55 Gallon Maintenance!?!?

[pokegirl1332]

i'm so excited and so happy that for years i've been dreaming of getting a 55g and finally got one and it's beautiful and i couldn't be happier, i currently have 4 rainbow fish, 5 cory cats (different kinds), 1 golden wonder killi, 6 platys, and 6 lyre tail mollies, and 3 gorami's (1 dwarf flame and 2 i think they're called fat lip sunset or something) i read lots online before purchasing my gorami's but i know they can be aggressive but tbh i don't see ANY aggression towards each other or the other fish, they seem completely peaceful, and i'm pretty sure they're all males because of they're color but it still doesn't seem to be a problem, my tank has lots of hiding places and such but i'm wondering if anyone can give me any advice on maintenace? how should i clean it and how often? should i just suction the gravel like i use to in my 20g? any advice? and any advice on if i should get any more tank mates? and what fish?

 

[fluttermoth]

Weekly maintenance is best, for all tanks.
 
The amount of water you need to change will depend on how high your nitrates get, so you need to test both the tap water and the tank water. Cleaning big tanks is exactly the same as doing small ones, you just have to carry a few more buckets
 
Is your water hard or soft?

 

[pokegirl1332]

Weekly maintenance is best, for all tanks.
 
The amount of water you need to change will depend on how high your nitrates get, so you need to test both the tap water and the tank water. Cleaning big tanks is exactly the same as doing small ones, you just have to carry a few more buckets

 
Is your water hard or soft?

my water is pretty soft, i live in new york and the tap water is really easy to condition since it's already better than most areas =)

 

[attibones]

I would like to point out that you need to work on your current stocking before you get anything else. You need to have a single school of each of those corydoras species. And half of your fish prefer soft water, but the mollies and and platy will thrive in harder water. 
 
Keeping the tank will be similar to your smaller one. Do you plan on having plants in this tank? This will influence the amount of nitrate in the water, meaning you'll have a smaller amount of nitrate to remove. However, we do water changes for more than nitrate management. So at least twenty percent weekly is a good routine to keep up. 

 

[pokegirl1332]

I would like to point out that you need to work on your current stocking before you get anything else. You need to have a single school of each of those corydoras species. And half of your fish prefer soft water, but the mollies and and platy will thrive in harder water. 
 
Keeping the tank will be similar to your smaller one. Do you plan on having plants in this tank? This will influence the amount of nitrate in the water, meaning you'll have a smaller amount of nitrate to remove. However, we do water changes for more than nitrate management. So at least twenty percent weekly is a good routine to keep up. 

thanks and yeah i have a lot of plants in it right now and plan to add some more soon