New Aquarium

[engarman07]

I am considering upgrading from a 20 gallon tank to a 55 gallon tank. I have a few questions:
What is the best substrate for a tank?
What is the best filter to buy?
When I started my 20 gallon tank I had a hard time cycling it with tap water. I currently buy filtered water at kroger for water changes. Is there any way to use tap water? I tried using the water conditioners at the petstore and they never seemed to get the ammonia out of the water.

Any advice would be appreciated!

 

[snowflake311]

What is the best substrate for a tank? IMO Sand. Its cheap too.

What is the best filter to buy? I love my aquaClears. canisters are good too but a pain to clean.

When I started my 20 gallon tank I had a hard time cycling it with tap water. I currently buy filtered water at kroger for water changes. Is there any way to use tap water? I tried using the water conditioners at the petstore and they never seemed to get the ammonia out of the water. If you have ammonia then you have a filter problem of not doing enough WC. Tap water should not have ammonia. Have you tested your tap water to see if that is where the ammonia is from?

If you have a mature filter that has been running well for a few months all you need to do is seed your new filter with the old filter sponge. Do you understand how the cycle should work?
Any advice would be appreciated!
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