55 gal. tank setup

S

ssalmons

AC Members
Jan 1, 2009
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Ohio
I finally found a good deal on a 55 gal tank. I got the tank, stand, hob filter for $100. My question is about filtration. Some pet stores say I should put in an undergravel filter and some say that it is old school and not used anymore. So now I turn to you. I have heard they can actually be bad because bacteria gets under them. I don't mind getting one, cause they are not too expensive, but I also don't want to waste money if they aren't needed.

ss
 
I wouldn't bother with the undergravel filter unless you do a reverse undergravel but then you would need a canister filter.
Are you planning on doing a planted tank?
 
still in the planning stages. I am going to have tropical fish such as angels and whatever goes well with them. I was doing fancy goldfish before and was told they would just eat the plants. I am being told that I won't have that problem with tropical. So now all I have to do is figure out what plants are compatible with them. I just got the tank set up 2 days ago with gravel and water. I haven't added anything else yet. Now I am getting ready to purchase the aquascape items. Still making my mind up on cycling the tank. I ready the sticky thread and there is good argument for fishy and fishless. I do already have an established tank the I can get media from to make it go a little more smoothly.
 
i did a fish cycle and lost two, i would go fishless. some fish eat plants some dont, it sucks, only thing really is to get plastic plants. for your 55 i would go with a canister, def a good way to go, you could do a sump, but thats pretty intense for a 55, HOB is good but a canister is still much butter, costs more, but its def better. I use HOB's are water polishers, i just put filter floss in it, its easier than putting it in the canister and worrying about it clogging real fast.

Substrate, if you plan on doing plants, you may want to consider eco-complete, plants will still grow in regular gravel and root tabs are said to help although i have no firsthand experience with those.
 
I have the same size tank, and went with a canister filter (Fluval 305). It's very quiet, and works quite well. If you plan on getting any live plants, don't get Silver Dollar fish, as they'll destroy them in a hurry, though they do get along with our Angels and are hilarious to watch.

Definitely seed the tank if possible. I did so at the start of my 3rd week of a fish-in cycle (hadn't read about fishless at the time), and it was cycled by the end of the week with no fish losses.
 
Just need a gentle flow thoughout the tank.Much easier to keep the fish properly feed and not stressed and healthy if you keep only about 3 differrent types in a 55g.
 
i have decided on doing a fishless cycle. in reading the sticky threads, it says to use pure ammonia. in other research, it is generally accepted that if you shake it and it doesn't foam, it is ok to use. I have some meijer brand clear ammonia. when i shake it, it doesn't foam. However when i read the ingrediants, it list anionic surfactant, quality control agents, and fragrance. my question is weather or not i am able to use this, or if i should go buy some different ammonia. thank you again
 
You should get some different ammonia. You don't want to use anything that has surfactants or fragrances in it. I believe I've read that you can buy the plain ammonia at Ace Hardware and that it is the Ace store brand.

I would think you could cycle your tank really quickly if you used the ammonia along with some filter media from your other tank. Or, if you want, you could add a few small fish along with the filter media and skip the ammonia. This has worked well for me in the past and should be fine as long as you test the water daily and stock very slowly. :)
 
I run tanks with UGF.. either rfug or ugf with power heads.
the power heads are on my 55 and this is an angle tank.. there is a ton of flow in the tank as well as n AC70..this tank is the most maint free tank I have.

in it are a school of albino corydora(6), 4 angels and 2 bn's. there is a lot of low light plants.. this tank uses the factory strip light with supplemental daylight and gets 8-10 hrs of light with 8 hrs of daylight.(not direct)
It has bolbitus, crypts, several java ferns and java moss.

if you already have a tank up and running and it is established.. then you should not need to do a fishless cycle.
 
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