# Trying to setup a new 75G Tank



## freshwater100

This is my first post and I have 10 yr experience in Reef and SW tanks.
also currently running a 36G Hex with 3 Cichlids for more then 3 yrs.
Decided to move my 36g to 75 G.

I want to decide between the 3D Background either to get the Malawi or the Tanganyika.
I have 18" of depth and looks like Malawi is more in depth then the Tanganyika.
I also tend to go with the Tan color background with Brown or black T Grade 3M Quartz as substrate.

I will be keeping mostly African Cichlids, filtration will be 2 Canister (XP3 & Magnum350).
Lightning will be bare minimum like 18W of Actnic/white that can be improved if need more.
I will also add some Real rocks from the local landscape to give a more realistic look.

So what you folks think as far as the background should I go with M or T. Tan or Grey.


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## mstatdfield

I think you will have trouble getting responses because it is really up to your own personal preference. Look at some of the other users tanks and see what combinations you like. Its hard to tell. I was just on another thread were a guy was raving about how good his blue gravel looked, which I wouldn't be caught dead with. To each his own.


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## freshwater100

I think I will go with Tanganyika with Tan color.
Substrate will be Brown also just to give a Natural look.

Now I do have to cut the background in half so I can put it in the Tank.
My question is do you joined the cut half first or glued the half to the tank first and then the other half. Also what is the best way to joined the Half, just put some GE I Silicone between the foam
or at the Edge of the foam, I want to make sure its not that visible when 2 half joined.
I have seen some people use Black Silicone and some use Transparent , any preference which one should I use. Also seen them putting sand or peat on the Silicone to blend it in the background.

I should get my Background in 5-7 Days, will be picking up a Tank soon from the Petsmart or some LFS.


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## Rockydog

freshwater100 said:


> I think I will go with Tanganyika with Tan color.
> Substrate will be Brown also just to give a Natural look.
> 
> Now I do have to cut the background in half so I can put it in the Tank.


And I wouldn't make a straight cut from top to bottom, make it irregular, like how a puzzle goes together.



> My question is do you joined the cut half first or glued the half to the tank first and then the other half. Also what is the best way to joined the Half, just put some GE I Silicone between the foam or at the Edge of the foam, I want to make sure its not that visible when 2 half joined.
> I have seen some people use Black Silicone and some use Transparent , any preference which one should I use. Also seen them putting sand or peat on the Silicone to blend it in the background.


I would glue the one side down first. And maybe use a colored non toxic marker to blend any of the edges that might stick out. The clear maybe the best to use as it wouldn't be as noticeable. So once the one side is in and set for a while I would apply the silicone to its cut edge, then apply the silicone to the back side of the second piece and place in position. Immediately wipe any excess off the surface of the cut. Then you could apply silicone to the top, sides and bottom edges of the whole piece. If your tank silicone is black then I would use black for the perimeter.

Apply some weight evenly over the whole piece and allow to cure for at least 48 hrs or twice as long as the manufacturer recommends.



> I should get my Background in 5-7 Days, will be picking up a Tank soon from the Petsmart or some LFS


Great, it's gonna look nice. Be sure to give us some pics. We all like pics opcorn:


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## sleepy09

Does that new tank have a divider on it? If it doesn't then you should have to cut it in half. If it does, the other option that you have is to cut the silicone with a razor knife and remove it. Install the background and reinstall the divider using clear silicone just like they did when they put the tank together. Just allow plenty of time for all of the silicone that you use to dry.

I have seen people use both the black and the clear silicone. I would put the sand on it to make it look natural. After all that is what we are all trying to do, make our tanks look as natural as possible for our fish.


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## freshwater100

Got my 75G Tanks and the black stand. Order the Tanganyika in Tan color.
I will be taking pics as I setup the tank so will start posting them once I got the background.
Still need to get the 3M Qartz T-grade Brown eventhough i like Black also, but I have seen some Malawi 3D Background with Tan sand and they look awesome, I will put few pieces of Egg crate also to put some Real rocks on them and then cover them up with Sand.


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## freshwater100

Slight change in setup.

Switch to 90G from 75G, using Grey color Tanga background since they Ran out of Tan, using Black 3M Quartz S-grade. The background is glued to the tank and waiting for it to dry out before I put any water to test it. Got lots of pics and will post them soon.
The background is amazing and it was shipped in a perfect condition and packaging.
I have to cut in 2 halfs and then glue them back with GE Silicone I Clear color.


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## freshwater100

Few Pics for Background installation.

Very nicely packed.










Rocks I might put in the tank, with black 3M I am going with the brown rocks and couple of driftwood which are in my other tank.























































I will post more once i setup the tank and put some water in it


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## freshwater100

New updates on my tank. The tank has been running for almost 3 weeks now.
Upgrade my lights to 48" T5 50/50 108W.
Using 2 External Cans. Use the old filters from my old tank and also used the Stability liquid to jump start the tank.. Also throw in some rocks and driftwood to get some natural look and give some hiding places to the fishes.

