36 Or 55 Gallon Options? *update* Stocking 55?

[CoryLoverCouple]

Well, my hubby and I have so loved our fish, we have decided to add a bigger tank to our menagerie

I am trying to decide between a 36 gallon bow-front, or a straight 55 gallon setup. I work from home, so I am wanting to put this new aquarium in my office/bedroom, and I would like it to be peaceful, but a bit active/entertaining too.

As far as stocking goes, I think I would like to go with something a bit bigger (maybe 4 to 6 inches). I would love to either angels or discus, but since I am a still a beginner, I am being realistic with my choices.

Any suggestions? I would love to have some cories in there, as well (of course! Love my cories ), and maybe a couple of plecos (hubby loves the mango, albino and bristle nose).

I want to do this right, and not have to suffer new tank syndrome...we have been pretty lucky so far). I have been researching some of my stocking options, but I would love to get some more expert opinions before I even purchase the tank, or begin cycling.

Thanks in advance! I am so grateful that I found this place!!!

Amanda

 

[mancin]

I'd go with the 55 Gallon. I got a 29 Gallon for Christmas, and already got a second tank - 55 Gallon. I found some of my options were limited with a 29 Gallon. You'll have many more stocking choices with a 55 Gallon than with a 36 Gallon, but that's just my opinion!

 

[GSD]

Hi and welcome to the forum,

The size of the tank will depend on what you wish to keep. Angelfish need more than 30 gallons ideally, the taller the better so either tank would be suitable, but if you wanted to stock with more than just the angels I would go for the 55 gallon. As well as giving you extra space to play with, bigger tanks are often easier to keep as the water is more stable due to more volume.

I would go for angels rather than discus, alot hardier for the beginner, and cories or plecs would certainly be fine. You could also have a shoal of other fish to go with them if you wanted.


Laura

 

[fatheadminnow]

Go with the 55 gallon.

I always try to get the biggest tank I can afford/have room for.

With a 55 gallon, your stocking limits are going to increase, and you have a lot more options as well.

Like stated above, the larger the tank, the easier it is going to be to maintain good water parameters. Say on fish dies in a 55 gallon and you don't catch it until 2 days later. The ammonia that will be produced by the dead body is going to be dispersed more in the 55 gallon, vs. a 36 gallon, where the ammonia will be more condense, posing a greater threat to your fish.

It seems like you are interested with fish that are very colorful, with that in mind, might I suggest Cichlids for your tank. Look into Cichlids, you can even click on where it says Cichlid Index in my sig to see pictures of different types of Cichlids.

Cichlids may not be the best fish for a beginner to start out with as well, but they might be easier than discus or angels.

The first fish that I started out with in my new tank were Cichlids, and I was still very new to fish keeping, (they really are not that hard to keep).

So, go with the 55, if you got the 36, it would not be long until you wish you had gotten the 55 gallon.

-FHM

 

[waterdrop]

Hi and welcome to TFF,

I'd say go with the 55g too, but not only because of the larger volume, although that is the more important reason... my reason is that personally, I found the bowfront concept to be a little disappointing. I'd had dozens of flat-glass tanks over the years but had always thought bowfronts looked pretty exotic and interesting - seemed like the fish would cruise right out there close to you and you would seem closer, almost in there with them.

Somehow, the reality seems a bit the opposite to me. Yes, the fish come right out there and I can't complain about that part, but what had never occurred to me was that water against glass in a convex shape forms a true lens and the optical effect is in fact quite real... And the effect is that the tank is made to appear... MORE SHALLOW! The back wall is made to appear closer to you, but more importantly, the 3D effect of front to back depth of view is really made to feel more shallow. I'm not saying the tank isn't beautiful, or doesn't look pretty striking as you walk closer to see it... its just a subtle disappointment in my opinion as to the long term enjoyment of a close observer.

In contrast, getting close to a flat front still gives you the full depth effect, which, if the tank has some significant front to back depth, can be quite enjoyable long term. Have never seen a concave front glass, lol, might be quite interesting...

You are exceedingly lucky to have stumbled across a good hobbyist site like this prior to even selecting a tank, not to mention the even greater significance of prior to fishless cycling or stocking selections. Its a completely different world to do it this way as opposed to just books or LFS advice. I urge you to engage in plenty of interaction re your fishless (or mature media assisted if you already have a running tank) cycle and to read our pinned articles. Doing that process right should give you significant time during which to work out your stocking questions. I agree that between angels and discus, angels would be a better choice for beginners, and also that there are other cichlid choices that might be good for the "cichlid centerpiece" type fish. A 55g would also afford room for a very nice shoal or two of beautiful tetras.. and then there's the whole world of live plants.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[CoryLoverCouple]

Wow, thanks for the great advice, guys!

