# getting a 55 gallon tank. have some questions



## svtcobra22 (Jan 30, 2012)

hey guys my buddy is giving me his 55 gallon tank. of course im gonna give it a good clean and start with all new gravel. my question is what would be a good filter to use. i was looking at the marineland penguin bio-wheel filter model 350. i currently have a 15 gallon tank.


----------



## Maine_Fish (Apr 7, 2012)

svtcobra22 said:


> hey guys my buddy is giving me his 55 gallon tank. of course im gonna give it a good clean and start with all new gravel. my question is what would be a good filter to use. i was looking at the marineland penguin bio-wheel filter model 350. i currently have a 15 gallon tank.


Going from a 15 to a 55...that's pretty cool. I think you're going to love the bigger tank.

As for a filter, you'll get all kinds of answers from the folks here..and many of the answers will be good ones. But remember, it's kind of like entering a room filled with auto mechanics and saying, "I want to buy a car...what kind should I get?"

If it were me, I'd go with either an Aquaclear 110, or two Aquaclear 70's...plus a couple sponge filters. That configuration might change if I was stocking the tank with fish that preferred less water movement.

What do you plan to put in the 55?


----------



## svtcobra22 (Jan 30, 2012)

Maine_Fish said:


> Going from a 15 to a 55...that's pretty cool. I think you're going to love the bigger tank.
> 
> As for a filter, you'll get all kinds of answers from the folks here..and many of the answers will be good ones. But remember, it's kind of like entering a room filled with auto mechanics and saying, "I want to buy a car...what kind should I get?"
> 
> ...



well in my 15 i have danios tetras and a pleco. i was thinking of sticking with danios and tetras. my giant danio loves to swim against the current of the filter. another question i have would it be better to get two filters or just keep one?


----------



## BettaGuy (May 6, 2012)

two filters is better than one for many reasons, the biggest i think is that if one fails while you are gone the water is still getting filtered.


----------



## svtcobra22 (Jan 30, 2012)

BettaGuy said:


> two filters is better than one for many reasons, the biggest i think is that if one fails while you are gone the water is still getting filtered.



yea you do have a point there thanks


----------



## svtcobra22 (Jan 30, 2012)

im also going to be transfering the fish from the 15 gallon to the 55 gallon tank.


----------



## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

Run the 15 filter on the 55 if it will fit, then you throw in all the fish and add a new filter right away. Down the line you can get another big filter as you get more fish, and you can put the little one back on the small tank 2 filters are better than one. A penguin 350 is a nice strong filter for the money, but sometimes you get a loud one (call Marineland) and they all get noisy as they age. I prefer emperors as they are bigger and fit in the same space. Aquaclears are nice, too and are quieter than the other HOBs. Sponge filters are awesome, they work great and are cheap, but are ugly (you can screen them with plants or whatever). Get the aquaclear or a canister (even a HOT magnum 350) if you need it to be quiet (ie. tank in bedroom)


----------



## MainelyFish (Sep 20, 2012)

I am running a AquaClear110 and 2 corner filters... Works great... and I love the 110 its real quite... But I am debating about adding a second filter at some point to make sure my water is as good as possible and as some other people said it will act as a security in case one of them goes down...


----------



## svtcobra22 (Jan 30, 2012)

emc7 said:


> Run the 15 filter on the 55 if it will fit, then you throw in all the fish and add a new filter right away. Down the line you can get another big filter as you get more fish, and you can put the little one back on the small tank 2 filters are better than one. A penguin 350 is a nice strong filter for the money, but sometimes you get a loud one (call Marineland) and they all get noisy as they age. I prefer emperors as they are bigger and fit in the same space. Aquaclears are nice, too and are quieter than the other HOBs. Sponge filters are awesome, they work great and are cheap, but are ugly (you can screen them with plants or whatever). Get the aquaclear or a canister (even a HOT magnum 350) if you need it to be quiet (ie. tank in bedroom)



i would have to cycle the tank correct?


----------



## MainelyFish (Sep 20, 2012)

Yes you definitely want to cycle your tank first.


----------



## BettaGuy (May 6, 2012)

Actually with the filter from the 15g you shouldn't need to cycle the aquarium again as long as you don't add new fish appart from the ones you already have. Just hook up the existing filter to the 55g along with a big filter that can actually filter a 55g. There wont be any spikes because you still have the old filter working, and the new filter will slowly build up beneficial bacteria.


----------



## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

Right, new water, old filter, new filter, old fish, feed lightly and you should only have a light "mini-cycle". Easy, breezy.


----------



## svtcobra22 (Jan 30, 2012)

o wow i didnt know that. that saves some time. im going to try to post up some pictures of the progess of the tank. i ran to petco after work today and bought the marineland penguin power filter 350. so far the tank looks alot better than when i got it.


