Random 55 Gal Setup

[petey Z]

wat could i do with a 55 gal tank. i want to do a fish only with very basic fish and nothing very delicate. I have FW lighting and heater. i also got a fluval 304. Would this be suitable for a fish only tank.?

i am open to any ideas, let me know wat u think

thanks alot everyone

pete

 

[JJ1234567]

Well, In my own personal opinion, the fifty five gallon tank limits your options of what I consider to be cool fish that would be cool in fish only. There are choices though! never fear! Personally I would love to keep puffers or triggers in a fish only, but they need Min 90 and would rather keep a couple in a 120 or 150. But in a 55 you could get some of the smaller species. If you wanted non-agressive fish you could get a good number of the smaller goby species, possibly a clown pair, so forth. A cool thing to do with an empty 55 (considered this for my 45 before going brackish for Fig8's) is to do a species only tank of cardnalfish to attempt to get them to breed. Could be pretty cool, plus you might make some money reselling babies. larger more agressive fish include Maroon clowns, Snowflake eel (55 is pushing it somewhat, but they do do ok in smaller spaces, would be better if tank was wider than standard 55). I believe lions would be able to go in a 55, but they do get large so that might also not be too wise. There are several stunning species of dwarf lions that would love that tank (head over to the Salt Water fish section and see Mr Miagis dwarf lion). There are lots of things to do with an empty 55!! it just depends on what your looking for.

A) most fish for your space - small gobys, clowns, psuedochromis, etc
B) something unusual - Cardnal species only - hopefully a breeder tank!
C) something to make your friends and family go NEAT! - larger more solitary fish - Large clowns, eels, lions, GSP, so forth

let us know what you go with

 

[SkiFletch]

Doubt a full-fledged lion would handle that, but dwarf lionfish would be fine. You could also consider any pygmy angelfish, some species of wrasse stay small enough, firefish, blennies, basslets, damsels, and probably lots more. poke around some sites like liveaquaria.com for some ideas if your bored

 

[petey Z]

i already have a reef tank in which i plan to add some clowns and gobies too, and maybe cardinals. But i really like the cardinal idea. The thing is, i dont want to spend alot of money on equipment i want to see if wat i have will work, and if i do need anything wat do i need. i have the fluval 304, a heater and alot of air in the tank(big air pump). i have some old lights, which i will be willing to get rid of. Let me know wat lighting would be cheap and have a nice affect on the fish(aka make the fish look beautiful). i have gravel, but i guess i can switch to sand, and seed it from my established tank now. am i going somewhere? or is this bound to be a disaster?
let me know guys

thanks

pete

 

[Aquascaper]

Gravel (Argonite substrate to buffer pH is required)
External Filter (Will become a Nitrate factory)
Air Pump (No benefit to the tank and unnatural for the fish)

T8 lights will be sufficient for a FOWLR but T5's would be better in case you decide to keep corals
You'll need live rock and plenty of it, around 55 - 60lbs is the recommended amount for that size tank.
Also you'll need to get powerheads to provide circulation, a 20x turnover is recommended, which equates to 1100gph (4165lph) in a 55g tank.
Another piece of equipment you'll need for that size tank would be a Skimmer as regular water changes can become costly, by running a skimmer you should be able to cut down on the frequency.

 

[petey Z]

i need all of that even if i dont want live rock ?

i just want some hardy fish

but i believe u

 

[Aquascaper]

If you want fish that will survive in a 55g tank with no live rock and just a Fluval 304 external filter then I suggest plastic ones B)

You could get away with no skimmer, no live rock, no powerheads and no argonite but you would have to be prepared to do 10% water changes probably 2 or 3 times a week (entirely dependant on the test results that would need to be done ever other day) to keep on top of the Nitrate levels. You would be constantly fighting a battle keeping the pH stable with no buffers and, due to the lack or circulation, constanly removing the smelly scum off the surface. Yes, your 'hardy' fish would survive but you wouldn't see them for all the algae that would be blooming due to the high Nitrates.

Your choice, have a nice saltwater tank or a algae infested, stinking tub

 

[JJ1234567]

On top of that, the cardnals are lurkers and really need several caves made out of the rock to feel at home and comfortable.

 

[FishOwner]

Hmmm.....not to be contrary but.....I have a fish only tank, the 75g. There is not one single piece of LR in there and it isn't an algae factory. I don't do water changes several times a week either. (Although I do try and do wc's every week sometimes I do skip a week here or there, but then again, this is my routine for ALL of my tanks) Tank doesn't smell bad either. No skimmer. HOB filter which has carbon in there and the filter pad is washed off in dechlorinated saltwater, when I do wc's. The whole filter is cleaned once a month. There is fake decor in there and it provides all the hiding spots the fish need. On the other hand, I do have an air stone in there. As far as it not being of any service, it does provide excellent surface agitation and I like the looks of it. You do have to understand that an air stone WILL give you salt creep but the way mine is placed, it just collects on the glass cover so no harm done to anything. There is also a powerhead to provide more current. Lighting is just regular fluorescent (sp?) but the tubes are (1) 10,000k and (1) actinic. Substrate is crushed coral which I vacuum when I do wc's. Fish include yellow tang, picasso trigger, niger trigger and 2 three stripe damsels. There is also a couple of turbo snails, a snail I picked up at the beach a whelk I think and a very large hermit crab. The damsels spawn every couple of weeks so I guess things are fairly good in there....
Main thing is to not introduce too many fish at once, be careful not to overfeed, don't overstock (yes I know the niger is going to get too big for this tank which is why I'm setting up a 125g for all these fish but for right now the triggers are small), and have fun with it!
I like this tank as it's so easy to care for and fun to watch!

