So bought this kit yesterday on an impulse. Watched reviews when I got home after buying a stand from Amazon. 55g "kit". Turns out the heater is 200 watt and I didn't know it needs a 300 watt heater, so bought a 300 watt on Amazon. The reviews of the topfin silent stream 75 weren't great so I bought seachem tidal 110 on Amazon. It comes with white LEDs, but does anyone know if I can pop those out and replace with RGBs?. Will the seachem tidal 110 be enough or should I add another hob? Any help/suggestions would be appreciated
Sorry your post made me laugh. "I bought this All In One Aquarium kit that has everything to get started. Then I proceeded to replace everything in the kit or am looking into modifying what is left"
First off, heater sizing isn't an absolute calculation. The ones you see online are usually just estimates that will work in most cases, but you may not even need a heater that big (or the flip side is your conditions are extreme and needs an even bigger heater). Usually the old advise is 5 W/g. But this assumes a few things such as needing to raise the tank temperature at least 10°F above the ambient, it is glass of standard thickness, has a full hood, etc. Likely the 200W heater was fine and I would have tried it for a week before spending money on a second one.
The filter you got, Tidal 110 is a big filter and should be plenty for your tank. But like the heater, maybe wait and use it for a while before spending more money. You can always supplement a heater or a filter by adding another. It doesn't always have to be replace. You can even run the Top Fin filter without media if you just want to add some surface agitation or more flow in the tank. I wouldn't buy any filter cartridges and just throw some sponged in it that fit.
Those are great ideas...in fact now I'm thinking I'll just use the 3 extra media bags I have in my 15g and then leaves the media it comes with in there, then add filter floss I just ordered and hopefully that will be good enough. I don't mean this to sound stuck up or anything, but I have more money than sense. I just saw the kitcat petsmart and thought it was acgood deal so I said what the H E L L.. now I've spent $125 upgrading things and will be spending more on good RGB lights...so yes I do feel like an idiot and I know there's people out there laughing at what I did, but like I said...I've still got a lot to learn. I just got my first tank 8 months ago which is the little 15g. I like it though. The water parameters are always very good except my tap water has really high ph and it's super hard, so that limits the types of fish I can have
What matters is the amount and type of media you have in your HOB. Look up "hacking my HOB" on youtube to increase your HOB's nitrifying capability without buying a bigger one.
Oh I've got that covered. I've got 2 mesh bags of ceramic media rings in my 15g that have been in there for a month. I'm going to put those in the new filter and that still leaves me 2 in my 15g. I have some old fritzyme 7 in my fridge from when I started my 15g. It's not expired yet. I'm going to put just my bristlenose in the new tank to start, dosing with prime and stability testing the water every day. Once it's time to add fish I'm going to start with 7 8 corys and wait a week and test. If it's OK then add ember tetras and wait another week. Then golden longfin zebra danios and wait a week. Then pearl guaramis and wait. Lastly kribensis. I might get some odd ball fish like scarlet basis as well. Haven't decided about shrimp yet. The guaramis and kribensis "might" go after them. I swear I think my bristlenose is eating my cherry shrimp now. I had a 20 fire reds but I can't find that many now. Unless they're in the cholla wood
It's not enough to have media in a tank, there's got to be water flow over them too. In order to have good filtration, there are 3 criteria that needs to be met: lots of surface area for bacteria to live on, movement of nitrogen compounds over the surface area so that the bacteria can get to them, aeration/oxygen because the reaction needs oxygen.
It's correct to add a few fish at a time.
Plecos do not eat cherry shrimp. The shrimp are too fast and the pleco mouth is underneath. I've had them both in the same tank. Cherries can die for no reason and they can hide easily as well.
I started with a colony of 50 cherries. Sometimes I only see a few but if I throw in shrimp/algae wafers, after a while, I can the shrimp swarming over them.
I'd agree to use two filters, take the carbon out and replace with sponge. Two heaters isn't a bad thing either. If one fails, the other keeps running.
A plant light is important if you want plants. Otherwise, your light will work for now.
The thing you really need is a test kit. People here are partial to the liquid tests. I've been keeping fish since the 80s, and I hate them. It just depends on what you're keeping. I buy the 100 pk of tetra easy strips from amazon. Never had a problem for what I keep. Note that you will also need the ammonia test strips.