----------



## svtcobra22 (Jan 30, 2012)

ok here are the pics. the first picture is when i brought it home from my buddies and the other two i took today


----------



## BettaGuy (May 6, 2012)

Just don't forget the old filter, then you should be fine. EMC hit it right on the spot by saying that you have to feed lightly, don't overfeed.


----------



## svtcobra22 (Jan 30, 2012)

BettaGuy said:


> Actually with the filter from the 15g you shouldn't need to cycle the aquarium again as long as you don't add new fish appart from the ones you already have. Just hook up the existing filter to the 55g along with a big filter that can actually filter a 55g. There wont be any spikes because you still have the old filter working, and the new filter will slowly build up beneficial bacteria.



so pretty much once the tank has the gravel and everything in and the water has been added i hook up the new filter and then run it and take the filter from the 15g and run it and right away i can add my fish or do i have to wait a little bit?


----------



## Obsidian (May 20, 2007)

You add the fish right away to keep the filter fed. Do not add anymore fish until the new filter is established, that could take a couple of weeks.


----------



## svtcobra22 (Jan 30, 2012)

Obsidian said:


> You add the fish right away to keep the filter fed. Do not add anymore fish until the new filter is established, that could take a couple of weeks.


ok cool thanks everyone for all the help. u guys rock!! glad i joined this fish forum:fish:


----------



## BettaGuy (May 6, 2012)

Its a great forum, so many experienced people on here.


----------



## svtcobra22 (Jan 30, 2012)

BettaGuy said:


> Its a great forum, so many experienced people on here.


Thats true. Hey i was wondering if my 2 glass catfish will be ok once i transfer them to the new tank.


----------



## BettaGuy (May 6, 2012)

What do you mean with ok? If they have been in the old tank with the old fish and you transfer them together there really shouldn't be a problem. All the fish will have more space to swim and so on. As long as you didn't have a substrate in the old tank which altered the ph all the fish should be fine.


----------



## TankdreamerJim (Sep 25, 2012)

I'm running aquaclear on both my tanks too they are great and never leave you hung out to dry! Other filters that take cartridges when they plug up you will at some point have to replace it mine use to plug up so bad I couldn't rinse them out they would still not allow flow even after I cleaned it. Aquaclear has a sponge that you can clean out and it runs like new again never let me down. You also have bio cubes that come with it, make sure you use them they are great and the option of using chemical filtration which I don't use because there isn't anything in my water I have a well so it's basically spring water going in my tank. I have Aquaclear 30 on a 10 gallon and Aquaclear 70 on my 30 gallon. So 110 would probably be your best bet. Goodluck.


----------



## svtcobra22 (Jan 30, 2012)

BettaGuy said:


> What do you mean with ok? If they have been in the old tank with the old fish and you transfer them together there really shouldn't be a problem. All the fish will have more space to swim and so on. As long as you didn't have a substrate in the old tank which altered the ph all the fish should be fine.


ok cool that works. i read that the glass catfish are fragile but im pretty sure they will be fine.


----------



## BettaGuy (May 6, 2012)

Transfer them like you did when you got them. Don't just dump them in the new aquarium. I would see if you can get a big plastic bag/container and put all the fish (a few each time) in there. Then acclimate using the floating bag method. They should be fine if you do that.


----------



## svtcobra22 (Jan 30, 2012)

BettaGuy said:


> Transfer them like you did when you got them. Don't just dump them in the new aquarium. I would see if you can get a big plastic bag/container and put all the fish (a few each time) in there. Then acclimate using the floating bag method. They should be fine if you do that.


yea i was actually thinking of doing that. as far as heaters go the one from the 15g wouldnt do the job correct?


----------



## Guest (Nov 11, 2012)

You will need a 200 watt heater for the 55 gallon. I can't remember what wattage the heater is for a 15 gallon, but it may be too small of wattage for the 55 gallon. If it is a 100 watt, then you can use it with a 200 watt in the 55 gallon. I only have one heater working in my 55 gallon tank, used to have two working, but one quit working. Having two heaters in the 55 gallon is a good thing, in case one quits working.


----------



## svtcobra22 (Jan 30, 2012)

Angelclown said:


> You will need a 200 watt heater for the 55 gallon. I can't remember what wattage the heater is for a 15 gallon, but it may be too small of wattage for the 55 gallon. If it is a 100 watt, then you can use it with a 200 watt in the 55 gallon. I only have one heater working in my 55 gallon tank, used to have two working, but one quit working. Having two heaters in the 55 gallon is a good thing, in case one quits working.



the heater i have is a 100 watt


----------



## sean_130 (Sep 19, 2012)

200-300 watt for a55 wouldn't hurt to get two tho as stated above,


----------



## svtcobra22 (Jan 30, 2012)

ok cool. cant wait for this tank to be up and running i will for sure have to take a pic of it and post it up on here for you guys to check it out


----------



## svtcobra22 (Jan 30, 2012)

hey guys so a little update on the 55g its all setup and running. attached is a picture of it. let me know what you guys think.


----------

