What would be YOUR ideal set-up for a 150 gallon freshwater aquarium?

Question

I saw this great-looking 150 gallon aquarium at petsmart yesterday and I was thinking about how nice it would go in my house. I'd like to know from everyone, what would be your ideal set-up. I want to know everything you would put in it. From fish to ornaments, air pumps, heaters, filters, lighting, gravel, to sand. EVERYTHING! Keep in mind it would be a freshwater tank. I would incorporate your ideas if you gave them. Thanks to all that answer!

Answer 1

My ideal set up for a large tank like that is a well planted tank full of small colorful fish. I would include a variety of tetras such as cardinals, lemons, congos, black phantoms, red phantoms, and rummynose. Add to that a few other colorful fish such as gold barbs for around the bottom and 3-4 species of killifish to swim the top layer of the tank. I would also provide a few caves and 2-3 species of Apistogramma for the bottom layer and of course a small school of cory catfish for the clean up crew. Another good addition would be a few Oto cats, just for interest and a little algae cleaning along the plants, never hurts.

I would use a nice dark brown, natural colored gravel. The fish and plants seem to really stand out against it and it looks, well, natural. Add in a few rocks for cave building and a few pieces of driftwood and the decor would be complete.

Brands of hardware would depend on what was available locally, but I would give it adequate heating of 5 watts per gallon (750 watts for that tank) by using 3-4 heaters spread out along the rear of the tank. Filtration I would still accomplish with hang on the back power filters and at least 2, 4 would be the way I would go. Some of the pick up tubes would be higher in the tank and some lower to encourage good circulation throughout the tank.

Since that's such a deep tank, I would use metal halide lighting to "punch" the proper amount and quality of light to the bottom of the tank.

That's what I would do and in fact just did last week to a 135. I can say that it looks good and will look great in a few months when the plants grow out a bit more and the fish get full color.

Best of luck with the tank, you have tons of great options!

MM

Answer 2

Fluorescent lighting is the best. It is very vivid and will accentuate your fish's features and colors. I would use live plants to help with the nitrogen cycle and produce oxygen. Definitly get some air pumps and a power filter. Power filters are the most effective filtration devices. Gravel is a must for beneficial bacteria which converts amonia to nitrates. It would be nice to have an easy way to change the water since you will have to do a 25% water change every week. Ask about good community fish. Community fish are fish that get along with many other types of fish. Examples would be gouramis, guppies, platies, mollies..... I would definitly get tropical fish. I would place the tank near a sink and away from heat sources. Oh, tropical fish will need a heater. Also get a thermometer to monitor the water temperature. Dont forget to dechlorinate, let the water cycle for 24 hours, float your fish bag, and pick out healthy fish.

Answer 3

Gravel -- you need 1 - 1 1/2 lbs of gravel for every gallon (so at least 150 lbs). I wouldn't use sand because it's harder to clean and may raise the pH of you water.

Ornaments and plants -- depending on the type of fish you get they'll need places to hide. If you get bigger fish, get rocks and caves that they will be able to fit into at their full grown size. Smaller fish like smaller caves and frilly plants to make them feel more secure.

Fish -- If you would like a lot of fish, I would recommend tropical community. They usually stay small (under 4 inches each) and all should get along well. If you want bigger fish, the more aggressive ones are the way to go. However, semi-aggressive and cichlids are not for beginner fish owners. Make sure you know what you're doing first.

Filters -- I would get two overhead filters that are designed for a 75 gallon or larger. With these, you just need to replace the cartridge once a month. This also depends on the type of fish you get. Some are dirtier than others. For example, cichilds and fish that eat other fish tend to be more messy than community fish.
In addition to filters you should invest in a gravel syphon (gravel vacuum). At least once a week you should syphon out ~10% of the water. Once a month change about 25% of the water.

Heater -- All fish except for goldfish should have a heater. Get one strong enough to heat the entire tank (200+ watt) or get two lower watttage ones to put on each side.

Air Pump -- It's good to have an air pump to add some extra oxygen to your water. Also, you can hook them up to ornaments that bubble!

Lighting -- The tank you get should come with a hood. Either flourescent (long tube) or incandescent (screw-in bulb) lighting is fine. If you are going to have live plants, you may want to rethink the lighting to help them grow.

Plants -- Live plants are a good idea to help keep your tank healthy. They add extra oxygen to your water and help keep algae from growing. Also, some fish will eat them. In that case you will need to replace them regularly, but it's good for them!

Hope this helps! Good luck!

Answer 4

the tradition set-up is kinda what your doing, but you have fishes that dont come from that bio-tope. i would scratch the rainbows and blue gouramies. they will really hind the S.A look. Try replacing them with, congo tetras, they will add a lovely appeal to your tank, native to S.A They have long fins and schooling. Also consider algae eatters like dwarf otos which are native. Also you cant go wrong with an angelfish. Heres what i would end up with, 8 discus, 10 panda cories, 4 rams, 5 congo tetras, 2 altum(not common angelfish, altum are more for a wild tank look) 10 neons, 10 cardinals. 6 dwarf oto catifhs. This tank is set-up to be a classic eye catcher, with plenty of amazon swords and chainswords. This is truely a show tank with one specific region in mind. Traditional S.A For filters, you can go wrong with one cansiter, fuval, rena, or ehiem pro 2 or 3, And the emperor 400. Thats exactly how i define show S.A tank. Dont forget plenty of swords, and java moss driftwood.

Answer 5

First look in your local paper...you can get them for a steel...I got mine for 70 dollars...pumps and rocks inc...If you live in apt.you need to ask management.....if not go for it...once you get them set up you have very little mantenance...just change the filters once a month..I have big fish in mine...a big orange fish named PARROT FISH and 4 fan tails real big but remember big fish eat small fish...also if your fish fight put a seperater and half the tank...ask at the fish place if the fish you want are aggresive..if so maybe dont get them...also get small PLECO he will keep your tank spotless....just dont over feed them 2 times a day a little food...ask the fish store...get your fish at a small fish store,,,real cheaper than P.Mart...email me if you need help setting it up and I'll help [e-mail]....see ya....

Answer 6

i would go brackish with monos and scats and lots of plants. lots of plants.

brackish is a lot easier to deal with than saltwater. its more like just dumping salt in a freshwater tank.

Answer 7

put some water in it the fishes seam to like that alot