# Old 55gal. tank questions



## Japple67 (Aug 2, 2012)

:help:OK, I'm setting up a 55 gallon aquarium I recently got for free. It has a few problems I'm wondering about.

1)Ancient filter, It seems to work good and have plenty of power for the tank size, but I'm wondering how I can find filters for it as I have no idea what brand or rating it is, and it has no filter medium but some cobbled together junk from different filters. It has a single tube in the middle, and two filters on the sides.

2)Hard water stains, I think it may have housed turtles, because about halfway up the sides are some major hard water stains, I was wondering about the best methods to remove them.

3)Seal concerns, there is no leakage, but in one corner there is some silicone that just flops around, and I was wondering if I should do something about it even if it never leaks.

4)When/ if I get a new filter what do you people recommend for a tank this size, I like the idea of the Penguin Biowheels, and won't be having gold fish in this tank, it will definitely have some kind of bottom feeder though.

5)Recommend heaters for this tank? I'm thinking tetras or something once I finish cycling the tank, so I may need one if the ancient one that came with it doesn't work.

P.S. hoping to get some pictures up of the tank soon.


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## Cory1990 (Jun 14, 2012)

First use photobycket to upload a picture of the filter, chances are one of us know what it would be, 2nd the seal problem. And $5 tube of CLEAR silicon will work. But silicon doesn't stick to silicon. It's a vary easy fix so don't let it scare you away from your new tank! Peak off old run a bead of new silicon in the edge run your finger down it. Let it sit for 72 hours or until it does not smell. 

It's funny how people throw these tanks away for a simple fix. 
Also use vinegar to get hard water stains off and some elbow grease. I personally don't mind hard water stains.

Filtration on a 55g (unplanted) I would have two of them. And I do have two of them and a power head. If you get a lot of plants you might be able to get away with that one. But the aquarium game has changed threw out the years we now know you need to do lots of water changes instead of using as much of your old water as possible and that is vital to keeping a freshwater aquarium. So we now know just one filter on a tank is iffy and not great. I keep two types of filtration on all my tanks, besides my planted and outdoor tanks.

Also I just seen you wanted the bio wheel, the 350 is a great one and I have it on my 55 as well as another big hob filter. It's a good choice and will help your tank out.


I'm not sure if I skipped some stuff but if you need more help let us know. We have members here that can help you out with everything you may run into with fish keeping. Good luck with your project! And welcome to the forum!


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

Some ancient heaters work better than new ones, but you want to test the one you have before you get fish. How cool can the room get? You need a bigger heater in a 40F room than in a 70F room.


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## AquariumTech (Oct 12, 2010)

Well you can use anything really to get the stains off the tank, since you dont have anything in there yet. As for the seal, there is nothing wrong with extra silicone, even when I buy brand new tanks, sometimes they have big globs in the corners. Since it is an old tank, I would still take care and be gentle. Also make sure you use a stand specifically for 48" tanks, those things are incredibly heavy with water in them. 

For filters, it depends what you want, although I would stick with either a canister which is the best way to go, or HOBs (Hang On Back) filters. As far as canisters, there are a lot of good brands out there like, Fluval, Eheim, JBL, API XPs, and etc. Personally I like Fluval stuff, but there are a lot of other nice ones out there. Now as far as HOBs go, there are only like 2-3 choices, and everything else doesnt even compare. HOBs you should stick with AquaClears, Fluval C series, and I am fairly impressed with the Rena SmartFilters. BioWheels are a flat out joke and dont work, so steer clear of those. I will suggest though that with your filters go a size or 2 above what manufacturer recommends. So lets say you were going to get a AC50 for your 55G, go a step or 2 up and get the AC70 or AC110. Remember there is no such thing as too much filtration. So even when you get your new filter(s) keep running the old one too as long as it will fit on the back of the tank. 

For heaters theres a few I would suggest such as:
Fluval M (probably best bang for buck as far as heaters go)
Fluval E (very nice heater, little pricy though)
Marineland Stealth Pros (dont know if they still make them, but excellent bang for you buck)
JBJ TrueTemp (probably one of the best on the market, but very expensive) 
Eheim Jager (not bad, but not one of my personal favorites, but its a good product though) 

Other than that, we will await for your old filter pics.


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

for sealing the tank i would just remove the loose sealer and clean the area with some alchohol..then reseal it with a good silicone sealant..silicone will stick to silicone just fine but it does not stick well to plastics...you can even seal a tank with silicone when there is water still in it...


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## Cory1990 (Jun 14, 2012)

Iv never had any luck sealing a tank by placing the silicon on silicon, save yourself the trouble. Razor blade cutting off the old. Then add the new then your fine.


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## Redhead305 (May 30, 2012)

Welcom and i too have a old tank that someone just gave me it had tons of leaks so i re did all the silicone on it. I would reccommend cutting the old silicione out and resealing. As far as filters, i personally have a aquaclear 110 its probably the best filter i've used for my corner tank. Heaters usually say how high the will raise the temp so you might not need one like myself since i live in miami so look into that first. look as to what filter it has and the heater already you might not need to buy one actually at all. ive had my current filter running for 5 years now lol


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## Japple67 (Aug 2, 2012)

I was not able to get pictures, but........

I took a scraper to the hard water stains on the front of the filter, and now know it's an older Penguin 300.
As for the heater, I have not tried it yet but the print on it tells me it's a 150 watt Askoll. (It also says lP68 but I don't think that means anything.)

Where can I order the filter refills, and new plastic things the filters go on?(the whole part you take out to change the filter weekly or however often works for you)


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## Cory1990 (Jun 14, 2012)

Iv got the penguin 350- I can fit the cheap Walmart filters in it. Try that. And you only need to buy filters once. I never replace mine, only rinse them off with aquarium water.


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

The size C cartridge should fit . All the online fish supply sites have them, even Amazon. Look for the ones that fit the 170 or 330. There are also non-marineland replacement cartridges. Not as nice, but you can sometimes find them much cheaper


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