 

[petey Z]

wow very interesting,
i will be able to buy power heads, and crushed coral sand, so i assume the Ph wont be that tough to handel. Eventually i will be able to obtain live rock from the guy i work for because he always have free stuff laying around. Would my main filter be the live rock or should i get something else?

 

[Aquascaper]

Live rock is by far and away the best filtration for a saltwater tank and with sufficient amounts you should not need anything more. Your external would be better used as circulation only, or filled with live rock will create a mini-sump.

 

[FishOwner]

When/if you get LR later on down the line, do make sure to cure it in a separate container!
If you decide not to have any LR or will wait awhile before getting any then yes, a filter is needed. I like using the filter pad because not only can I run carbon in there, but it also grabs up particulate matter which can be washed off/changed when you do wc's.
LR is good, no doubt about that, but it isn't a magic cure all either. And keeping a fish only tank is quite possible without it.
BTW, just like in freshwater, your 'good' bacteria will colonize any surface area that they can....the glass, ornaments, filter media, etc....the bacteria's population is only limited by oxygen and food.

 

[Aquascaper]

BTW, just like in freshwater, your 'good' bacteria will colonize any surface area that they can....the glass, ornaments, filter media, etc....the bacteria's population is only limited by oxygen and food.

True but unlike freshwater there are no anaerobic areas in an external filter for Nitrogen Fixing bacteria to grow and therefore the conversion of Nitrates to Nitrogen gas does not occur. This is why live rock is so good for your tank. It also does the job of a filter pad as particulate matter gets trapped in the nooks and crannies and creates a source of nutrition for you cleanup crew and also feeds the bacteria in the tank at all levels allowing the increase in their numbers and therefore the capacity for a higher bioload.

A small amount of live rock will do far better as filtration for you tank than an external filter so weigh up the costs: (rough figures below)

An external costs £100, that's the equivalent of 10kg (22lbs) of live rock - almost half the recommended amount for a 55g tank.

So the choice is:
1) A bare tank with an external filter where you still have to spend money aquascaping it
2) A tank half full with rock which is also natures own filtration system which gives you the option to grow corals if you wish

I know which one i'd go for but the choice is yours

 

[petey Z]

haha alright i see, thanks and im going to have to think it over

 

[FishOwner]

Before I reply I just want to say that I am debating this in the friendliest possible way. I know that on the net, because you can't see facial expressions or tone of voice that sometimes it's very easy to get the wrong impression in a reply. I have no malice or know-it-all attitude, simply debating a subject!

Okay.... so, the whole nitrates to nitrogen gas thing. There is (from what I've read) tremendous debate on the effectiveness of LR doing this. The first thing is that not all rock is created equal. From my own personal observations, tonga branching and marshall island rock are not very porous at all. Many of the pieces that I have seen up close have no pin holes, etc.... just basically a rough surface and that's it. Alot of the aquacultured rock is just riddled with holes of various sizes so there is quite a difference when it comes to the 'type' of rock. Then there is the question of the rock being a mechanical filter. No question that it does, but like any filter it can become clogged. Again, that will depend on so many factors, cleanup crew, biological load within the tank, and the rocks themselves. The rock is a finite material, it can only hold so much. If the water, actually the nitrates in the water cannot reach the anaerobic bacteria deep within the rock, then the nitrates will not be processed. Which is why every so often, it's a very good idea to blast your rocks out with a powerhead or turkey baster and get some of the built up detrius out of the tank (another reason to have a filter, when you blast your rocks, the filter will grab up some of the gunk and you can remove it from your tank when you clean your filter! ) Live rock often has coralline algae growing on it which can block more of the pores, and the lastly, LR is well known for holding onto phosphates which can fuel unwanted algae growths.
Before anyone says "you must hate LR" let me say that it is a good thing to have in your tank. I wouldn't consider having a reef tank without it! If you can afford buying the rock then go for it. I am just saying that in a fish only tank, it isn't a necessity like it is in a reef tank.
The last comment I have is that in the US at least, you can buy a HOB filter for $30....LR around here goes for around $5 to $8 a pound depending on the rock. Yes, you still have to buy decor....in my own tank I think I spent around $50 (some things I had laying around from other tanks). So in my situation if I had spent the money for the decor and the filter on some rock I would have ended up with 10 to 18 pounds of rock. Which means I would still have to buy some decor. The plus side to having fake decor is that on occasion you can take them all out and clean/bleach them. No build up of debris and no coralline growing all over everything. If the fish get sick, no need to remove them to another tank either, just dose the main tank as you won't have to worry about meds binding with the LR.
Again, if you were to do a reef tank I'd say you must have LR but in a fish only situation then no you don't have to have it. It's great if you can afford to do it but you can keep fish quite well without it.
JMO, IMO, etc...