Low maintenance setup questions

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pmsmith2032

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Mar 8, 2011
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I am planning on setting up a 55 gallon tank but have some concerns on the amount of time I need to dedicate after the initial setup. With a full-time job, two kids, and plans to take the CPA, my time is limited. How much time weekly should I plan on? Are there specific breeds that are easier/cleaner than cichlids in general? Are weekly water changes always necessary or could bi-weekly work? Any other advice/tips are appreciated.
 

Star_Rider

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Dec 21, 2005
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:iagree: pretty much in nutshell..
 

Glabe

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May 10, 2011
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Yup. A quick vac/water change should only take about a half hour. Add in another half hour for filter maintenance and glass scrubs every 2 weeks or month or whatever. It's easy peasy
 

stingray4540

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Oct 18, 2005
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This might not be super popular advice, but my experience has shown it to work.
Except Matten filters. These are new to me but they are what I will likely use in the tank I'm setting up now. My past experience has been with HOB and sumps.

Go with a deep sand bed. You can do this as your substrate, or inside your sump if you are using one. Basically, 4-6" of sand. Use play sand or 30 grit masons sand from hardware store. It is cheap, and looks nice. Just rinse it in buckets before adding to tank, to get rid of the cloudiness.

Tie some Anubis and Java fern to your rocks to help balance and filter the system.

Look into a matten or corner filter:
http://www.swisstropicals.com/filtration-shop/mattenfilter-cornerfilter-shop/

If you go with African cichlids, my favorite... Put some coral in your system somewhere. I like the get a bag of coral pieces from the saltwater section and place it in a nylon stocking. You know, the leggings women wear. Put it in your filter system or behind your matten filter.

With the above you can get away with a 10-20% water change once a month. While you're doing a water change, vacuum the front of your filter foam.
Shouldn't take more than 30min. Once a month.
Heck, with this system, my dad ran his tank without touching it except to top off the water, for over a year. But I would still suggest a monthly water change as a minimum.
Make sure you do a proper cycle before adding fish, etc.

Tip: get rocks from your local rockery or landscape supply yard. It's cheaper!
 

ktrom13

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Feb 4, 2013
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To get away with bi weekly water changes go with smaller fish. Small fish= small bioload. If you like cichlids but not the mess try rams or apistos( 2-3" max). Get a filter thats meant for a larger tank. In your case id opt for a Fluval Aquaclear 110. Its meant for a tank twice your size and with small fish youd only need to clean the sponges once or twice a month.
All this can make a tank much easier on the maintainance end. There are other ways and routes but this is just my 2cents.
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FreshyFresh

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Jan 11, 2013
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It takes me less than an hour to do ~50% weekly water changes on all 3 tanks in my sig and this is tossing 5gal buckets of waste-water out doors and refilling from the utility sink. I vacuum the 20L and 55 every time.
 
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