Setting up a 55Gallon

I'm not positive about what the best filters are... so i'll let someone else handle that.... I do know that for goldfish, its best if you can get a filter that says it can clean more than what your tank holds.... so like, look for a filter that can clean say, up to a 75 gallon tank since goldfish poop a lot. I use gravel with my tank. Its easy to use the little gravel vacuums on it to clean and the goldfish will pick at it and clean them looking for food too. Plants are more your own taste. I've never tried live plants in a tank but you can get fake ones that look just as cool and very real. For rocks, I have ones that have big enough holes that they can swim through and play around in. They seem to like that Good luck!

No less than 2 emperor 400s, IMO, and preferrably more, maybe a canister also.
Goldfish are very messy, and honestly I would nix the comet since they can theoretically get to 2 feet in length. 12 inches is extremely likely though for the comet, and even the common CAN reach this length. (A 55 is not big enough for either IMO, they produce A LOT of waste)

With good maintenence (siphoning and 50% water changes every 2-3 days), and plenty of aeration you may be able to get away with emperor 400s. It depends on how large the fish grow and how clean you keep the aquarium though.
Filter cartridges will also have to be rinsed fairly often, maybe even daily, and filters broken down and impellers and intake pipes cleaned every week or so.

Also what would be the best substrate to use? (ex: Like gravel, sand, etc.)
Which substrate is cheaper to use?

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I would use natural aquarium gravel, it's easiest to clean. NEVER sand with goldfish, they are way too messy, and sand never siphons completely clean.

Btw, all this info is going by adult size. If they are babies they can be kept with smaller filtration for AWHILE, but in the end they will need a lot of tank space and filtration.

jmulrich2006 said:

Okay so goldfish are dirty, but to the point of where two power filters and a canister are needed. I've never heard that before. I have had one of my goldfish for 4 years. I have a common goldifish in my 20gallon tank now and I use one power filter, it is a Marineland 150 Power Filter and it keeps his water crystal clean and clear. Yes he is outgrowing it but everywhere else i have checked so far has said that a 55gallon will work quite well for three goldfish.

*Although in keeping goldfish (any fish) it also depends on your own water quality to begin with.

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Why ask for advice if you've already done the research and gotten the answers you wanted?
Just because your water is crystal clear does not mean it's adequate. How big is he? Size is a major factor in how much filtration you need. What are your water parameters? The waste goldfish produce that is the major problem is not visible. They also produce waste besides ammonia/nitrites/nitrates that isn't detectable, of course this can't be removed with the filter, only water changes.
I can only say what I personally would do, but I always keep 2 or more filters on a tank because if one fails your fish are possibly dead, especially if you're not at home for awhile. Also, on a 55 you have a lot more water volume to turn over than on a 20g. One emperor 400 just may not turn the water over enough to keep up with the waste from 3 goldies.
With one filter you also end up with dead spots, and if you do use one filter I'd suggest lots of bubbles or maybe a small powerhead. This will lessen the problem of too little surface area, something goldfish REALLY need.
Only YOU can know exactly what filtration will work for your fish, the size of goldfish largely depends on the fish. You can have a 24 inch comet or one that doesn't get over 10 inches. You may have a foot long common or one that doesn't get over 6 inches. Test the water parameters daily to see how the filters are keeping up.
Filtration is largely a personal decision, this is what I PERSONALLY would do, I always like to have extra filtration for ANY fish. Going with the minimum filtration I can possibly get away with is not something I try to do. "Overkill" filtration is not a problem unless it is impeding your fishes movement, underfiltration is.
If you don't want to buy more than one filter, then it is your personal decision to try the tank with just that one filter. If the water parameters are a problem you can always add more filtration later.
Ask 10 people on this website what filtraiton you need, you will most likely get 10 different answers.

jmulrich said:

Actually sand would be great for goldfish as i've done some more research. Becuase all the dirt and poo and food of all sorts settles right on top as I have been told elsewhere. So sand would work quite well for such a "dirty" fish as goldfish. Yes it may be tricky to siphon, but there are ways of easily cleaning up, it just takes practice.

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I currently have 4 tropical fish tanks with sand, believe it or not one of them is a 55g with african cichlids (diggers). Yes the waste does sit on the top, but when you go to siphon it falls down in the sand and it is nearly impossible to get all of it out. Also, if you have fish that like to dig in the substrate for food, such as goldfish, they WILL push their waste down into the sand. I have this problem with my corycats.

It's obviously up to you what you choose.
But with a lightly loaded tank of tropicals it's often recommended that you have a filter turning your water over 4 times per hour (though I always choose more than the rules of thumb). WITHOUT media an emperor 400 is turning a 55g tank over 7.2 times. WITH media that amount goes down significantly.
I personally own 4 emperor 400s and I don't think the flow rate with media is what you think it is, though I could be wrong.
With one emperor 400 I would be surprised if you turn your tank over 5 times an hr with one cartridge and no media loaded into the boxes. That is why I would recommend 2. As stated earlier goldfish produce a lot more waste than most fish, that water has to be run through the HOB many times for ammonia and nitrites to be cleared out sufficiently.

You can only learn by experience though, by testing your water parameters and seeing the overall health of your fish. Goldfish are tough, and they will even survive and appear to thrive for a long time in low levels of ammonia and nitrites, but it's something I myself would rather avoid.

I'm not sure where you read that 3 goldfish that include a comet and common can live happily in a 55 though. One comet at a max size of 24 inches would barely have room in a 55.
I've read that 3 goldies are ok for a 55 before, not that I agree with this info, but that is normally related to fancy goldfish which only max out at 10 inches or smaller normally.

Often for comets a 100+ g tank is recommended as adults, and more apt, a pond.

Not a problem.... let us know what all you end up going with... maybe a picture too! I'd be curious to see how sand looks, I've never seen it with goldfish before, but it sounds like it could work!