New 55--Ideas/Suggestion!!

M

minnesotagal866

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May 30, 2005
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When I moved I sold my 55 gallon tank set-up. Now that we are settled, I'm starting over! I have a stand and retr-fitted lights from AHS giving me 2 WPG. Everything else is up for discussion. I'm looking for ideas/suggestions for this tank. I don't want cichlids. I want a community planted tank.

1. What kind of filter would you suggest? In the past I had the walmart special $150.00 tank set up and it worked but I'm looking to upgrade my set up this time.

2. Substrate? I saw someone growing plants in commercial grade quickcrete medium sand. I love Eco-complete but in a 55 that's going to run some serious dollars.

3. Plants--I've had mixed success with amazon swords but I'd like to try them again and use dry ferts from Tom Barre. I had successfully grown crypts, java fern, java moss, vals, and melon swords. Would like to grow some type of foreground but I'm not sure I have the WPG to do that.

4. Most importantly, THE FISH!! I want something on the bottom. I like juli corys or kuhli loaches. I also love shrimp. In my old tank I had juli's, ottos, and a few unidentified synodontis. I'd like something that schools. Rainbows? Tetras? Angels?

If you could start a 55 from scratch, what would you do??
 
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1. Filter wise I run a 50 gallon emperor and a 50 gallon AC HOTB. You may want to try a canister though, depends on the budget.

2. Substrate wise, I use filter sand. If I could have afforded it though I would have either gotten that volcanic sand or some of that bleach white sand that they sell for lizards that is safe for aquarium use. Both were more then I wanted to spend on substrate though.

3. Not really the expert on this. I currently have a 55 with Annacharis in the right corner, Moneywort in the Left Corner, Wiseria in the middle, with rotala and dwarf hairgrass, and something with pinkish tips interspersed among the driftwood. It works for me, only thing giving me issues is my wisteria hasn't taken off like I expected it to after adding CO2 and using ferts.

4. If I wasn't gonna do Cichlids and I wanted a schooling fish in a 55 gallon community... I would start with a school of Barbs. Just my opinion, but I think a big school of barbs is pretty dang cool. Bottom fish, I would go with some featherfins or other synos if you want something that will be active. Personally my first choice for bottom fish is ussually a spotted or striped raph, though it can be hit or miss on how active they will be. Having 3-4 of them ussually helps, but if you get a shy fish, you are gonna have a shy fish. If you don't want to do barbs...You could go with a butterfly fish on the surface, a farlowella or two, and then a rainbow shark. You probably still have some more room in there, but other then barbs.... I don't know a lot of schooling fish that I really know much about.
 
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