[JimmyMac1113]

Hello all.. I'm setting up a 75 gallon all male peacock/hap tank. I've been out of the hobby for about 5 years now, and actually feel like somewhat of a newb again, so I'm looking for some general equipment advice.. Heaters: wattage? Brand? 1 0r 2? Lighting: I bought the marineland 75 setup which came with lighting but from what I've been I'll most likely want to upgrade. Any suggestions? And finally I have a brand new fluval 406... Will this be ok alone? I plan on 12-15 fish ... Any guidance or suggestions is greatly appreciated... Cheers!

 

[Deeda]

Welcome back to the hobby again!

Which heater wattage and brand to choose is always a question asked and sometimes confusing to answer. If the tank has a good fitting lid and the average room temperature is at least 70F, look for a heater between 200W and 300W or 3 to 4 watts per gallon of tank. A colder room during winter months will require a larger or multiple heaters to maintain tank temperatures around 76-78F. I use either the Eheim heaters or Hydor ETH inline heaters on tanks that have canister filters that can use this heater. Some people that use a higher wattage heater also purchase a separate heater controller as a safeguard to reduce the chance the heater will overheat their tank.

Lighting is a personal preference and I have used the lights that came with the setup and am fine with them. All I need is enough light to view my fish. You can always look through other posts to see some example of what others are using since there is now such a variety of fixtures such as T5 and LED.

I'm not personally familiar with the Fluval filters outside of the FX5 though the usual suggestion is 8-10x the GPH of the tank size to give good circulation. I like 2 filters on that size tank so you can use either a 2nd canister or a power filter such as an Aquaclear 110.

If you haven't decided on a substrate yet, a cheap option is to use pool filter sand though you will be limited by colors, either tan or white depending on your location.

 

[JimmyMac1113]

Thanks alot for the help! Went to the LFS today and went with an eheim jager 300w heater. I'll see how the temp holds up during the diskless cycle before adding a second.

The lighting that came with the setup is not bad after all.. at least in my opinion so far. I figure once I get fish I can upgrade if unhappy.

I think I'll add an aquaclear 110 since the gph on the fluval 406 is just under 400.. And I had full intention on using pool filter sand as a substrate but got suckered into the carib sea black and white african cichlid mix after seeing and loving it in the store's all male show tank..

Thanks again! I appreciate the help!

 

[DutchAJ]

I probably have the same marine land setup as you. The light has been serviceable for the last year but I'm about to upgrade it as well. I also have the eheim jager 300w and it has been more than enough even when the room is down to the low 60s. I'm running 2- eheim 2217s and wish I had a little more flow, so I think the AC110 is a good idea.

 

[JimmyMac1113]

Nice! Thanks for the response. Do you remember if marineland used adhesive to put a poster on the inside of your tank as well?? I'm having a heck of a time trying to scrape this off and don't want to use any glass cleaners on the inside of the tank.. No idea why they couldnt just do this on the outside. I'm all ready to add rocks, sand, water etc and I've been sitting here scraping at the glass for 45 minutes lol... frustrating.. any suggestions?
Thanks again!

 

[Deeda]

I don't think there is a problem using glass cleaner to wet the residue but you can also try vinegar. Just rinse with water if you want afterwards. It may be easier to lay the tank on that side and add water to let it soak a bit.

 

[fish_gazer]

I too was perplexed at their decision to put that poster on the inside! I used a razor blade from a utility knife (box cutter) to remove the glue. It made quick work of it.

As for the light, I was all set to replace it after reading several reviews complaining about it. I have a pretty tall rock and driftwood setup and as a result, the aquarium has some dark areas. I also have live plants. Ultimately though, I just didn't think putting a beacon on my aquarium was in the best interest of the fish, so I passed. That plus the fact that the light isn't all that bad in my opinion. YMMV.

 

[JimmyMac1113]

Used vinegar and a razor... worked perfect.. thanks alot guys!

 

[Vociferus]

I have the same tank, and I even started with the same filter. The 406 holds quite a bit of media. You'll likely be OK at the start, but you may want to add another one down the line. Like Deeda mentioned, you can add another filter later if you need more filtration. I switched to an FX4 but the 406 was still doing a fine and I have it around in case I start another tank. If I was adding a second filter I'd likely do a HOB because they are so easy to change the media. Changing the filter pads on a canister is a bit of a chore, so if I add another filter it'll likely be a AC 110 and then I can do my filter pads in there.

I also run a 300w heater and it has no issues, but my room stays pretty consistent around maybe 70-71°F.

I had the Marineland LED light as well and it's pretty terrible. I hate that they include a 3' light for a 4' tank. I switched to a Fluval Fresh and Plant 2.0 48" and the difference is night and day (pun intended). But I also have plants in the tank, so if you're not doing plants you may want something a bit cheaper.