55 Gallon Amateur - Equipment list and other advice

[Voltas]

Hello wonderful people of AA! I have very much appreciated being able to lurk this forum for the last two weeks while I prepare myself for the adventure that is aquarium ownership.

I'm still a long way from considering fish as I need to complete my setup and then go through the fishless cycling so we can cross that bridge when we get to it.

In the meantime I'd like to make sure I have all the necessary equipment on my list of things to obtain. So far I am considering:

1) API F/W Test kit
2) Aqueon Aquarium Water Changer - 25 Feet
3) Marina Floating Thermometer with Suction Cup
4) Aqueon 06107 Pro Heaters Submersible Aquarium Heater, 150-Watt
5) Hydor Prime 20 Filter (came with 2nd hand tank I bought)
6) 48" 40watt fluorescent light (came with tank)

The way my tank is setup it's visible from all sides and I'm very fussy about the aesthetics. What optimisations can I make to my equipment list that will minimise things hanging around the edge of the tank? The canister filter is not ideal for this reason as there are the inlet and outlet tubes, but having said that it's a pretty decent filter from my research. Similarly, the heater is another eyesore. Does anyone have any experience with tanks viewable from all angles and suitable equipment for them?

Considering the tank size do i need any additional circulation such as a pump or air stone? I like the idea of a couple air stones but all the ones I've seen look tacky; any recommendations?

I saw some other good threads on plant recommendations so I won't ask that here, but I've not seen much regarding substrate recommendations. Is it a case of as long as it's aquarium suitable then it's irrelevant which direction you go?

Thanks for the help!

 

[bruinsbro1997]

to AA!

Hello wonderful people of AA! I have very much appreciated being able to lurk this forum for the last two weeks while I prepare myself for the adventure that is aquarium ownership.
Glad to hear you decided to join and get an aquarium!
I'm still a long way from considering fish as I need to complete my setup and then go through the fishless cycling so we can cross that bridge when we get to it.

In the meantime I'd like to make sure I have all the necessary equipment on my list of things to obtain. So far I am considering:

1) API F/W Test kit Good choice.
2) Aqueon Aquarium Water Changer - 25 Feet Sounds good. Some people recommend Pythons, if that's what that is.
3) Marina Floating Thermometer with Suction Cup Sweet!
4) Aqueon 06107 Pro Heaters Submersible Aquarium Heater, 150-Watt I love my Aquaeon heater. However, how big is the tank going to be?
5) Hydor Prime 20 Filter (came with 2nd hand tank I bought)What's the GPH on the filter and how big is the tank going to be?
6) 48" 40watt fluorescent light (came with tank)

The way my tank is setup it's visible from all sides and I'm very fussy about the aesthetics. What optimisations can I make to my equipment list that will minimise things hanging around the edge of the tank? The canister filter is not ideal for this reason as there are the inlet and outlet tubes, but having said that it's a pretty decent filter from my research. Similarly, the heater is another eyesore. Does anyone have any experience with tanks viewable from all angles and suitable equipment for them?

Considering the tank size do i need any additional circulation such as a pump or air stone? I like the idea of a couple air stones but all the ones I've seen look tacky; any recommendations?

I saw some other good threads on plant recommendations so I won't ask that here, but I've not seen much regarding substrate recommendations. Is it a case of as long as it's aquarium suitable then it's irrelevant which direction you go?
Substrate doesn't mater that much to plants, but some might like plant-specific substrate. Crypts and swords will like root tabs a lot.
Thanks for the help!

My thoughts in the bold underlined red above. Hope that helped you. Hope you enjoy yourself on the site!

 

[Voltas]

Thanks for the quick response bruinsbro! The tank is 55 gallons and the filter does 160 gal/min.

 

[Mumma.of.two]

Have you got a dechlorinator yet? I'd like to recommend prime.

 

[Voltas]

Have you got a dechlorinator yet? I'd like to recommend prime.

Thanks for bringing this up, I was going to wait till closer to fish time to worry about this but may as well ask now. I obviously need to dechlorinate the tap water I use to fill the tank but how exactly do these dechlorination products work? Must I first put the water into a bucket from the tap and dechlorinate it prior to adding it to the tank? If it goes into the tank at the same time as the new water how do I know how much to use? I assume it is also used with PWCs too?

 

[Mumma.of.two]

Thanks for bringing this up, I was going to wait till closer to fish time to worry about this but may as well ask now. I obviously need to dechlorinate the tap water I use to fill the tank but how exactly do these dechlorination products work? Must I first put the water into a bucket from the tap and dechlorinate it prior to adding it to the tank? If it goes into the tank at the same time as the new water how do I know how much to use? I assume it is also used with PWCs too?

You will need a dechlorinator to start the cycle. Without it the chlorine an chloramine will stop/kill any bacteria from growing. When you first fill the tank just use a full dose to dechlorinate all the water. There are two ways to do it when PWC. Dechlorinate the water in each bucket before you add it to the tank or add it to the tank before filling up with your water changer. If you use buckets you only need to dose the amount to treat what's in the bucket. I dose straight to the tank like this:
Turn off filters and heater.
Remove % of water I'm changing.
Add prime (you have to add enough to treat the entire tank volume not just the water you are replacing).
Fill the tank back up with temperature matched water.
Wait a few minutes then switch heater and filters back on.

 

[Voltas]

Awesome! Thanks Mumma.of.two! I presume the Prime dechlorinator will have a chart or something to tell me how much to add given the size of the tank? Is there any risk of harm to the fish in the event too much is added?

 

[Mumma.of.two]

Awesome! Thanks Mumma.of.two! I presume the Prime dechlorinator will have a chart or something to tell me how much to add given the size of the tank? Is there any risk of harm to the fish in the event too much is added?

Yes it will have instructions on the bottle. You can over dose but it takes a lot. 10x the recommend dose I think.