1) XP3
2) Magnum 350
3) substrate is black quartz "S" grade 50Lb.

Add 3 peacocks, 1 bristlenose pleco, mbunas (yellow lab, Auratus, blue dolphin, electric blue, saulosi, red zebra, demasoni, and frontosa).

I tried my best to get decent pics from my Kodak Easy Share P850 5MP camera.
I still see lot of noise when I used higher ISO to catch those moving fishes.
I will try again with some other camera like Canon SD880IS.
But for now I have these.

Feel free to comment if you have any.

Click on the pic to get full size.













































































































Sorry this was my 125G REEF Tank.


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## freshwater100

Video.

for some reason cannot post a video
But few more pics with different white balance and more deep blue color due to Actnic lights.


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## urban.joey

Great looking tank. I really like the background. Not sure why but I think I would have trouble installing it - I'm not very handy. I would definitely pay someone else to put it in for me - great look in my opinion. I also like the black substrate - I'm struggling in deciding if it would be tough to maintain based on a few posts I have read. Looks great though. I'm just in the midst of planning my future 75-gallon mbuna tank. Great job!


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## Rockydog

Looks fantastic. Grats you did a great job. Keep an eye on the auratus and red zebra, they might cause you some grief.


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## freshwater100

so far auratus is doing fine, I also added few more mbunas and haps and so I have enough fishes that one fish just cant pick on another one. so far zero deaths. I will post more pics in few days.

First i thought it is hard to do the background but then I started reading online and actually it wasnt that bad and I myself is not that handy with tools either.


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## phillyb

So there is a space behind the 3d background? Is the pickup for your filters back there? Also does it go all the way to the top so that fish can't get behind it? What do you do if algae starts to grow back there or something similar?

Sorry for all the questions lol.

opcorn:


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## Kevin007

What are the bright red fish?

nice tank btw!


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## freshwater100

phillyb said:


> So there is a space behind the 3d background? Is the pickup for your filters back there? Also does it go all the way to the top so that fish can't get behind it? What do you do if algae starts to grow back there or something similar?
> 
> Sorry for all the questions lol.
> 
> opcorn:


Yes their is enough space behind the BG at some places upto 5". Yes the pickup is in the back and it can go to the bottom but i left it half way. Yes the top is almost 1" from my glass Canopy.
The water level stays below the top so the fish cannot go back. So far i have no algae in the back or front. I can still scrap it on the glass on the back if it start growing. Also my back is to the wall and I dont put my lights on the back. What i did i painted BLACK color on the rear portion of the Glass Canopy so when I need less light like very dim bluemoon affect I just move my lights to the black portion of the glass canopy and it looks awesome. I normally do that after 9 pm and it stays like that till 11pm and then it close.
This is a nice technique for people who dont like too much lights and want more control on the lights.


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## freshwater100

Kevin007 said:


> What are the bright red fish?
> 
> nice tank btw!


I believe you are talking about Red Zebra they are bright red


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## freshwater100

My Electric Blue Hap (Sciaenochromis fryeri) also known as Hap Ahli.




























My Lemon Jake Peacock. (Aulonocara jacobfreibergi)


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## jhunbj

:thumb: The look of ur freshwater set-up is way better than ur saltwater, and it probably cost less to set-up.  :lol: What's ur pH? Those driftwood might have an effect on ur water(pH).


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## freshwater100

jhunbj said:


> :thumb: The look of ur freshwater set-up is way better than ur saltwater, and it probably cost less to set-up.  :lol: What's ur pH? Those driftwood might have an effect on ur water(pH).


Yes you are right the Sw setup and maintenance cost a lot and I think I am 20K short in last 10 yrs in trying to run a SW but i was able to sell everything LS to Drygoods with ease and recover some of the money. SW has its own look but when I decided to get out of FISH Hobby for good I saw the Cichlids with 3D Background and I said it right then thats what I am going to do.

The driftwood I am using is from my old FW tank and it was in their for last 5 Yrs so I dont expect much of a drop, my PH is around 7.8.

My powder Blue.










Australian Harlequin










FoxFace & Blue Tang










My old 72G REEF Tank.


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## Philg

Great tank.Can you share some photos from above to show how you hid your equipment behind the BG, and where the holes are for circulating water from in front to behind the BG?
Thanks


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## gtsum

very nice looking tank...how do you run the plumbing though? The intake is behind the BG you said...do you have the output tubes above the top of the BG on the back wall? I take it the heater is behind the BG as well? How do you ensure water movement from behind the BG to the front? Sorry for all the questions....I would like to get a BG like that, but am trying to see how it all works out. Great job!


