# new 55g question



## Johnpe123 (May 10, 2003)

HEY! , been awhile i have 3 rbp's 2 about 1inch or more and 1 baby.. also living with a medium size pleco and they aren't even noticeing it in my 25 gal tank.... i'm thinking of upgrading to a 55 gallon i'm going to petsmart tommorw and buying up one for about 100 bux i'm thinking wut type of filter/heater should i get? heater i guess doesnt really matter as long as i can make temp around 80's correct? The filter tho there are so many different ways the only one that know wut i'm doing with is the powerfilters that hang on the back and all you do is change the cartilige in the back once a month or so.. wut do u suggest for a 55 ? wut is wet/dry and why is it so damn expensive .. i also saw something called bio wheels but i think i need a powerhead? wutever i need some help i think i also might throw in 2 more baby rbp's so 5 total living in there for life is that to much?

thanks!


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## InSinUAsian (Jan 3, 2003)

You've come to the right place. Welcome to the board. Im sure that you will get plenty of help from the members.

~Dj


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## nitrofish (Jan 14, 2003)

Johnpe123 said:


> HEY! , been awhile i have 3 rbp's 2 about 1inch or more and 1 baby.. also living with a medium size pleco and they aren't even noticeing it in my 25 gal tank.... i'm thinking of upgrading to a 55 gallon i'm going to petsmart tommorw and buying up one for about 100 bux i'm thinking wut type of filter/heater should i get? heater i guess doesnt really matter as long as i can make temp around 80's correct? The filter tho there are so many different ways the only one that know wut i'm doing with is the powerfilters that hang on the back and all you do is change the cartilige in the back once a month or so.. wut do u suggest for a 55 ? wut is wet/dry and why is it so damn expensive .. i also saw something called bio wheels but i think i need a powerhead? wutever i need some help i think i also might throw in 2 more baby rbp's so 5 total living in there for life is that to much?
> 
> thanks!


 for a 55 gallon I would go with a penguin 330 or a emp.400 or an aquaclear 500. buy it from www.bigalsonline.com and save a lot.

their are cheep heaters that constantly change tempature on you or you can get a pro heat titanium (won bro's)that maintains a constant tempature.visitherm and ebo jager are also good.heater failure is one of the most common failures in an aquarium. try to maintain an 80 degree tank.

wet dry filters are one of the best biological filters around, but for a 55, id stick with a basic powerfilter (hang on type)

a powerhead helps add current and add air to the water, its nice to have, but not a must.

a biowheel is a wheel that spins on some filters to aid in biological filtration , most penguin filters have one of these.

changing filter cartriges is not always good, most of the good bacteria lives there. if it starts to get cloged with crud it wont flow right. what you can do is get a buckett filled with old aquarium water and rince it off and re-use it. itf you rince it under a faucet the chlorine in the water will kill off the bacteria.

hope I answered everything


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## InSinUAsian (Jan 3, 2003)

Alot of good info NITRO.









I would suggest a Canister filter for your 55. They will provide filtration at a notch above hangon filters. You can never get enough filtration on a P tank.










~Dj


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## lastyboy (Apr 14, 2003)

Cannister filters are better in the long run.
Work like a dream and are low maintainence.

Also if you've got 5 P's in a 55g tank - thats too small ( its recommended 15-20g per P) and as they get older and bigger they will start fighting over territory.

Welcome aboard, you're in safe hands here!!


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## Johnpe123 (May 10, 2003)

THX I PICKED UP A 55 I'M SETTING IT UP NOW!! I HAVE 3 P'S STILL SMALL wow caps yah and i'm thinking of buyin 1 more? is that to many ? i can't have 5 ;/ maybe 4? well i got a penguin bio wheel and a proquatics 300 watt heater ;_) i'm setting this baby up i didnt have enough for 3 bags of sand but i got 1 25 lb bag about to put it in .. i should also put in some stress coat which is a water conditioner and some CYCLE - which adss more nitrifers and i guess adds some good beneficial bacteria which will also reduce ammonia .. am i missing anything? i should leave the tank filled for 1 day and than transfer the 3 p's wuts the easyest way to do this?


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## InSinUAsian (Jan 3, 2003)

Johnpe123 said:


> well i got a penguin bio wheel


 What type of penguin? Depending on the model number and flow rate you might want to upgrade to something a little more efficient. Perhaps another, or maybe an Emp400, or even a canister filter. P's will produce alot of waste and are a burden on the filtering capacity of many types of filters. You can never get enough filtration, bascially, for a P tank.

~Dj


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## Johnpe123 (May 10, 2003)

na its good and powerfull trying to fig out how to set this bad boy up its works up to 60 g's its called 330


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## Johnpe123 (May 10, 2003)

its a duel bio wheel


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## InSinUAsian (Jan 3, 2003)

I still think that it might not be enough for a 55 and 3 P's possibly 4. I guess whatever works for you though. Any other Q's?

~Dj


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## Johnpe123 (May 10, 2003)

this tank looks so pimp no other questions @ the momment why dont u think it will be enough? for like say 4 p's in a 55 gallon.. anyone have a penguin 330 with a 55 and rbps?


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## InSinUAsian (Jan 3, 2003)

Im sure that it will be fine. Sorry, I like to over do everything. The way that I see it, is that a 55 is already a kinda small tank for 3 P's, so you have to compensate for that with added filtration. Plus if you are thinking about adding more P's, then you have to compensate more. Thats only my way of thought though, like I said, perhaps you will be fine.

~Dj


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## Johnpe123 (May 10, 2003)

damn 55 is small for 3 rbpS??? this tank is huge took me like 1 hour to fill up i have my 3 p's in a 20 g right now ;o there doing fine i guess maybe they will grow out of the 55 in maybe wut 2-5 years?


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## ttldnial (May 14, 2003)

John it seems to be rule of thumb around here (by more senior members than I) than 1 P to 20 gallons.
Now with three *adults* you would need *all* of your 55 gallon. I know they seem fine when they are little, but trust me they grow fast, and in just a few months they will start to overcrowd.
Stick with three, IMO. Keep up on water changes, you will be suprised how fast they grow.








Once they get a little bigger you will be happy with three in your 55..
I have a 150 and plan on at least 6...Well under the 20 gallon to 1 fish thing.

Happy tankin.


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## Johnpe123 (May 10, 2003)

since i'm moving over my fish.. i have a topfin 40 on the 20-25 gal tank u suggest putting that over on the 55g with the penguin 330 ? like on the other side ? for maxium filteration


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## nitrofish (Jan 14, 2003)

this is why a 55 may be too small. imagine 5 of these fat assed piranha's cramed into a 55 gallon tank. and that piranha is only a little older than a year old.


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## nitrofish (Jan 14, 2003)

Johnpe123 said:


> since i'm moving over my fish.. i have a topfin 40 on the 20-25 gal tank u suggest putting that over on the 55g with the penguin 330 ? like on the other side ? for maxium filteration


 a good amount of filtration is 10x the tank size should = your gph. example a 55 gallon=550 gph. a penguin 330 is only 330 gph.


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