55 Gallon setup HELP

[D'Cecilia]

Can someone please help me out to plan this out.
i want to get a 55 gallon tank, i want to have
mostly schooling fish, so maybe 15-20 neon tetras.

so i wanted to know all the equipment that i will
need to have this thing running good and clean.
for example what kinds of filters, air pumps, lighting,
heaters, and all that stuff..


thanks for the help.

 

[unwritten law]

I'd suggest a canister filter or a big HOB filter and heater. That's all you really need. A hood/light is most likely wanted though. You know what you need for a tank so I don't know why you are asking us. Just go to a site like aquarium guys or Dr foster and smith and look for the necessary equipment and research on what size and type you want/ can afford.

 

[Kissyboots]

I'd be careful about the HOB. If you have the same 55g I have with the center brace and standard hoods, then the only place a decently sized HOB will fit is on the left. That limits your current a lot and you'll have a huge dead spot on the right. Either you get an air pump or something to agitate the surface or get a canister filter instead.

In fact, I just bought a canister to replace my HOB. I got the Eheim Ecco 2236 from here: Welcome to Hidden Reef! It's the cheapest place so far and shipping isn't bad either.

 

[janis]

there are a LOT of brands and different types for each of the equipment you would like to have but the experience of setting up a tank is more worth it if you figure things out yourself depending on what type of set up you want. this way, you get to familiarize with each thing you will use which will help you a lot in maintaining the tank. there are lots of quick-reads and mini courses like THIS on the net.

 

[D'Cecilia]

Janis" ahah yeah thanks, i know, ALOT of people here have told me that. ahha ;P ill try my best not to kill my fish. ahah

kissyboots: thats a nice site thanksx.
do you think one of these would work?
or are they too small?
ML Penguin 350 Power Filter Filtration

Penn Plax Cascade Power Filter 300 Filtration

 

[D'Cecilia]

Unwritten law:
the thing is that i dont know what sizes to buy, like i dont
wanna end up buying a 50 dollar filter for a 20 galon when i
could buy a good one for a 55 gallon for less.
the main thing is that i dont understand the gph rule, and
i think the canister filter is a bit too much for me right now,
so i've seen those two filters alot, the cascade and bio-wheel
penguin, but they both talk about gallon per hour, so i
dont konw how many i need for the 55 gallon. ahah
and the air pump too, idk how big it needs to be, ahah
thats why im asking you people.

 

[homebunnyj]

You should ideally turn your water over ten times an hour if I'm not mistaken, which would be i the neighborhood of 550 gph. I ran two Penguin 350's on my 55g goldfish tank.

Basically, if a filter is rated for, say, 40-60 gallons, I'd run two of them on the tank. Go for double the recommended gallons. You don't want to under-filter, but there's virtually no such thing as overfiltration.

Air pumps are mainly for decoration, if you happen to like bubble walls or whatever, so if you get one it really doesn't matter what size unless you have lots and lots of bubbly decoration thingies to run off of it.

If you shop for heaters online, you can go with the recommended model for your size tank. The description will say how many gallons a heater is recommended to heat.

Stock lighting is fine if you're not going to have plants, or if you have low-light plants. I don't believe I'd recommend taking on the challenge of a planted tank (i.e., mid- to high-light plants and lots of light) until you have some experience under your belt.

 

[D'Cecilia]

Honeybunny:
oh thank you so much! that answears lots of questions
i have in mind now i see why most people have two
or more filters haha thankx!
one more question though, if the air pump is not necesesary,
then how will i keep oxigen in the tank?
arent they supposed to do that?

 

[D'Cecilia]

Honeybunny:
and i will plant my tank later on!!
but like you said, i do need some good experience wiht it, ahah
thats why ive been planning this big iwagumi set up for my
10 gallon, i've been planning for like the last two months, but
probably wont start it till i start college haha
i know those set ups are crazy, but like you said, i NEED
experience, and i dont think there is a better way to
get it than by trying haha
thankx again.

 

[OrangeCones]

one more question though, if the air pump is not necesesary,then how will i keep oxigen in the tank? arent they supposed to do that?

Oxygen is added to the tank by surface aggitation. The air pump will do that to a small extent, but the other filters you are considering will do it far better.

Its the ripples and splashes on the top of the water that help off the dissolved carbon dioxide and add dissolved oxygen.

 

[D'Cecilia]

Ooooooh, that's easier, ahah that's what i am doing whit
my 10 gallon, i just put the filter a bit higher so it
would do bubbles, ahah ;p i just thought i would need
something like a pump for a bigger tank.

ahah
thanks for answering my question. orangecones

Another question though, ahah ;p i really want to get all this
planned out so i don't have 20 dead tetras floating
in the tank. ahh
what about the heater???
its supposed to be 2 Watts per gallon right?
so a 100W heater would work?

 

[unwritten law]

I always heard that you take your tank size (55) and multiply it by 7, so like a 385gph should be enough. A 550 would obviously be better but probably not necessary. You prob want at least a 200 watt heater, a 250 would be better to be on the safe side tho.

 

[D'Cecilia]

so i need a nice 300-500 gph filter, a 150-200 Watts heater,
a light fixture, and thats it???
anything else i need to keep it running?

what kinds of light bulbs are better for a tank wiht
a black background, probably black gravel, and a
brownish center rock, cus i dotn think a blue light
would make this tank pretty, do you guys think
just white flouresent light would work?
or what are you suggestions?

 

[Kissyboots]

I have the Penguin 350 on mine, just keep that dead spot in mind!

 

[unwritten law]

so i need a nice 300-500 gph filter, a 150-200 Watts heater,
a light fixture, and thats it???
anything else i need to keep it running?

what kinds of light bulbs are better for a tank wiht
a black background, probably black gravel, and a
brownish center rock, cus i dotn think a blue light
would make this tank pretty, do you guys think
just white flouresent light would work?
or what are you suggestions?

200-250watt heater