I think I have a sickness!

[Fishyfanatic]

This afternoon I went to the lfs (when I say local I mean an hour and a half away) to pick up a Pleco, some plant airline, and filters. On the drive over I had decided to get a canopy for the 55 gal as long as I could find one for under $100 that would match the tank. Then while I was there I might as well get a fish to put in my recent fishless 10 gal tank. (I think the snails ate my Cory Cat because one day I came downstairs and looked in the tank and all that was in there was the snails and some white stuff that looked like meat in the bottom of the tank.)

As I am walking around the store I see a canopy on a tank that looked like a 55 gal. I was seeing it from behind so I went around the display to look at it from the front and sure it enough, a 55 gal canopy, but it said Not For Sale. So I ask the sales woman if they had any canopies and she walked with me over to the back of the tank section and checked but they didn't. So she said she'd order me one and it would be in next week, she just had to go get the order book and she would be right back. I turn around and BAM! There is a 55 gal All-Glass complete setup with tank, hood, lights, filter, stand, and heater for $175!!! Well of course I HAD to get it. I have no room for it in my 1 bedroom loft apt but I couldn't pass it up. I'll just tuck it away in storage until I move into a bigger place.

Now onto the question part. It came with a MarineLand Dual Temp precision Submersible heater. It's a 200 Watt, but it says for 20 to 40 gal aquariums. The question is, will this work for a 55 gal tank? I forgot what the ratio was for how many watts per gallon but the sales woman said that the heater is actually for 55 gal tanks but for some reason they put 20 to 40 gal on the package. Will this work in our tank or should we replace it?

Also, it came with a Penguine 330 Filtration unit. We already have a Penguine 330 that we used on our current 55 gal until we bought the canister. So instead we traded the Penguine 330 and got a H.O.T. Magnum hang-on-tank convertible Canister Filter. My question is, will the HOT Magnum be enough filtration for the new 55 gal tank or should we use the Penguine 330 AND the Magnum together?

Does anyone have experience with the Hot Magnum? I have heard a lot of people talking about them on here before so thats why we decided to get it. Also, I am trying to price compare this filter. The sticker price was $70. I went to another fish store and they were selling it for $140. Did we get a great deal or is the other place just WAY over charging?

Sorry for the multiple questions. I am just REALLY excited over the new tank find. Thank you!

 

[JohnPaul]

Well I only have one experience to share, but the lesson I learned is: do not trust what the manufacturer's say for their heaters.

I bought a 29 gal complete tank setup from a PetSmart. It came with a 100 watt heater. Now, the general rule is 5 watts per gallon, so I was a little nervous, but figured if it was the heater that came with the tank it must work, right?

Well, under normal circumstances it does just fine--I keep my tank at 76 degrees and the heater works jim dandy. However, yesterday there was a heating system failure in my apartment building--didn't have any heat for about 12 to 16 hours. During that time, the temp in my room fell to around 68 degrees. (I like my apartment warm, so usually it is around 73-74 degrees).

By the time I returned to my apart 8 or so hours after the heat first went off, the tank temp had fallen to 73 even though it was running non-stop. In short, my 100 wtt heater was simply unable to heat up the tank even 8 degrees above room temp by itself. I was really starting to get worried, thankfully the apartment heat finally kicked back on and everything was ok and all my fishes survived.

I have read in many places that for tanks 55 gal and up, you really want two heaters, each rated to (at least) half the gallonage (not a real word, I know, lol) of your tank. So I would say keep the heater that came with the tank, and go out and buy a second heater rated at at least 125 watts. Put one heater at each end of the tank, it will give you a more uniform temperature. Plus, in the event of a catastrophic failure of one of the two heaters, you can more the other one to the center and at least keep the fish from totally freezing until you can get to a lfs and buy a replacement heater.

I know very little about filters so will let others comment on that.

P.S. -- Congrats on the purchase! To get a 55 gal setup for that price is awesome.

 

[electrikat]

Can you imagine how sick you would be if you switched over to saltwater?

