55 Gallon Stocking

[Dieses Madchen]

I have a 10g in my dining room right next to the pass through window. I drain the tank directly into the sink and fill from the sink. As far as chlorinated tap water going into your tank, dose the tank for 55g with dechlorinator then refill. That is the best way to fill directly from the hose. Also before you attach the hose, use the hot and cold water together to match the temp of your tank, and you can tell the temperature coming out of the faucet by running the water onto your thermometer this is how i do my upstairs tank and it works great. A little more difficult on the larger tanks though, as they are in my basement and i have to run two hoses at once (one hot, one cold)

 

[Man of fish]

Yeah that would be mire difficult. Still wondering if I should get the one or apair of flame gouramis or if I should get a pair of honey gouramis.

 

[Man of fish]

How much water should I change on it at a time and weekly biweekly or monthly?

 

[eaglesaquarium]

I do 20-30% water changes weekly and I do a 50-75% water change every 4-6 weeks. (The longer between changes, the larger the change, but I do it more slowly to allow the fish to acclimate to the difference.)

 

[Man of fish]

On my 29 gallon I usually do a 15% weekly then a 30-40% monthly.

 

[Man of fish]

How lb.s of sand should I use for the 55 like enough for 2 inches of ground of like 60 lbs?

 

[eaglesaquarium]

I'm not sure. Maybe two 50 lb bags and you probably won't have to use the whole bag...


Your water change routine should be fine with the bigger tank as well. The only difference will be the total amount of volume. You might want to bump the numbers up a bit, but then again, I lean on the heavy side of water changes. It is better to change too much water than too little.

 

[Man of fish]

Ok. Play sand would be the cheapest route but one of the tanks in looking at has sand already. It's kinda at the bottom of my list cuz it's on the pricey side.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

I understand that. With Christmas around the corner, money is tight. Play sand is a cheap and very good option. I used play sand and I am very happy with the results.

 

[Dieses Madchen]

I use playsand as well. It takes a little while to clean, but the quality is good and the look of is is really great. Ask my cichlids, they move it around every chance they get!

 

[Man of fish]

Lol. I'll ask your cichlids then.
I really like that tank that the link is on page 2 of this forum though it'd be a great addition to my basement. All my friends really like fish I've got like 5 friends with tanks so I can get some advice but 3 of them are newbies too.

 

[Man of fish]

Is the sand good for all of my fish on the list. Still wondering about the gouramis if I can get 1 flame or a pair of flames or if I really should get a pair of honeys.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Only the bottom dwellers will care one way or the other about sand. All bottom dwellers that I have heard of prefer sand. They will really dig into it far more than they can with gravel. The "dirt" also will sit on top of the sand, instead of sinking in, making it far easier to clean. A well-placed powerhead can keep the "dirt" from even sitting still and keep it moving until the filter pulls it in.

Your call on the gouramis. I think either will look great. Honeys are just a little hardier from what I understand.

 

[Man of fish]

How should I clean the sand I imagine gravel vac wouldn't be too effective because it would suck in the sand too?

 

[eaglesaquarium]

There is a bit of an art to it, unlike gravel vaccing. But, it isn't hard to do. Just use the syphon use, with no attachment. Then, hold the hose a few inches off the surface. Give it a little swirl, and you'll see the bottom gunk start to move. Then slowly move down a little more until it starts to come up the tube. A little sand may join it, but not much. Besides for a couple of bucks, you can always top up the sand if necessary.