tank in the house. Soo... I agreed to hold off and get all of the aqua scape items before I even think about setting it up. So it may be a bit longer. I will start posting some inspiration pictures and more detailed list of stuff while I am waiting to get ahold of everything I need. I will spend one weekend just ordering EVERYTHING I need, which I know will make the credit card company happy lol.

 

[Noahma]

Quick update. Things are moving on, but at a very slow pace. Lots of house work getting done on our new house so I have not had time to do really anything at all with the tanks, or the planning for the 75g except longlingly stairing at the location where it will be.

More to come soon, I hopefully will have some free time during the spring to get things moving a bit. I might order all of the small parts here soon so they are ready to go, and I so I can say some progress has happened.

 

[Noahma]

UGH!!!!!

Started doing my product list and to my horror found out buildmyled is no longer producing aquarium lights. So now I am in search of new lighting. I would LOVE for any help.

Right now I am looking for a fixture (or two) that can get me into the low high light cat.

I have on my list if I can find answers
(2) of the planted+ 24/7 not sure if it would give me enough light even with two fixtures over a 21" tank though.

ecoxotic e-series light (just now looking into) this would be a single fixture.



more options to come in the next couple days.

 

[lasutaku]

I have 2 24/7 planted + on my 75G.

I'd say its low-mid light.
Started with 1, but added 2nd a week later.

running 1 on a regular timer on max, running 2nd on 24/7 mode, so full blast only for a few hours.
I might end up doing both on max eventually, still feeling it out, as I've only had the 2nd light for a little over a week.

 

[Noahma]

I have 2 24/7 planted + on my 75G.

I'd say its low-mid light.
Started with 1, but added 2nd a week later.

running 1 on a regular timer on max, running 2nd on 24/7 mode, so full blast only for a few hours.
I might end up doing both on max eventually, still feeling it out, as I've only had the 2nd light for a little over a week.

That is great to know thanks!!! I will remove it off the list and start looking elsewhere. RI am looking deeper at the ecoxotic e-120 fixture at the moment. It might have enough par at the depths to grow what I want.

I am going to start ordering parts and storing them until I am ready to put up the tank, I am hoping for mid april to get the tank up and filled. I will start collecting and getting the plants I want growing and hopefully by fall be able to get some bows from the local auction. Gary Lange came through late last year and brought a ton of eggs. They should all be a little older now and I might be able to get some great bows.

If not, I will start ordering egg kits from other bow enthusiasts and hatch my own lol. I will start posting a few more plans and things going on here from now on.

 

[lasutaku]

I don't think 1 ecoxotic would be better than 2 24/7 planted +

I think either way, you would have to get 2 fixtures.

Don't get me wrong, I could probably grow whatever i want with my 2 24/7's as well.
Remember, I'm keeping 1 of the fixtures on 24/7 mode, and everything in the tank is growing fine. Check signature for pictures.

 

[Noahma]

I don't think 1 ecoxotic would be better than 2 24/7 planted +

I think either way, you would have to get 2 fixtures.

Don't get me wrong, I could probably grow whatever i want with my 2 24/7's as well.
Remember, I'm keeping 1 of the fixtures on 24/7 mode, and everything in the tank is growing fine. Check signature for pictures.

The par data the manufacturer provides shows the par to be around 50-56 at 21". And since most manufacturers measure through air, it would be a little bit higher due to the lensing effect with the top of water. I have a topic opened in the lighting section asking for experiences with the fixture. the 120* spread on the light would be nice, the buildmyled fixture I have over my 40b is only a 90* spread which leaves some darker areas in the upper 1/3rd of the tank.

dunno. I have to do a bit more research. I am going to start ordering the smaller and easier to store items here soon starting with a light.

 

[lasutaku]

Let me know which one you go with, i was debating hard on which route to go with too!

Has some really good deals on the ecoxotics from time to time too~

The par data the manufacturer provides shows the par to be around 50-56 at 21". And since most manufacturers measure through air, it would be a little bit higher due to the lensing effect with the top of water. I have a topic opened in the lighting section asking for experiences with the fixture. the 120* spread on the light would be nice, the buildmyled fixture I have over my 40b is only a 90* spread which leaves some darker areas in the upper 1/3rd of the tank.

dunno. I have to do a bit more research. I am going to start ordering the smaller and easier to store items here soon starting with a light.