55g need parts suggestion?

[JPKeenan]

Wow, sorry to be a bother again.

I am trying to do things right this time around and seeking advice from folks who have more experience than I do.

I am still not sure if I want to go salt water or fresh for the 55g tank. All I have for it is the glass and lid (with no lights).

I am thinking of a sponge filter for it. Seem like cheap and low maintenance. I bought one for a 20g I wanna set up but haven't run it yet. Link to teh one I am looking at is Lustar Hydro-Sponge Filter 4 at Big Al's Online

I am still not sure for the heater. I think 200 watt is the minimum I would need for a 55g tank.

My other 2 tanks are freshwater and i think I might want to get my feet wet with some salt water. I know the initial cost is more. I am digging getting some star fish but at the same time know nothing about a SW set up. I know if I want coral I will need a chiller (another expense).

I have no idea what live rock is.

So if anyone can point me in the right direction for either set-up. I am looking at semi-cheap priced items and save the money for the fish.

 

[mgamer20o0]

you cant save any money if you dont know what you want. i wouldnt buy anything until you figure out if you want sw or fw. generally fw is cheaper to set cheaper to run cheaper to stock for the most part. sponge filters are great but shouldnt be the only thing used in a 55 gallon for filtration. you will need to buy some hobs or canisters to filter it. as for the heater it depends what temp the room is. most people say 3-5 wpg for heaters.

 

[JPKeenan]

There are some more aggressive species of FW fish I want to get but at the same time there are some things (like star fish) that are drawing me to SW.

I still need to get the parts for and make a stand for it, not with this pay check already being spent on rent and insurance .

It is the conundrum. Maybe I should take a lesson from my daughter and do some reading on some FW and SW species I am interested in.

The canister filters seem to be almost double the price of the HOB filters. I haven't looked into the replacement cart. prices. Would the choice between the two types be a matter of aesthetics? Or is there a difference (like a scooter and a motorcycle)?

 

[mgamer20o0]

well for the most part you dont have to replace much of anything with hobs and canisters. the sponges you just clean and call it a day. canisters tend to be better filters because they are able to hold more media and gives you more options.

 

[joy13]

Give you some idea what mgamer is talking about I have a free 5 gallon hex. I could set it up as a FW tank for he cost of gravel. I have yellow shrimp or guppies I could put in there, so for less than $10 I could have it up and running the plants would be free I have some in all my freshwater tanks that I could use. Even if I had to buy plants and fish it would be less than $20 to get started. The cost of just the LR for the tank would be $20 at least. Then another $15 for a stocking either a watchman gobie or an emerald crab and shrimp. I would have to get a more expenisve bulb which would be about $8. The sand would be another about $10.

I have to wait until the end of Sept. to set it up just because I want to win a bet. I will probably put my shrimp in it and then use my 5.5 for a nano reef.

Live rock is rock that is full of coraline algae and probably has little critters like bristlenworms, starfish and other things I call sea boogers in it.

 

[melosu58]

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f14/stock-list-and-tips-for-maintaining-your-sw-tank-73477.html

 

[JPKeenan]

With the Marine tanks one of the concerns I have is about the electric usage. The lighting seems to be high end, that might be enough to discourage me as I have electric heating and in N.E. Ohio winters are as bad as in Siberia!

I would love a reef tank but think the upkeep costs (electric mainly) would put me off.

I also do not want to run the risk of a leak by drilling a hole in the 55g tank. Might be an idea to try to set up one of the nano-reef tanks first to get my feet wet.

After a night or two of researching I am now leaning more towards a freshwater set up.

 

[joy13]

Are you going to do plants with the FW set up? If you might go with plants later on think ahead when you start stocking some fish will devour plants. There are some nice low light plants.

 

[JPKeenan]

Might be doing low light plants to help the nitrate/nitrite cycle.

