Filter for 55 gallon?

I'm upgrading from a 29 to a 55 this week. I currently run an aquaclear 50 on my 29 gallon. Will this be ok on the 55, or is that not enough?

Petsmart is having a 50% off Black Friday sale on fluval and marine land canister filters. Would one of those be better than buying another HOB filter?

This tank is going to house Dwarf Cichlids, corys, and tetras.

 

A AC50 is too small for a 55! I suggest getting a AC110! For HOBs you want a gph of 440 while for canister you want a gph of 275

 

Thanks. Would adding a second AC 50 be ok? I'm thinking getting the half off canister would be about the same price or maybe a little bit more than getting another HOB. Obviously, I'd run the current AC 50 for a while so I don't have to cycle again.

 

If you can get a canister on sale I would go with one with 300gph-400gph

 

You want the turnover rate of your filters to be about 8-10 times the amount of gallons of your tank so you would be looking at about 440-550 gallons per hour. Aquaclear 50 only has a gph rate of 200 gph so you'll want to add another hob if you decide to stick with hob's. I would recommend you get an aquaclear 70 (turns over 300 gph) and run that with the 50 you already have, and with those two combined you'll have a turnover rate of 500 gph which is enough.

I have a 56 gallon tank and I run two aquaclear 70s on it with one on each side of the tank. It's a little bit more then I need but I'd always rather have more then less when it comes to filtration. Extra filtration is always better when you have fish with a higher bioload too.

Hope this helps ️

 

Thanks. Would adding a second AC 50 be ok? I'm thinking getting the half off canister would be about the same price or maybe a little bit more than getting another HOB. Obviously, I'd run the current AC 50 for a while so I don't have to cycle again.

For the stocking you listed, that's what I would do....

The majority of apistos are from slow flowing streams and stagnant pools. Most will not appreciate the strong flow created by some of the filters suggested.

I still love sponge filter's - they are very effective and used by many of the top breeders and fish keepers.

Swiss tropicals has some outstanding products.

Good luck!

 

Thinking more about filters, I want to have the AC 50 as a backup in case I decide to set up the 29 gallon again.

I'm looking at fluval canisters and can't decide between the 306 which is rated for 70 gallons and GPH of 303 or the 406 which is rated for 100 gallons and GPH of 383.

 

I'll go with the 406 you can never have to much filtration let's you reuse the filter if you upgrade tank size also

 

Better Black Friday deals! 50% off all marineland power filters, not just canisters. So I can get a pretty cheap HOB.

Marineland Emperor
GPH 400
Up to 90 gallons
$32.50

Marineland Penguin
GPH 350
Up to 70 gallons
$23.00