New 55G Freshwater Tank, what equipment?

Punkrulz

Hey guys,

I will be coming into possession of a 50-55g fish tank. This will be a fresh water tank. I already have a test kit on the way, as I should have had one before for my 10g tank but never took much thought about that. In lieu of filters, heaters, air pumps, what equipment should I get?

I don't know of the status of the existing water filter... while I could replace the media of that, I don't know if I should purchase a newer up to date one? Any recommendations? I am really looking for something that will not be expensive. I want to have a really nice looking fish tank that's really appealing.

What about lighting? While I have to see what kind of lights that the existing cover has, what kind of lighting should I get? Again, I'm looking for something that will make the scaping of the tank look fantastic.

Gravel: What kind should I get? What kind works extremely well that makes a very nice, showy fish tank? Do people ever fully fill the bottom of the tank with the colored polished rocks and use that as gravel?

Cleaning: How can this be done? I live in an apartment, so I don't have the option of taking it outside and hosing it down. I don't know physically how heavy the tank will be... but my only real option that I know of is to place it into the bathtub. I wouldn't even attempt to dump it, I'd have to siphon whatever I could out.

Any other ideas?

freshwater06

my choice of filters are canister and back side hang ons -top fin- something with a 300gph should filter good, 40-60g rated tank if not larger, bio wheels are good too but not so much if your gonna have real plants. some even use 2 filters and 2 heaters.

water concerns, fill it up and let sit for a week, after a week test the water for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate mostly needed, best results 0,0-.30, .25, just to make certain the tank doesnt need to cycle before addin fish. and the best kits are the master test kit, the one by API is what i use.

lighting all depends on what the tank is gonna be holdin, are real plants gonna be used, the rule of thumb for lighting is 2-4w per gallon, and the 6-10k light sources are mainly for lighting the tank up, how much do the colors of the tank to stand out.

ive always liked solid color gravel, as you dont want the gravel to be really nice to grab the attention away from the fish when someone walks up. my 45g im setting up now -cycling almost done- i went with dark blue rocks to make the plants, decor and fish stand out so it wouldnt be distractin.

you never want to empty out all of the water, if you ever change any of the water to keep ammonia or such down then 25% at the most i would recommend, you could go with a cabinet setup to hold the cleanin stuff, far as buckets, siphon tubes and pump, glass cleaners, and so on, the siphon tubes and pumps there are different setups, example - hand pump or sink attacthments, but a hand wand you go around in the tank movin gravel to suck out left over and poo.

Punkrulz

Can you please link me to a full on preferance for the filter? I am looking around at bigalsonline.com, I don't see anything for top fin... it looks as though power filters are cheap, that's what I have on my 10g now. Is there a distinct advantage between canister and HOB? I have cats so having them mess with the canister on the carpeted floor is one of my concerns... I don't know how to setup a canister, never worked with them. Is there a rule of thumb on how many gallons per hour my filter should handle for my size tank, or should I just stick with 300gph?

You didn't specify, but definitely have the filter running and everything right? I just got my API Mastertest in the mail today, I ordered it before you suggested it per someone elses suggestion two weeks ago... but was on vacation last week.

I have yet to decide on plants, I don't think I will implement any first off since they don't really seem to be important. I will come back with suggestions when I choose my first school of fish though.

Good idea, either dark blue or perhaps black and I think it would look awesome. I previously used two colors of gravel, and also some polished rocks, doesn't look too bad... but I think one solid color, dark, would be great!

Yeah I believe it already is a cabinet setup... I just hope the people bringing it to my house take care of it. I can't go to pick it up for personal reasons, so we'll see what happens... but at least it is a cabinet setup. I may come back with a list of chemicals and the things that are "should have" per cleaning and everything for the tank.

BMueller777

The tank it self weights like 70-100 lbs empty. (Give or take in either direction... It takes two people to move the tank.)

One gallon of water weights about 8 lbs.

So 8 lbs times 55 give you 440 lbs of water.

Then you'll probably need about 50 lbs of gravel assuming you're going to have a 2'' gravel bed.

So when the tank is full, on a stand and with rocks, gravel, and other decor you're looking at about a 550+ pound tank

Don't worry though about your floor being able to handle the weight, I thought the same with my 45 becuaes I live in an old apartment. The surface area of the stand even with just four 1'' square legs only puts 125 lbs on each leg with a full 55g tank.

DISCIPLE

I would put a emperor 400 on it and call it a day...well maybe 2. you can never have too much filtration. besides at the price why not. you wont be sorry thats for sure.

Punkrulz

I like it; does anyone else agree???

THEFORDMAN00

the difference between hang on's and canisters is tha with a hang on water has a chance to ge through without being filtered and is not filtered as efficiently --it is not always about gallons per hour--a canister that filters 250 gph is most of the time better than a hang on that filters 300 gph -but if u are looking for a inexpensive reliable filter i would reccomend the aqua clear it is a hang on that works well --get the 110 model--i buy everything i need through petsolutions.com they seem to be cheaper than most--also my local fish store uses a cascade canister fliter --u can get that one for 99 bux right now at the above website i mentioned --and it is capable of filtering a 200 gallon tank--u can never have 2 much filtration---never

zachbe

Consider putting soil-like planting material, or at least sand, under the gravel. Perhaps others here can comment, but it gets much harder to set up a tank for plants once you already have it set up. If you don't want live plants, no worries.

Also, don't forget to put gravel or water or something from your old tank into your new tank to get the cycling going faster (assuming your 10g tank had no diseases). If you put the fish and everything from your old tank in, you should be in good shape.

I also have a 55 and I have an AquaClear 70 power filter (sits on the top edge). Works great. About 300gpm. Replacement filters are in parts so you don't have to replace them all at once and they're available at your neighborhood shop.

I just got a 2x65watt compact fluorescent fixture, which is a little more than you need for just fish, but it's nice, particularly as it has LED night/moon lights.

You might want to invest in a hose siphon so you don't have to carry endless buckets for water changes. If it hurts your back you won't do enough changes.

hlsarge

On the Fluval canister filters. How is the return hose terminated in the tank? Do the tube just hang over the edge and pour the water back into the tank or is there some sort of attachment that goes into the aquarium?

orb4me

Heres my 2 cents worth..... has the new tank been up and running? If so, you wont need to clean it, the tank needs the good bacteria.

Good luck, have a great time with your new tank