Please help Newbie with filter for 55G tank

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ghart999

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Nov 28, 2006
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Hi all. I am totally new here and just get ready to get started with a freshwater tank. Here are my plans:

55G freshwater tank with live plants, driftwood and some rocks. I will do a community tank with nothing to big. More smaller fish is my pref. I was dead set on getting a Emporer 400 as my only source of filtration until I started ready on here about canisters and/or using canister and power filter together.

I am not really wanting to spend tons of money here as it is a new hobby that I want to be sure I love first before putting in lots of $$$.

So can I get away with an Emp 400 as my only filtration or do I need more? Is canister really the only way to go? Or maybe a Emp 400 on one side and a ??? on the other side? Please let me know your thoughts. Thank you.

Gregg
 
For the price I'd get a couple of AC filters, print off the on-line price from petsmart and take it in, saves LOTS of money. Maybe a AC 50 and a AC 70. For a long tank like that you really ought to have two filters to get optimum water movement. I have a 55g, and I can tell you that it is hard to get the water flow around the entire tank. I finally bought an ehiem 2115 and I LUV it.
 
I had an EMP 400 along with a second 20 gal HOB on my 55 gallon for a long time. I would get a second smaller filter just to increase waterflow on the other side of the tank.

As far as canisters go, I love them. I have replaced all my HOB's with canister filters. You can get away with one canister on your 55. I had a Fluval 304. It was a decent filter and many people love them. I now have Eheim filters on all my tanks. You can get "Classic" Eheim filters the same price or cheaper than Fluval's. If you plan on keeping your tank for 5+ years I would recommend an Eheim PRO II. They are cheapest at www.petsmart.com and they ahve free shipping right now. These filters are very easy to setup & maintain. They have a flow meter on them so you know when to clean them out. The best part of a canister is how quiet it is! That was the single biggest reason why I replaced all my HOB's.
 
If you go Ehiem, try Big Als. I just received and installed a 2026 for $179 shipped. This came with all filter material + the upgraded intake and spray bay.


Shipping was ultra fast.

I also have a Aqua Clear 70 on the other side of the tank.
 
$159 Petsmart, shipping is ultra fast also.
 
the 400 will be good for mechanical filtration, and the canister great for biological and chemical. the 400 will take alot of the larger waste products in so i'ts easier to change the media . your not gonna have a huge bio load so i would think the 400 and canister would be perfect.
 
Ive got a magnum 350 , emperor 400, and reverse flo UG filter on one of my 50's and the big catalina cannister and one of the old AC 500's on the other. I'm not fond of cleaning filters. Both sets seem to get the job done, but the ac & catilina seems to stay "cleaner" to me. Maybe its sand as opposed to gravel, or the much heavier load of bottom feeders and algae eaters in the sand.
 
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