Hey!

I'm new here and i have an 150g empty tank!
No Filters No Nothing..
I just read up on all about starting a tank and the cycles and stuff...
But i was not able to get to much info on what i would need...
i know i need filters, lighting, heaters, Gravel or sand, decorations, and alot of chemicals..

But dont know what kind of Filters, Lighting, Heaters, ETC....

If u have any suggestions please let me know!

Thanks

Hi crs...what sort of fish would you like to keep? Freshwater, saltwater? Its a great size tank that you've got! I can only advise you in relation to freshwater tanks, but for your tank I would recommend 2 cannister filters (one at each end of the tank). Your canister filters will be able to provide all the mechanical and biological filtration that you need. I have a 130g tank and use the aquaone 1200 cannister filters.

Lighting also depends on what sort of tank you are keeing. If you are planning on having plants, then your lighting choice is a lot more crucial. But for artificial decor a normal store bought fluro or something similar is fine, as the lighting is then for viewing purposes only.

Heaters also depends on what fish - if you are keeping tropical freshwater fish I would recommend one large heater at each end of your tank.

Personally I am against having too many chemicals. You will need some sort of water conditioner to get rid of the chlorines out of the tap water. You'll also need a test kit for ammonia, nitrites and nitrates and possible other tests (again this depends on what sort of fish you will be keeping). And you may need a pH buffer to suit the fish of your choice.

Hope that helps for a start anyway....but we really need to know what type of aquarium you wish to have first!

Drool...........150 gallons huh? me=jealous. If your stocking small fish.......you could put around 50 fish in there. thats insane. i have 4. haha. You need standard lighting and a really good filter. I wouldnt use tapwater conditioners.......but thats just a personal thing......I would use a RO/DI unit. your water will be a LOT cleaner. Keep asking questions.....i dont know much about fresh......I suck with it.

Reverse Osmosis De ionizer. It cleans your water. you hook it up in your laundary room or garage or under a sink and it pulls in water from the pipes cleans it to the max and then puts it in a conatiner you pick. You can get the same water from a culligen dispenser outside your local grocery store. cost maybe 30 cents a gallon or less. but then you have to lug around buckets. which isnt too bad. but gets tiring. I dont know what kinda light you would want.......hellolights.com is a good place.....but make sure you get moonlights. They are SWEET. you will throughly enjoy them. First thing you want to do is pick out sand or gravel for your bottom......and figure out a theme.....You want to stick by it. And make sure you go through everyones on here......may spark a new idea. Most people try to simulate nature. its hard.....and complicated......but very appealing. When I had freshwater I made it look like a golf course.....threw in a few wood tees and 3 golf balls. some cool plants and fish. BAM. themed tank. just to try to spark some ideas and go from there.

ohh lord. Where do you live? You could always do something from around your house. Such as......I live in florida. With a tank that size you could put a bass in it. If you want it to look like something off of an island with a lot of tropical fish you could add tropical plants. They will help clean your water as well. Think about it....plants pull in nutients......aka fish poop. live plants help but can get tricky. they need the right light and CO2. You could do a river bed with mudd and logs. You could do a lush forest of plants. A crashed cruise ship.......I have seen several different tanks. I had a friend who turned his 45 gallon tank into a computer......with fish in the computer. it was sick. put the mother board and componets in the dead center.....with glass all around it. It was cool looking. Theres plenty of things. You could do a themed tank around Mickey mouse.....they have mickey mouse fish now. I cant think of there name......do an amazon tank? its completly up to you. Remember.......sky is the limit.

Oh, and the sump will also give you more surface water surface area. helping your water to aerate more. I don't know all the aquarist jargon to talk it up, but I know it is good.