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## BoostedX

Yea i would like to see how you set things up also. I have always been wanting to know how water circulates and all of that.. Please post some pics..


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## freshwater100

Ok I used 2 Cannister filters and 1 Jebo 350W heater behind the background.
The idea of inlets and outlets is that they should not be easily seen from the front and I think I have achieve that goal since many of you were unable to see them in my previous pics.

I have 3 inlets and 2 outlets.

1) Magnum 350 is on the left side and has an outlet ~ 6" just below the left top.
2) XP3 has an outlet as a spray bar on the right side of the BG and you can see the water splashing in some of the pics.
3) The inlets are 
a) one on the top left (small piece cut on the top and silicone a mesh )
b) one on the top right ( drill a hole and stick a round strainer)
c) one on the bottom right just behind the drift wood log. ( cut a square and stick a mesh).

Magnum 350 inlet and outlet.














































XP3 inlet and outlet spraybar, also observe that my back of glass canopy is colored Black this helps me with controlling lights if i like to make it dim.




























Inlet on the right side behind the driftwood log.










Any more questions shoot.

One thing I have observed that since I did not put any sponge on my inlets to the BG some of the food goes in the back of the BG and sink to the bottom, my inlet to the pumps are not that deep so I put a stick their as you have seen it next to my Magnum 350 to stir the water once in a day and that makes the food to come up and get sucked by the inlet filter. I dont want to put any sponges since if they clogged then the water will go over the top and i dont want that.


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## freshwater100

gtsum said:


> very nice looking tank...how do you run the plumbing though? The intake is behind the BG you said...do you have the output tubes above the top of the BG on the back wall? I take it the heater is behind the BG as well? How do you ensure water movement from behind the BG to the front? Sorry for all the questions....I would like to get a BG like that, but am trying to see how it all works out. Great job!


I have two intakes to the cannister filter behind the BG.
Heater is also behind the BG.
3 Intakes from the front of the BG which moves the water to the back of the BG 2 of them are on the top and one on the right side 6" above the sand and behind the driftwood.
The holes and any cuts are very easily done on this BG its foam but very dense but can be easily cut by a saw or a bit drill.

the pics above shows what I am talking about.


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## gtsum

Freshwaer - thanks for posting those pics.....that helps a lot for me to imagine how to do mine. Also, I take it you painted the sides of the tank to cover up the gap between the BG and the back wall of the tank? This is something I will have to consider doing as well, as my left side is visible...thanks again and great job!


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## freshwater100

gtsum,

Yes I painted the sides since it dosent look good with those plumbing showing from the sides.

You have a great tank yourself too.


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## BoostedX

Does your set up actually pick the waste (fish poo) up?? Looks like either it would all lay in the front half of the tank or the back half?? cant quit lookin at your tank. I just dont think i could give that space up to accomidate the background.


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## freshwater100

When I design this I know 80% of the fish waste will stay in the front but that can be taken care by weekly siphon and we all do that regardless of a BG or not.

Most of the fish poo stays in the front and in the quartz and rocks, those get sucked in with the weekly siphon, I did notice that some fish poo and food goes behind the BG thru the inlets in the bottom and top. Those can be easily filtered thru the Canister inlets and if you keep the Canister inlet near the bottom then they will do a good job in removing it or I just put a stick in the back and just stir the water couple of times daily when feeding the fish and I can see that the waste get sucked in since I kept my canister inlets at medium height.

The best way to move the water from the Front to the back of the background is to make 2 mesh inlets at the bottom just above the sand level and 2 at the top to keep the water aerated at the top. So the water drops from the top and move to the back from the 2+2 inlets.


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## freshwater100

Nice links to help with the installation of the BG.

http://www.gillsnfins.ca/3d_install.php

http://www.backtonature.se/english/montera.html

http://www.underwatereco.com/AquaTerra- ... -1023.html


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## BoostedX

Very nice write up you have here. Very imformative and filled with great ideas. You should make up a DIY thread with the pics of your progress and the final stage. Thanks for sharing everything!! :thumb: =D>


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## Buckeyereavis

did you make that background yourself or buy it!!!


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## freshwater100

Buckeyereavis said:


> did you make that background yourself or buy it!!!


I bought it !!!!!


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## Buckeyereavis

i want one tooo just like that where u get it?


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## freshwater100

Buckeyereavis said:


> i want one tooo just like that where u get it?


I got mine from this link.

http://www.aquariumhabitats.com/


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## Buckeyereavis

thx


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## parkery

How can I crochet a decorative edge for a baby blanket? I want to put a decorative edge on a baby blanket i am making for a friend, but I'm not familiar with stitches other than the slip stitch and a single stitch. Any tips? Any website you can recommend?


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