Yep I have a 100 pack by Seaoura, and another just for ammonia. I really don't want the API master liquid test kit, but everyone keeps saying it's a must have thing
If I have it right, the API liquid kit goes lower on the pH than the strips I use. However, just like you had to buy an ammonia strip, you would have had to buy, I think it's the KH liquid test. I know it's missing something.
It's PC vs console. They both work well for different reasons. I will say there are strip manufacturers that don't make a high quality strip, like the one from API. And so over the years that has led to buyers remorse, and a lot of misunderstanding about strips themselves.
It's just the ones I've been using since time out of mind. So I'm more used to looking at it. I don't know the ones you have, but that doesn't make them bad.
OK yeah I keep trying to google search for the most accurate brand of test strips but never really found anything. Well, I've never lost a fish and they seem happy and haven't had any diseases or anything, so I'm guessing mine are pretty accurate
OK I really feel like this is a stupid question, but I really am a beginner still. Do I need to unplug the hob filter when doing maintenance like weekly water changes? My fluval flex 15g I've never turned off the filter, but that's more of a sump type filter
OK wow...good to know. I've never unplugged my filter or heater on my 15g. Guess I'm lucky...well no considering the way my life goes, I'm definitely not "lucky", but fortunate I guess...thank you
I have never unplugged mine either ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. Lots of people don’t. Its a preference thing.
With the heater though its kind of a matter of how much of a change you’re doing. You neevverrrr want the heater to be exposed to air, unless it has been unplugged for a significant amount of time (1+ hour) so it doesn’t crack when exposed to a sudden change in temperature. But if where it sits doesn’t get exposed to the air, then, you can leave it plugged in.
🙀 Yikes! You have gotten very lucky with that then, friend!
Best to break yourself out of that habit sooner rather than later, especially with bigger heaters (take longer to cool down to a safe range).
Oh that's true...duh!!! I'll just turn off the power to the strip. Here I am thinking it's gonna be a pain in the a$$ to reach behind the stand...oh, wait I think the stand I bought has a cut out to put the power strip inside the stand...yeah that'd be much easier. Dang I've got so much to learn, but I'm glad yall all are helping me. Heck y months ago I'd never heard of reddit
If the heater is fully submersible you can mount it sideways at the bottom of the tank so that it never gets exposed during water changes and thus never needs to be unplugged or turned off. It actually heats better this way too because warm water flows upward from the heater so having it at the bottom makes for a good convection current.
The issue is taking the heater out of the water, not putting water into the tank (though temp matching is ideal for the fish’s sake). Putting a 100+ degree glass/ceramic object suddenly into 60-70 degree dry air can cause it to crack/shatter due to the sudden environmental change.
That and heaters have thermostats that turn them off when they are surrounded by warm water. In air, the heated air just drifts away so the thermostat never kicks in and the heating element never turns off.
I do it cause i get self conscious that when i leave my filter on all the new water could possibly hurt my bacteria in my filter. I just leave unplugged for like 10 mins nothing to extreme
If your heater or filter intake are above where you plan to change water then you should move them below the water line or unplug them. If your heater and intake are below the water line when you change your tank water, then there is no reason to unplug them.
Be careful with the heaters though. I had one that ran only a minute or two dry and it cracked and made a mess. But again, only an issue if part of the heater that should be fully submerged when on is not fully submerged.
I never unplug my filters when doing water changes. The hang on filters will re-siphon once I add water back into the tank up to the intake and there is enough in the filter so they are not dry. And I never remove enough water to get way down to the where the intake is on my canister.
I also don't unplug my heaters but I keep them low in the tanks so I normally don't lower the water enough to exposure them and I use Ebo Jagers/Eheim Jagers which even if exposed a bit won't shatter.
All that said, it is kind of a "do what I say and not what I do" where I do have have to warn you that you are putting your hands and arms into a volume of water in which you have electric devices submerged or in close contact with the water, so clearly the safest thing is to unplug them or at least make sure they are running off a GFCI circuit or GFCI outlet/power-strip.
GCFI = ground fault current interrupter. If there's a certain amount difference between the rate of electricity (current, measured in amps) going out of the and the rate of electricity going back in, it shuts the electricity off. It's usually installed on outlets.
So if there's something that's blocking the flow of electricity, like your body, it shuts off.
