new 55 g.

[pickles]

hey i just picked up a 55g. and am excited to get it going any opinions on filters? i want to make sure i get the best one. and i am new to this is there anything else i must have to keep a great tank? oh yeah, i have a glass hood and flourescent lighting. I am going to fill with freshwater fish ie.angels and discus if thats a good combo i have to do more research i have been getting mixed answers.

[DEmigh]

Hello again pickles,

Here are a couple of thoughts on filters:

Hang On Back filters offer convenience of maintenance and ease of setup. Two brands with which I personally am familiar are Marineland's Penguin and Emperor series, and Tetra's 2nd Nature Whisper series (the Whispers have got a little bad press today, but my personal experience hasn't been all that bad with them).

An HOB that I hear well spoken of on this board is anything by AquaClear, but I don't own one myself.

Canister filters are a little priceier (sp?) as a startup, but offer more flexibility of deployment in the aquarium. They are noticeably harder to maintain than the HOB filters, but so many of the old pros use them and talk about them that somethin' must be up.

UnderGravel filters are OK but have several buit in problems (they were great in their day) Not the best choice for general fishkeeping any longer.

A full-blown sump system is usually used for marine aquariums, which brings me to my next point...

I've seen your posts in: Marine Products & DIY, Freshwater Newbie, and Freshwater Products & DIY. I'm pretty sure your very first post was moved (by one of our ever-alert Administrators, no doubt) from the Marine to the FreshWater side of the house. The very post I'm responding to tastes a little salty ;)

If you bounce all over the place with your questions, you're bound to get opinions from people who are unfamiliar with your whole situation. I'd reccomend you find one forum (HINT: Freshwater Newbie) and stick with that one for a while.

If your posts don't draw enough responses, try reposting on your own thread with a one word message: usually *bump* That moves your thread back to the top of the New Topics searches that people frequently do when they log on. Starting a new thread with the same question in the same (or different) forum is confusing to everyone.

I know that you can get some really good info on this board, and the people are really friendly, but it helps if you know how to use the system.

I hope this has been helpful to you :)

[jeffro426]

On my 55 i use 2 aquaclear 300s...keeps the water crystal clear and there maintence is super easy. Ive also used Tetras whisper triad series...they do a good job but for a little more money i would rather get an AC. Check out Drsfostersmith.com and i think you can get AC's for under 30 bucks for the 300.

[lee914]

As far as HOB filters, the Aquaclear series have been great! I usually load it with just sponge/bio media. I dont use carbon in feashwater, kinda pointless most of the time. I have also used the magnum HOT 250. Worked well, quiter than the AC and was able to use a micron filter cartridge when I wanted to polish the water. I think, I am sure as many others your best filter for performance is either a Eheim canister , Rena Filstar or maybe Fluval, in that order.