Tank Size Reccomendation

[arabballin]

Hi, ive had fish for about a year and half now and i think im ready for african cichlids. I have been doing non stop reading and preparing mentally, now i actually wanna get down to it and get going.

My problem right now is getting a tank with out blowing a whole lot of money on it. I saw a 55 gallon kit at Walmart and wanted to know what you all think about that. I have a big canister filter so dont worry about me using the junk that comes with it as my main filter. The stand wont be too hard because me and my dad love making stuff like that so thats no problem.

Basically i wanna know if 55 is a good size or if i should go bigger or what. And if anyone knows of a way for me to get a cheap tank in the Los Angeles area please let me know.

 

[caboose_122]

55 gallons is a perfect size for african cichlids, how many gph does your canister put out? you would want aproxamitly 6-10x turn over.

 

[WaterBender1995]

DITTO what ^^^ he said.

I have an old 55 kit tank from walmart too, 7 yrs old and still holds h2o!

If the filter that comes with it has a biowheel USE it along with your canister!!!!

 

[arabballin]

Well my canister is rated at 320 gph which i think is pretty good. I was planning on using the filter it came with either way but i wouldnt want it as my only filter. I figure u can never have enough filtration especially with africans.

So i guess if i dont find any good deals soon ima just go with the 55, thank you everyone.

 

[jayjay]

The GPH isn't the important bit of a filter, the amount of media and surface area on that media is important. So I could have a huge turnover and only use sponges, but a filter with a lower turnover and better media like substrat pro for example would do a much greater job. The turnover will help with mechanical filtration but in an overstocked tank like what most Mbuna tanks are you will want more biological filtration than you would normally.

 

[arabballin]

O then im pretty much covered. My filter has 4 levels of filtration. i have the bottom one for large dirt the next one for finer pieces of dirt. the third one up are bio rings or something i believe, and the last one is a combination of carbon bio rings and some more of the finer filtration. Ill also be getting a power filter with a bio wheel to help out.

I want this tank to help me relax, look good in my room, and keep my love for this hobby all satisfied so i really wanna do it right. so please look for more posts from me as i progress.

Update: Im purchasing a brand new 60 gallon with a full wood stand for 225 USD. The guy even offered to stain the wood what ever color i want if ill wait around when i pick it up. The dimensions are 4' x 18"x 15".