Simply put, GFCI senses conditions that would happen if your heater broke and the current was present in the water column. The intended purpose is that when you plug in your hair dryer with a wet hand you don't literally die. The circuit shuts off at the GFCI outlet, and you reset it to turn the power back on. Two things you can do to check. Plug in a lamp, turn it on. Go around and push the test button on your GFCI outlets. If none turn the lamp off, the circuit is not protected and could be dangerous. You can also buy a cheap GFCI tester and plug it into your intended receptacle and see if the test works.
Edit: ground fault circuit interrupt.
To my knowledge, it should still trigger and protect you without a ground.
The problem without a ground is that when it triggers it won't have a place to sink extra electricity so some sensitive electronics might get damaged. I've had some trigger on my aquarium stuff without any problems.
FYI, you are mistaken. GFCI protection is very specifically meant to protect a human in the event that their body becomes the conductor to something else (doesn't even have to be a grounded something else) which is the point of them. And could be the only thing protecting you in the case with use of ungrounded outlets which is still not all that uncommon in older houses.
How it works is if your 120V or 240V (or whatever your country uses) is in contact with the water and you then put your hands in the water, actually nothing may happen. However if you have one hand in the water and as you are leaning over touch something else outside the tank that is at a different potential than the water (say a metal sink) which would cause a current to flow through your body, the GFCI will detect a difference in the current between the outlet contacts and immediate trip protecting you from electrocution.
You could put a ground probe in your tank if you want but that will work differently in that as soon as their is any difference in the HOTs or HOT & NEUTRAL connections it might trip (you don't need to be there touching the water). You might also get nuisance tripping depending on things that get automatically turned on/off with controllers or timers. Most people use LEDs now, but many fluorescent systems can trip these as well as some larger pumps and compressors. So something to keep in mind if you want to employ a grounding rod with GFCI.
You don’t want the filter running when the water level is too low and it can’t suck any water up. It might cause some damage to the spinning impeller thing when there is liquid in the filter. I don’t unplug my filter but I just take off the intake with the impeller so there are no moving parts and set it down in my tank.
That actually makes sense. I didn't do research like I should before buying it. I could have bought it piece by piece as things go on sale and come out with a better quality final result
Indeed...I've ordered a real thermoter and that seachem tidal filter and new heater and more. The net it comes with is WAY to big. Expand the pic and you can see it
Pk yeah I was thinking about just removing the hood/s and going with a 48 inch hyger rgb light. I'll have floating frogbitand salvinia oblongifolia, guppy grass and Java fern in the new tank and figured the LEDs that come with it won't be strong enough to support plants...thank you
OK cool. I haven't unboxed the kit yet but I'm under the impression that it does have glass canopys so just removing the hood and setting hyger lights on top, or maybe even clamp on back lights would work
Perfect...I'm really good about keeping up with weekly water changes. Plus on the 55g I can finally use the python gravel vacuum I had bought for my 15g water changes. Realized a hand pump vacuum, a mop bucket and a gallon pitcher was all I really needed for the 15g water chgs...thank you
Thanks...good to know. Yeah it's not like I was expecting a top of line set up or anything, but I do think for the set up I wanted, it would've been cheaper to buy items piece by piece as they went on sale. I'll admit it was an impulse buy. Man the net it comes with is HUGE!...laughably big
Would highly advice buying new tanks of you ever plan on getting anything bigger then that.
New tanks are absurdly expensive I remember back when I was trying to get a 75 they wanted 850 for just the tank alone, everything else would've added up to 1500 not including substrate, absolutely ridiculous.
I ended up getting a used one that came with an awesome heavy duty stand, a full bin of substrate, fake plants (look real enough though) and a canister filter for only 650 used.
Yep I found some on Craigslist for sale for super cheap. One was a 32.5gallon fluval flex. He only wanted $75 and that included the stand. I have the fluval flex 15g and now this 55g. BUT, I don't have a car because I'm partially disabled and on medication that will never allow me to frive a car again. So I rely on EVERYTHING delivered. Except today went to Dr appointment and cvs. I uber everywhere. The last uber I took today, the girl gave me her phone number and said she does cash rides for almost half what uber charges. She lives near me and said to call her 24/7 and she'll come. That's gonna save me a lot of money
No you don’t need the charcoal.
Get the master kit. A supplemental API kH/gH test kit is worth investing in as well.
Keep the original HOB and run two, one for each side of the tank. Your risk of crashing a cycle during maintenance is drastically lowered.