I went ahead and got the 55 gallon today, and I have it all set up with a whisper 60 carbon filter, fresh dechlorinated water, gravel, some silk plants and a couple of driftwood decorations (I like the more natural look).

I am really enjoying the effect, even without the fish in it!

My LFS guy is also going to sell me a "seeded" sponge filter to help with my cycling and aeration.

I think I have decided to go with cichlids, as they are colorful and a bit bigger than the tropicals I have in my other tank.

Any reccomendations on cichlid stocking options for my 55 gallon would be much appreciated!

 

[GSD]

Wow, thanks for the great advice, guys!

I went ahead and got the 55 gallon today, and I have it all set up with a whisper 60 carbon filter, fresh dechlorinated water, gravel, some silk plants and a couple of driftwood decorations (I like the more natural look).

I am really enjoying the effect, even without the fish in it!

My LFS guy is also going to sell me a "seeded" sponge filter to help with my cycling and aeration.

I think I have decided to go with cichlids, as they are colorful and a bit bigger than the tropicals I have in my other tank.

Any reccomendations on cichlid stocking options for my 55 gallon would be much appreciated!

The seeded sponge filter is often used to cycle the tank quickly. It is called cloning and i have sucessfully managed it myself. The bit of media he will give you will contain the live bacteria, and in order for it to be sucessful in cycling the tank fish will have to be added soon in order to keep the bacteria alive. The bacteria will eventually spread from the bit of media into your filter, hence it is quicker as you do not have to grow it from scratch.

As for the cichlid's i dont have much advice, as the only ones i have ever kept are angels.

 

[osiris]

IF your going for the Cichlids, you now need to think about what kind of cichlids as some dont mix well, you can either choose an afican set-up or a south american (amazonian) set-up. the south americans are much more versatile and easy going, whereas the africans require much more care and maintainance as far as the water quality goes.
Yes, the africans are more colourful but they are teritorial and you could only have certain number of them, maybe go for the amazon set-up with some peaceful cichlids such as kribs, keyholes, severums, firemouths etc. I have, and was quite surprised at their characters.

 

[waterdrop]

OR, you can read our fishless cycling article, get some pure household ammonia from somewhere and allow the mature media from the LFS to "seed" your fishless cycle. If there are enough of both needed species of bacteria and if they "take" and survive, then the fishless cycle will measure and show you that fact so that you can be confident the biofilter will be functional and that the water will be completely ready for the more demanding cichlids.

German Blue Rams are one of those "more demanding" fish that happen to be really beautiful and yet more peaceful in their habits, certainly than quite a number of cichlid species. I would certainly give them a look.

Not sure about the carbon filter, maybe you'll need to describe and explain that to the members. Normally carbon is not used as an everyday media. Its a media that falls into the "chemical filtration" category and is kept on the aquarist's shelf until needed for removal of medicines, tannins or the occasional organic smell. Its only good for 3 days or so and then needs to be removed and trashed. The two other functions of a filter, mechanical filtration and biological filtration, are the everyday ones. Sponges, ceramic rings, ceramic gravels, "bioballs" and polyfloss are among the top-rated media types for these functions, each one being better or worse at one or the other of the two functions. Also the flow rate of a filter usually needs to be sized to a tank volume. 5x turnover is often used as a starting point for beginners and this would mean a 275 US Gallon per hour (1041 L/Hr) flow rate specification (this specification is different from the manufacturer saying "good for such and such size tank," which they often do.)

~~waterdrop~~

 

[CKutz]

maybe the carbon filter is like my filter. the scratchy sponge thing is attached to a plastic case which contains carbon. that carbon is basically the reason companies can say that the filter needs to be changed, because the carbon can have issues if it doesn't get changed. the carbon is essentially useless however unless, as waterdrop said, you need to remove medications from the water. What i did about this was just cut the sponge off the plastic thing with a scissors, and trashed the carbon and plastic, and just stuck the sponge in my filter.

the other type of filter media you might have is like a sponge pouch, and you stick a carbon thing inside the pouch, and then stick it in your filter. if this is the case, just simply don't put the carbon inside the sponge pouch. and stick the sponge in the filter. save the carbon for if you ever need to remove medications or heavy metals or something from the water.

once you take out this carbon, you can pretty much leave the scratchy sponge thing in the filter till it falls apart, which won't be for a long time.

another solution is to buy other media and stick it in your filter, or buy a roll of the sponge stuff, cut out an appropriately sized square, and stick it in your filter. hope that helps.


about cichlids, i don't know much. but i really like kribs, apistos, and german blue rams but i don't know if they would be compatible together, they all just look really nice