starting a 55gallon tank for cheap

[bluemeate]

okay, so i have a 55gal tank, a stand and a 50gal filter, nothing else.

I want to start tank that only has a featherback fish, small feeder fish and maybe a blue lobster...

i figure i need a heater, substrate, plants and.... what else?

1. do i really need a light since the featherback is supposed to live in dark murkey waters anyways?

2. where can i get a cheap heater? also my room is small hot and always stuffy, can i get a lower tank size rated heater until i eventually move out?

3. whats a good cheap (perhaps free?) substrate i can use?

4. i want to switch to live plants... will the lobster eat them? also what are cheap plants that reproduce on their own?

 

[jpappy789]

Clown knife's will reach well over a foot in captivity. A standard 55 gal is only 12" long...I see a potential problem when that fish gets to its adult size.

You will need more filtration than that. Which filter do you have atm?

1) Ambient light is usually enough for fish. Any extra lighting we add is for our own benefit.

2) A lower rated heater can burn itself out trying to keep the tank at the temp set. What is the room temp usually at? If it doesn't dip below 75-76 degrees or so at any time during the year a heater may not be needed.

3) Pool filter sand (found at pool/spa stores) or play sand, which is sold at Home Deopt, Lowes, etc., is really cheap. You probably would need two, 50 lb. bags

4) The lobster may or may not uproot plants. You would need to add lighting though for live plants, even just the stock lighting (for a 55 gallon, 40 watts) could grow plants such as java moss, java fern, cryptocorynes, anubias...

 

[tinah]

It's really funny that you posted this, as we just set up a 55 on the cheap. . . . All I had was the glass. Things we bought:
Filter: Aqueon 55 @ petsmart; it was on sale for $45.
Heater: Tetra submersible for a 50-70 gallon, about $25.
48" shop light fixture from Home Depot, 2 bulb, 40 watt per bulb, $35.
Pool Filter sand, Home Depot, 2 bags, $12 total.
Lights, about $40.
Extra length of chain and sheetrock anchors, $6.
I am going to get the perfecto glass toppers that run about $15 a side, so then as long as we don't include the fish and plants, it's resonable! (Never include the price of fish!)
Total cash out of pocket: about $200.

We puttered around the local lakes until we found rocks and driftwood for interior furnishings. I think we did all right.
YOu'll have to excuse the mess. . . . been setting up a new fishtank you know. . . :grinyes:

 

[jpappy789]

very nice setup!

 

[Polly]

"We puttered around the local lakes until we found rocks and driftwood for interior furnishings"

can you do that? i was told you shouldn't use rocks/gravel/wood etc from outside as you wouldn't know if it was clean enough to not contaminate the water with something?

 

[tinah]

why not? I run everything through 3 consecutive cycles on the dishwasher, WITHOUT soap, hi-temp wash and heated dry. Don't figure there's much that'll live through that.

 

[jm1212]

clown knives will get over 24 inches long in a very short time; you'll need something upwards of 300 gallons to house one.

if you have one "50 gallon filter," get another and put it on the opposite end of the tank. filter manufacturers really overestimate the size of tank that their HOB filter can adequately filter, so its best to have your entire tank's volume going through a HOB filter 10x per hour. for canisters and sumps, which are more efficient at filtering than HOB filters, this number can be less.

 

[Lupin]

1. do i really need a light since the featherback is supposed to live in dark murkey waters anyways?

Your alternative would be an African brown knife. This one is smaller and grows to a max of 12 inches and likely smaller than that especially in captivity.

2. where can i get a cheap heater? also my room is small hot and always stuffy, can i get a lower tank size rated heater until i eventually move out?

If your room temperature is warm, you won't need a heater but do get a Visitherm Stealth just in case.

3. whats a good cheap (perhaps free?) substrate i can use?

Sand works better than gravel.

4. i want to switch to live plants... will the lobster eat them? also what are cheap plants that reproduce on their own?

I wouldn't suggest mixing the crayfish with fish. Crayfish in general are ambush predators. Even if you go for dwarf species, the knifefish will eat it anyway. If you opt to get crayfish, your stocking options become very limited and if you insist on plants, stick to floating ones. If you don't want to keep crayfish, you have an option to try rooted plants aside from floating ones and those attached on driftwoods such as anubias, Java moss and Java ferns.

Hope this helps.