Just got 55 Gal Aquarium...

M

MClauw24

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Jun 6, 2006
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Just bought a used 55 gallon glass tank from a friend at work. Its only a year old and he bought it as a kit. I believe it was a TOP FIN 55 gallon aquarium starter kit. Anyway, i am trying to plan out my new freshwater aquarium and i have some questions that i hope you guys ( or girls) can help me to answer.
The types of fish i am looking to stock are community fish. Probably 3 or 4 schools of about 8 fish a piece. Probably looking at different tetra species. In addition i would like a small school of cory cats , probably 4 or 5.

Now to the questions.

I would like a nice planted tank. I would also like to have a couple pieces of driftwood along with maybe a couple pieces of slate for some decorations. I have been researching plants and i would be looking for something easy to maintain and grow. Any suggestions?

On Lighting:

The tank came with two single bulb hoods, each with a 15W bulb. I have done some research and found that i should aim for about 2 WPG for low light plants. That would mean i would need 110 watts of light. I have looked and the highest watt 24" bulb only comes in at 20 W. My Question is what should i have for lighting? What lighting setup would you recommend for my tank (ie. size and type of hood, types of bulbs)

I have also reasearched that tetras perfer a lower light level. Anyone think they would be bothered by 110 W of light?

On FIltration:

I am going to scrap the filter that came with the kit. I have been looking at the emperor 400 filter. Would that be a good choice? What about a eheim filter? How does it compare and would it be worth the extra 100 bucks compared to the emperor.

On Cycling the tank:

I am going to do a fishless cycle. I have read up on BIO spira and i think i will use that to speed up the process.
1. Should i plant the tank at the start of the cycle or after it has completed.
2. Can i use pure ammonia with BIO spira to accomplish a fishless cycle effectively?

I know its a lot of info, but any help would be appreciated. Thanks!
 
Canister filters are good...do you have any other tanks??
 
I'm not an expert, but I'll give you a cliff note version of what I've been reading for ya :)

Personally I use an Eheim canister filter. It's very quiet. Rena makes a Filstar XP(#) filter that is comparable too. That way if you're not using a background in the tank you don't see a big ol' box hanging off the back of the tank.

If you're wanting to do a planted tank, and fishless cycle, I'd use Eco-complete as the subtrate(gravel) becuase they are supposed to be loaded with all the bacteria to help with the fishless cycle (and it's one of the recommended substrates for plants). I did the Eco-complete, plants, and some fish all in a day, and it was fine for me. Just don't turn your newly set up aquarium into a carnival of fish right off the bat. I used a few fish to "ease" the cycle, to let the filter establish itself.

There are plants that will work for low lighting. If you want more lighting you could do barebones and get a 4-bulb shop light at a home store. It's about 4' long just right for a 55 gal tank, and hang it from the ceiling. That'll get you *some* more lighting. I also hear you can retrofit your existing lighting system with one that packs more light into your strip. I think that if you exceed more than 3wpg you'll need CO2, although I've addition of CO2 with any light amount is beneficial, just more CO2 with more lighting. I use a Current Orbit power compact lighting system that gives me about 3.5wpg and it also has 3 power cords to create dawn/dusk, midday, and moonlight effects(that's what sold me on the fixture). It costs a bit, but not like a metal halide fixture would, and I get the cool lighting effects.

If you're going to add CO2, you can make your own using a yeast reactor or buy a tank of gas and diffuse the gas bubbles into the water.

Then you have water chemistry, which is important. OY I'm still getting that figured out, so I'm not going there.

Worse comes to worse you'll be great at farming algae, but I'm sure you'll be fine. That's how I'm looking at my planted tank! :hi:
 
This is my only tank. As far as lighting, i have cathedral ceilings above my tank, so hanging isn't an option. I could rig a fixture from the wall just above the tank i guess. What if i were to get two 24" dual strip hoods and put 4 20W bulbs in them? Would that provide adequate lighting?
 
Some words of advice:
First, if it is used I suggest that you take it outside and fill it 1/2 way, wait a couple of hours and then if no leaks fill it the rest of the way and leave it for at least a couple more hours. Do this before taking it inside and finding out that it leaks and having to mop up all that water.

Drift wood looks nice with Anubia attached to it and that would be an ideal plant for the 2 wpg that you anticipate. I have two 55's with 110 watts of CF lighting over each and they work well with that lighting.
Those single bulb hoods can be retro-fitted with two 55 watt CF light kits and you will be happy with what you can grow under that lighting in that tank. I bought retro-fits at www.ahsupply.com/ and am very happy with them. They fit right into those ridiculously under-powered hoods that they send along with 55 gal. tanks.:)
Tetras are fine under much brighter light than that. I wouldn't be concerned about it at all. I've had Cardinals, Green Neons, Emperors and many others over the years under bright CF lighting with no issues.

Filtration: I have a Filstar XP-2 and am not at all satisfied with the power it has for circulating/moving water. Your tank is 4 feet long and unless you put the back fill in the center or get a cannister that is rated for 70 - 100 gallons, you will have 'dead' spots. Trust me I know. I use a power head to inject CO2 and also to circulate water because my cannister doesn't do the job. If you can afford it, buy an Eheim.
It is definitely worth the extra money, IMO.

If possible, buy some plants and a few fish and increase your quantities of both over time and the plants will take care of the fish while it cycles and matures naturally.

Give us an idea of what kind of, and quantity of plants you will be starting off with and we'll give you an idea of how many fish you could start with. A few fish and an appropriate number of plants will then support each other and a bacteria colony will develop within the tank.

But you have a ways to go before you're ready for any of that. You will need a good substrate and to set up your filtration and lighting. That will be fun.:)

Good luck!!

Len
 
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