New 55g Setup, How'd I do?

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TheChad

Aquarium Advice FINatic
Joined
Dec 20, 2005
Messages
568
Location
Warrensburg, IL
Hey All,

The wife and I went to the LFS yesterday, and took the plunge.

We bought our 55g setup:

Marineland 55g tank
Eheim Professional II 2026 External Aquarium Filter (up to 92 gal, 251 gph)
Perfecto Manufacturing Hood w/ Single Fluorescent Bulb
2 Penguin 170GPH PowerHead's
250watt Marineland Stealth heater
Marineland Sedona Red Oak Wood Stand
Instant Ocean 50g salt mix
------------------------------------------------
~$592 OTD

We will be using a 3" Live Sand Bed.


So how did we do? The only thing I am considering changing before we open it is the Light. I didn't relyize it was a single bulb light. What's Your guy's input?

The Eheim was suppose to be the best filter system, it was like $240. The LFS also said he suggested using an HOB type filter as well to relieve some of the pressure from the canister filter, What do you guys think? We bought 2 model's past the minimum needed for a 55g tank thinking it would handle the load with NO problem.

The Package came with a Magnum 350 Pro Canister filter, but we upgreaded to the Eheim system.

Thanks,

-TheChad
 
Not bad but I would change out a couple of things.

I would get more powerful power heads that put out closer to 300 gph. The Maxi-Jet 1200, Penguin 1140, or Seio Super Pumps are all good choices.

The Eheim Professional II 2026 is a nice canister filter but sells online for $160 so you may want to return it for the $240 you paid at the lfs. Not sure why the lfs would advise an a HOB unit as well. Really 1-1.5 lbs of lr per gal would be more beneficial for bio-filtration than any canister filter. Personally I like the power/quality of the Magnum 350 which is almost half the price.

I would get at least one more bag of salt (50 gal) to start.
And as you suggested return the cheap hood which probably cost $60+ at the lfs and get a PC online like the 48" 4x65W Coralife Aqualight CF hood

Don’t forget to get a hydrometer/thermometer or even better a Refractometer to accurately measure sg.

Also a AP Liquid Salt Water Master Test Kit to test the basic ph/nh3/no2/no3 if you haven’t already bought one.
 
What you have is great for a fish only tank. You need to upgrade the lights if you're going to include corals in your aquarium. Sensitive corals will also appriciate having a protien skimmer.

I don't think you need a second filter for a fish only tank. Just make sure you clean the canister regularly and it will be fine. If you're going reef, you can add additional powerheads for circulation.

You might also consider live rock and live sand at this stage. Even if you don't do a reef tank, the live rock will help your tank cycle faster, so you can be ready for fish sooner.
 
tecwzrd: We have a bucket of Instant Ocean that we already had, we also have a Refractometer, and a Liquid test kit. This is an upgrade tank from a 29gal.

If you take the price we paid for this whole package, the package included the $139 Magnum 350 Pro; we paid $100 for the Eheim upgrade. If we would have bought all this stuff separate we would have been out over 2x the money.

With the 251GPH from the filter and 170GPH from each power head that’s 590GPH. At the recommended 10-15 times the tank volume that would be 550-825GPH. So we fall in-between that number. Though I guess at the lower end. Maybe we will upgrade, I worry about too much flow and having fish struggle to swim, as we like to buy our fish small and let them grow.

Is there a company that makes a PC hood? I am not fond of the glass top with a PC standing 3-6" over the tank. I would much prefer to have a PC built into a hood, like the Perfecto Hood I got (But with the better light obviously).


dskidmore: We are getting a protein skimmer from a friend. What is there to clean in the canister? It uses ceramic cylinders, and Biologisches filter substrate... The only thing that will need to be changed is the sponge pads. The LFS said the fine sponge pad should be changed every 6 months, and the course sponge pad should be changed once a year.

We will have a 3" sand bed as stated above, it will be some Live Sand, and some non-live sand. We will be getting LR as well, but as it is very expensive, it won’t be right away, we will be adding it over time.

There's no harm in LR and the canister filter thought right? The more filtration the better?


P.S. Is there any preferable place to put the heater & filter intake/exit tubes? I assume the Power Heads should be at the 2 back L & R corners pointing toward the front center of the tank? On my 29g I have the heater right in the middle so as to try and heat the tank eavenly, instead of having it off to one side and having the other side of the tank a few degrees cooler. As for the filter, where should the intake, and exit tubes be placed?

Thanks,

-TheChad
 
I forgot you were upgrading from the 29 :oops: If the ph was part of the package and you can’t replace them without costing a lot more than that is fine. I wouldn’t worry to much about current since the fish will find a place to settle within the rock. I’m up to 2200 gph now so I just drop out two ph at night so the fish can sleep.
The Coralife lights I linked have an Acrylic Lens Cover to protect from water splashes.