 

[Fishyfanatic]

I am actually considering making the new 55 saltwater. We were going to purchase one anyway when they go on sale at the lfs (about 15 min away) next month and make it saltwater. BUT, I don't want to constrict myself by using a small tank. I know that 55 gal isn't small in freshwater but it is very small in saltwater (from what I have heard). We really want to have Triggers and I know that they need at least a 70 gal. So we are saving up and at Christmas (I know, only 10 more months!) we are going to buy a 125 or 150 and make it saltwater. This way we can keep more fish that we like. I love Clowns, BUT, I also love the Clown Trigger. He wants an Eel and that needs a pretty hefty tank size. So, for now we are pushing back the saltwater setup until Christmas.

For the new 55 gal we are thinking about taking all of our Parrots and giving them their own home (that's if we can take out the kitchen table and chairs and put in a new tank). When we get our new ones in next week (Sweethearts) we are thinking about having a strictly African Lake Malawali tank and a strictly parrot tank. For the time being the parrots are working GREAT in the African tank, but we thought it would be pretty cool to have a bunch of parrots in their own tank. They stand out so much and everyone that comes over thinks they are the best lookin fish in the tank. Of course he (my fiance) thinks his Ice Blue (I am convinced it is satan reborn in a fish body) is the best one in the tank. I doubt the fins of the Johanni's agree.

Can anyone else comment on the filtration unit?

 

[PatM]

I had the Hot Magnum years ago and it worked great. I had it on a 55 gal cichlid tank and it really kept things clear and clean. I had the bio wheel option on there too, though I've always been skeptical about the whole bio wheel thing. And yes, it's a sickness. I started with a turtle 16 years ago and now I have three tanks and I am in the process of aquiring a used 125 acrylic tank to move my cichlids into, and I think I will do it planted as well. Of course my 29 won't go empty when the cichlids move, I'll just restock. I never can have enough, the beauty of the tanks just seems to take me away. You won't be dissapointed when you go s/w though. The reef is so worth it, always something new to find in the tank and just the invertebrates alone can keep you up all night staring. My wife thinks I'm nuts! Then I get up in the middle of the night and catch her kneeling down in front of the reef with the moonlights on saying "did you see that...thats sooo cool".

 

[Wizzard~Of~Ozz]

I have a 150W on a 75 Gallon, it's 64 (actually reading a hard drive temperature, so it could be a bit lower) in my basement, the tank temp is 78(by thermometer, not strip) and steady, the heater turns on and off (on about 4-5 hours a day.) :? That one should do fine for that tank, 3.6WPG )

 

[Fishyfanatic]

Thanks everyone!

PatM- I would absolutely LOVE to do saltwater. When we oringinally started in aquatics (last year) we bought a 10 gal from Wal-Mart. We were such idiots back then. We had no clue about dechlorinating the water, testing for ammonia, Nitrites, or Nitrates, or even cycling a tank. No clue what pH even was! We went by what the guy from the Garden department at Wal-Mart said. When I look back, I think, oh geez, we were SOOOOOO stupid. When we finally started going to an actual fish store we learned a lot. Ventured off into a 29 (giving the 10 to my fiance's mother), then the 55 (gave the 29 to his mom and stored the 10), then we took back the 10, bought a new 29 gal Eclipse (he says it was for the sake of the eels, YEAH RIGHT), and then landed with a small 5 gal hex for the desk. All of these fish tanks are setup in a small 1 bedroom loft apt. We actually had to get rid of furnature to fit it all into the living room. The only way to get the new 55 gal in this house is to remove the kitchen table and chairs (tall glass table and 2 tall chairs). When we started with fish we were wanting to get a Nemo. I know that sounds stupid but we were wanting to get a fish tank for a clown fish and here we are, 6 tanks later, and still no Nemo. We compensated by adopting a cat from the humane society that was named Nemo. We almost got his brother (Marlin), but two kittens is a lot to handle while in college. I will say this though, in the past year, I have noticed that I have become more patient. It's the fish tanks, I know it.

Back on topic (sorry for the off-top story ). Is the Hot Magnum enough or should we also use the 330? The less that is visible, the better. We don't plan on putting any extremely messy fish into the new tank so I thought maybe the Magnum would be enough. What do you guys think? Also, did we get a good deal on it or is $70 the normal price?

 

[PatM]

Who the heck needs furniture when you have fish tanks anyways?

 

[Fishyfanatic]

That was my thought as well. I told him that we could just eat on the floor.