A few questions on getting started.

[tedstrang]

I just recently purchased a 55 gal tank. I purchased the TopFin starter kit from petsmart. and I have a few questions.

1. The kit came with a Topfin 60 power head filter. can i use a undergravel as well? or is not nessesary/overkill.

2. I want to get a bala shark, but do realize that they get big. it is a 4 foot tank. any suggestions on what i could put in with the bala? or should i wait till i eventually get a bigger tank?

3. Does anyone else have any balas? what kind of setups do you have?

any ideas or information would be helpful. thanks

 

[lmw80]

I personally do not find undergravel filters useful, but there are people who do. If you wanted to, I don't see why you couldn't have both.

A 55 gallon should be ok for a bala - although a bit bigger I believe is preferred.

 

[Fishyfanatic]

The type of filter that you use will depend on the fish that you keep. If you're going in the direction of messy fish, you should get a canister. But if your not, then using the power filter is fine. I also find the UGF's useless and won't ever use one again.

Bala's are fun fish. I personally don't like them because I prefer colorful fish (African Cichlids) but James absolutely loves them. Check out this compatibility chart for tankmate selection:

http://www.liveaquaria.com/general/fwcompatibility_chart.cfm

 

[cplawrence]

One thing to keep in mind is that Bala Sharks really are schooling fish, meaning that they aren't very comfortable unless kept in groups. If you had a school of six, room would eventually get a little tight in a 55 gallon tank. However, you could probably get by with say only three and then still have some room for other fish (see the chart Fishyfanatic suggested).

 

[Quake2player]

tedstrang: you really have a world of options with a 55 gal... if I had the room for one, bala shark wouldn't be one of my 1st choices. If' it's "sharks" you like, a red-tailed shark would be more colorful and it won't get close to the size of what a bala will end up. Don't get me wrong, I am sure someone here has a stocking theme for balas and can prolly make some recommendations. Here's some stocking options I'd consider if I had a 55:

- peacful tetra community tank: you can't go wrong with schools of neons, cardinals, rummy nosed, harlequin rasboras, etc. with 5-6 cory cats. Depending on how many tetras you stock, you can then throw in a dwarf ciclhlid like a german blue ram, keyhole, or one of the fancy apistos.

- active "barb" type tank: tiger barbs, rosey barbs along with some danios... boy, you'd have a very busy looing tank! A Red tailed shark would fit right in this scheme and I'm sure there are numerous other ways you can fill this.

- cichlid tank: I'm not a cichlid expert, but yellow labs, kribs, convicts come to mind as some species to do. You can include an "angelfish" species tank as an option here.

Anyway, I hope this sets your mind thinking of the numerous schemes you can have. I am jelaous of everyone who has a tank larger than 29 gal
Tell us what you eventually opt for.

 

[Jchillin]

I would also ditch the UGF...in that sized tank it will eventually become a mess. I believe you really could only put two balas in that sized tank (considering if you will eventually get a bigger one). With that in mind, a couple of schools of tetras as mentioned by Quake2player would look really cool.

I'm not an expert on the top fin filter...I feel the Aquaclear is a much better choice IMO.

Keep the updates coming.

 

[Quake2player]

I'll also add... I had a reverse flow UGF w/powerhead for about 5 yrs... I ditched it when I just converted to live plants and won't go back to a UGF. UGF won't be helpful when you decide to do live plants... the Aquaclear or Penguin filters offer good bio filtration.

 

[tedstrang]

thanks for all the input. i think with all of the people that have tried a ugf and have ditched them, im just going to not use one. if i have any filtration problems with this topfin 60 (that came in the kit) ill just add one of the other aquaclear or penguin filters to the tank. still have two weeks to deside on the fish (thats when im moving). kinda partial to the balas, dont know why, just kinda caught my eye. but i think i will probably wait untill i get a much larger tank. i think i will go with either a tetras and or barbs. thanks again, and i will post again when i get it setup.

 

[RoK]

If it was a 75 gal then you could keep 1-3 balas IMO. 75g tanks are wider than the 55's which helps quite a bit. If it grew to 12+" it wouldn't be able to turn around easily in a 55.

 

[DeFeKt]

how thick is ur glass too...i've seen 5inch balas smash 6mm glass

 

[malkore]

I like UGF's for fry grow-out tanks, as there's no way they can get sucked into a filter impeller...but that's my only use for one.

 

[FMJnaX]

I'm not sure how PetsMart packages their package deals, but if the UGF and/or power head is retail packed (I'm doubting it, but it's work a shot), then take it in and see if they will exchange it towards a HOB. With the PetsMart here that I frequent every day, they do things like that.... almost as well as Wal-Mart. lol.

I agree with the AquaClear or Penguin suggestions. I have an AquaClear 200 and a Penguin 100 on my 29 gallon tank. Both work exceptionally well. The AquaClear has a bigger/better bio-basket IMO, but it may be personal preference.