Oh man, friend of mine said she had a 15 g tank she would give me. I saw it when her brother and her brought it over. I was like wow it's a 20g.... Was going to put it on a 20g stand and fill it to see if it is water tight. I was looking at it and thought it might be a 20 long. Took a tape measure to it and it was 30 inches long.... Woot another 30g tank!

 

[mgamer20o0]

so you are going to go with fw for the 55gallon?

 

[mfdrookie516]

I absolutely love my canister filters... since adding one to each of my 55's along with my hob's, ive done less water changes and had much cleaner, clearer water... with the cartridges, it says in the manual not to change the "sponge" until it gets so clogged up rinsing wont clean it back up... the ceramic bio rings are pretty much lifetime, and the only thing you have to do is rinse off the sponge every couple months... ive had to replace my cartridges on my HOB's once so far because they were getting so torn that the carbon was showing and about to fall out.. i highly recommend canisters, and i got both of mine (fluval 305 and 405) for $40 off craigslist... i paid more for my penguin bio-wheel and its 5x the filtration and probably about the same electric consumption

 

[mgamer20o0]

i use aquaclear filters so you dont have to worry about that. besides carbon for the most part isnt needed. i have had sponges in the same filter for a couple years or more.

 

[JPKeenan]

cool. I have the sponge in my established 20g to build up the micro-organisms, the extra 2 20gs I have leak so i resealed both of them this past sunday.

I have a 20, a 30 and 55 I have no equipment for (not even stands). So it will be a while before I can piece all other them together and hit the dome depot to make the stands (2x4s and ply wood). I figure buy a few items per week to get the empty tanks built up and run now.

Like I have mentioned other places in the forums a 20 is going to my daughter and I have everything I need for that.

The only thing that I find bad about the sponge filter is that it just looks ugly sitting there.... Was wondering if I could put real or fake plants around it, or rocks to hide it, by I would be concerned that it would not get enough water flow to filter.

 

[JPKeenan]

Think I have decided on the 55 or the 30 to be angel fish. I got two over the weekend and like the look of them.

If I go with them in the 55g it will be my show tank/center piece.

 

[mcgrady7761]

get some nice african cichlids from lake malawi

 

[JPKeenan]

The two marble angels I picked up are cool. From what I have been reading I also like their behavior.

They mate for life? When one of teh pair dies the other usually stops eating and usually dies?

Oh no, but the problem is that they are the most popular tropical fish to own. But I am too unique to be like everyone else

The problem is going to be trying to theme the tank. I want to stay away from the who Jewish/Christian/Muslim angel motif.

 

[spoonman]

Lake Malawi cichlids. I love angels but you really limit yourself as to how many you can have in a tank due to the aggression during mating.

 

[JPKeenan]

I guess I have to look more too... I know cichlids are very popular. There are a few I find attractive. To me I'm not so keen on their body shape. But there are a ton of varieties of cichlids in a rainbow of colors.

I don't mean any disrespect. I just haven't seen any with the body shape I like.

The other problem with the cichlids, same problem with the angel but not as bad... is the acidic water preference. I guess with my tap being at about 7.4 or so I should look for a more alkaline loving fish. From what I understand (and I will admit if I am wrong, I am still a newbie) the cichlids want a more acidic flavor and my water should be fine for the angels unless I want to have them greed.

 

[mfdrookie516]

cichlids like high ph, around 7.4-7.8 (correct me if im wrong spoon) and angels and other tropical fish prefer 6.8-7.2... im pretty sure on that... with your taps ph, you should be fine for cichlids... i saw some neat ones at petsmart the other day, they called them bumble bee cichlids, they looked like a yellow convict almost... my fiance says we are getting some, i have to read up on them, but i hope theyre a more "community" cichlid instead of a one fish per tank type...

 

[mfdrookie516]

here is an article i found that covers the ph of several types of fish... might give you a better idea of what you can have without trying to alter your ph of your tap water... http://www.aquariumadvice.com/articles/articles/25/1/PH-and-General-Water-Conditions/Page1.html