I use lr and a canister and as long as you keep your canister clean its fine.
 
How about the placement of the Heater, PH's, & In/Out tubes for the filter?

So my only option with a PC is to go with a glass top and have the light stand above the tank? No PC/Hood Combo?

Thanks,

-TheChad
 
Out of these: eBay List

Which under $200 Buy-It-Now is the best?

What's the deal with Lunar lighting? Is it good for the fish, or is it just personal pref?

Thanks,

-TheChad
 
The Coralife Aqualight unit for $195 is a PC/Hood Combo so I’m not sure what you mean.

The ebay item listed here is the same thing and its only $125.

Moon lights are beneficial to help illuminate your tank at night and I like them.

For ph I place one on each end aiming to surface for good O2 exchange. For heater placement I’d put it horizontally in the sump (if you have one) or horizontally and low in the back behind rock. For canister intake/output just about anywhere but I wouldn’t put them too close to each other or the powerheads.
 
SailFin Pet Shop Champaign, IL

Why?


tecwzrd: I know the description said Hood, but the picture just shows just a light... Maybe I am using the word Hood incorrectly...

What I mean is a tank cover. From what i've seen all the PC lights stand on feet above the tank, and you use a glass top. I would much prefer to have a tank cover like the perfecto, but have the PC light.

Thanks,

-TheChad
 
I haven’t seen anything like the perfecto hoods in a PC personally. Most have feet or hang from the ceiling. Also most have a glass or acrylic cover to protect the lights so I guess I just don’t understand the concern. The main reason they aren’t “right on the glass” like the perfecto hoods is because they run considerably hotter than NO lights so you would want them off the tank to help keep temps down.
 
tecwzrd: fair enough. The concern is just that it looks alot nicer to have the light all together with the tank cover, but I understand the reason with the heat.


I will go ahead and order the unit you suggest from eBay, and I'll take this perfecto hood back and get a glass top.


Thanks,

-TheChad
 
TheChad said:
The LFS said the fine sponge pad should be changed every 6 months, and the course sponge pad should be changed once a year.
Whaaa?

Given, I havn't run a canister filter myself, but if that's the proscribed maintenance program, I now understand why people call canisters nitrate factories! Whatever particles get caught in the sponge will start rotting in the filter, and eventually turn into nitrates. This effect can be reduced by rinsing the filter pads in dechlorinated water on a regular basis.

Someone who's run a canister before have any input on this?
 
dskidmore said:
TheChad said:
Someone who's run a canister before have any input on this?
Good catch! I change out my GAC and clean my filter every 3 weeks personally. You would never want to leave a sponge filter in the canister without cleaning it for more than 3 weeks.

Amazing some of the advice that lfs give, what’s next, only do pwc once a year :roll:
 
I was looking online, and it looks like Perfecto makes another unit with 2 florescent bulbs instead of 1 like we have now.

Would that work if I bought a 10,000k bulb and an Actinic bulb for the double lamp fixture?

I know the PC's would be brighter because of more wattage, but will I need that? We would like to have an Anemone, but that's about it, no corals.


Thanks,

-TheChad
 
With an Anemone you would be pushing it even with the PC mentioned only giving you 260w or 4.7 wpg since most require medium to high light. The 2 bulb perfecto would only give you 80w and would severely limit your coral/invert selection. Plus they cost about the same so I really can’t see the point of going that route.
 
I didn't know how much the 2 bulb perfecto's cost, but I just called the LFS and it was $120, for that I'll get the PC you suggested from eBay.

Do you guys run with out a top on the tank? Or do you have glass tops?

With out a top the tank would have serious evap, but if I understand correctly, the glass top's can cause heat problems with a PC?

Is the Jebo Oddyssea Power Compact Any Good? All the Coralife PC's on eBay are Silver. I'd prefer black.

Thanks,

-TheChad
 
I’m topless but I also don’t have any fish that jump and my top off is around 3 liters a day. Keeping your tank covered up leads to co2 issues which will decrease your ph/o2. I don’t know what people with carpet surfers do for proper ventilation.

The jebo units have a bad reputation compared to the Coralife. I wouldn’t get the jebo unit based on color personally but some have been happy with them.
 
I keep my glass on in the winter, and take it off in summer. My house is cold enough in winter that I don't have to worry about anything overheating, I'd rather reduce the heat loss/evaporation.
 
Do you guys use the pre-sponge-filter on your power heads, or just the open cage?

How about bubbles? Do you use the bubbles with the PH, or just use the PH to move water?

Thanks,

-TheChad
 
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