WolfPack21

Hi Everyone, I am getting a 55 gallon very soon (within the week) and I have a few questions. In my new tank I plan to have 1 oscar fish and maybe a pleco. I know both of these fishes are very messy fish too. So my question is should I get a canister filter (Fluval 305) or two Aquaclear 70's on my tank? The canister filter will cost around $150 and the two AC will cost around $80-90, so which one do you think I should go with to keep "cleaner water?"

PS. I also doing weekly 10-20% water changes. Thanks!

harpua2002

Do you have any plans to upgrade as the fish grows? IMO a 75 gallon would be a minimum for an adult oscar. A common pleco gets enormous and IMO should be left out of the setup.
I'd go with one canister and one Aquaclear. I use a Rena XP2 and Aquaclear 110 on a 75 gallon cichlid tank and that works well for me.

WolfPack21

Interesting. I do not have any plans to upgrade to a 75 gallon tank. I'll also rethink what I will stock in my tank. Thanks for the help!

Amanda

Please don't put an Oscar in a 55. I have 2 in a 55 temporarily - it's TERRIBLE. The upkeep must be done everyday, and the tank is just too small.

eiginh

Yes I agree the tanks are too small for the oscar, I'm glad you are reconsidering your stocking list. I would go with a canister that has a GPH of 5x the volume of the tank if you plan on having plecos. Those guys are messy!

harpua2002

There are lots of other cichlids that would do just great in a 55 though, I hope I didn't discourage you from cichlids.

Are you interested in severums at all? You could have one throughout its lifespan in a 55. Blue acara, blood parrot, jack dempsey, festivum, and angels come to mind as well (not together, of course).

Diggly

apistogrammas and lots of them!! I love those dwarf cichlids sorry lol.

pepetj

I would go with a combo of AquaClear 110 and AquaClear 70. I would not place a Pleco but go Oscar solo. Please check if your tank is at least 18" wide. If not, I suggest you review your plans. An adult Oscar could easily reach 12" long and it would be hard for him/her to turn around.

You could keep paired-off Severums in a 55. I had to keep 2 adult females in a Perfecto 30 gal Breeder tank for six months (due to aggression problems with the paired-off Tiger Oscars in the 145gal tank). Tank parameters remained manageable for the most part (ammonia, nitrite, nitrates) but I had to keep a close eye on pH, GH and KH. Fish use up trace minerals from the water column. Huge fish take up noticeably more. I kept that tank quite close to the threshold of a pH crash (DKH went down to zero at one time, once that happened, I kept it -by small partial water changes and top-off- in check at 2.0. GH (that tank is planted). GH went down to 2.5 and it was only due to extra maintenance that I could keep it around 4.5. Dissolved CO2 levels in that tank went unbelievable high, close to the levels of tanks with DIY CO2 (e.g. 20ppm at night, 14 PPM at daytime in contrast with 24ppm at night and 12ppm at daytime in CO2 injected). I had no issues with dissolved O2 (one AquaClear 70 HOB, one back-up submersible wheel -airpump driven- filter, and one AquaClear 30 powerhead with prefilter).

Sure the tank had a swimming surface somewhat less than a standard 55gal (30x18 instead of 48x12). They stayed healthy.

It took me a 12 hours acclimation process to transfer them back to the 145 (I finally came up with a better solution, a DIY egg-crate tank divider).

The point I'm trying to get across is that when we consider bioload, it's more than having a filtration system capable of handling ammonia and nitrites and reasonably low nitrates combined with swimming space which are indeed essential.

Pepetj
Santo Domingo

harpua2002

I kept my Rotkeil severum pair in a 55 for a few months until I was able to upgrade them to the 120. Their behavior is much different now that they are in a larger tank. I'd stick with one severum in a 55, but that's JMO.

WolfPack21

Ok, now I am gald that I posted this tread about a oscar! I will have bloody parrots instead , oh and no Pleco of course. Thanks! I also think I am going to go with 2 Aquaclear filters, and one day may I hope to have 1 canister filter and one AC 110.

harpua2002

I'd go with no more than 2 for a 55, that's JMO. Mine is huge now in a 75 gallon and it's a messy fish. You can add a school of tough fish like Buenos Aires tetras, tiger barbs, black ruby barbs, columbian tetras, or diamond tetras for a nice school. They grow too large to be eaten by the parrot and are tough enough not to be stressed by it. Loaches also make good tank mates for parrots, like yo yos.

eiginh

If you want a cheap good canister filter, here's one
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produc...6136&catid=113. It's rated for 75 gallons w/ up to 300gph. It only cost 89.99. I have the xp1 running in my 10 gallon and it works great!

WolfPack21

Wow good thing you pointed at out! I am going to get this filter tonight! Great pricing too