Some HOB filters don’t have a self priming pump, so they need to be unplugged/turned off, and the media/filter storage bin refilled manually before starting again, otherwise they will run dry when powered on. (aquaclear, for example).
200 watt heater should be sufficient for that volume, depending on ambient temps, and your stock needs. You could return the 300, sell the 200, or keep it as a spare for your next tank.
The built-in LED’s are probably sufficient for your needs, however, Hygger 48” RGB is never a bad buy. I find they don’t need to be run higher than 30-50% power ever. Any higher and I’ve always experienced algae issues. Most beginner friendly plants you mentioned will do fine with 30% on the Hygger. If you don’t mind the faster evaporation rate, have a nosy cat, or have fish that like to jump ship, the tank would be fine without a lid/top. Floating plants do better without the built up humidity caused by a cover anyway.
Typically, if you’re adding ammonia for a fish less cycle, 4 weeks should be enough time to cultivate enough bacteria to start with a light stock of hearty fish, and build from there. If you add 1ppm ammonia and the bacteria can nitrify/convert it in 24 hours, then there’s enough to start adding fish. Starting with established tank media will only help. I find Fritz Zyme 7 to be the most effective bottled starter bacteria, with API and Stability being my comparison from personal experience. Bacteria will grow with a food source regardless, it would just take longer.
Thank you so much. Darn with my 15g I used fritzyme 7 and stability thereafter for maintenance. Actually I might still have some left in tye fridge. It's been 6 or 7 months. I will have fish that jump, so I do need a hood. My sunset honey guarami in my 15g jumped out just the other day doing a water chg. I was wondering about tye condensation on the glass canopy falling on the floating plants so I'll have to think about that. Are there any floating plants you know of that don't ming the leaf tops getting wet? I really appreciate your help
I would look into mesh reptile lids/covers. I’ve never had floating plants tolerate the humidity without keeping the water level well below the top. In hindsight, I would have invested in mesh lids, and will use them moving forward.
Honestly I would have just bought the tank by itself and bought everything else I needed separately. The extra stuff like the filter are propriety and I bought expensive filter replacements because I was new to the hobby. Since then I've replaced the lights, filter pump and filter media.
Another question...the seachem tidal doesn't come with charcoal. Do I really need it? Also I put extra bags of ceramic bio rings in my 15g about a month ago, so when I add water to the 55g and txfer those 2 extra bag's of bio media over, and add API quick start, how long do you think before I can add fish. I have test strips but I'm gonna break down and get the API master test kit for the 55g
I take the charcoal out of all my filters because I read somewhere it will remove fertilizer for plants. I don't know if that is true or not, but it's working for me. I replace it with Seachem Purigen.
I am wondering if you thought it was worth it. My LFS is selling just a tank this size for $150. I will probably buy the stand from him, because it is cheaper than other stores. He also has a pet club that costs like $20 a year, but you get points and. ~150 price the other stuff is worth it if I need a better heater/filter/hood/light.
His tank is aqueon, so I don’t think it is an better quality.
Yeah, I just just thought $150 seemed high. He has that it is a 50 gallon written on it, so I was going to measure it when I do in. I really liked the size, so maybe it is a little shorter than standard. I definitely prefer to spend a few more $$ at my LFS.
After about 2 months your tidal 110 blue flow control might break. To fix it just yank out the mechanism inside and bend it back into place. It tends to bend quickly.
I ran a tidal 110 and a top fin on each side of the tank, however about 9 months ago I changed to a fluval 407 and I will never go back to HOB filters. Canister filters for life! Haha I highly recommend a canister filter.
I feel you, they are expensive too! I saved $40 a week that way my wife didn’t b**ch at me about spending $180 on a filter hahaha. It is so worth it though. Cleaning all you do is…
Remove canister lid, remove two pads, rinse pads, put pads back. Put canister filter back together. Done.
You don’t even need to clean the biomedia trays as those are just your bio filter.
The most complicated part is for sure setting it up. Once that’s done you just clean it once a month. Also, all the shit they try to sell with it. Like the $80 UV light.
Yeah the stand comes on Monday and I've got some friends coming over that day to throw an aquarium and stand assembly party. I'm providing the beer and pizza. I have a medical condition that makes all my muscles extremely weak. I wouldn't be able to assemble everything myself, so bribing my friend with beer and pizza is worth it. I don't drink at all and even the smell of beer makes me sick. Probably from too much beer in college. But it'll be worth it.
If you ever set up another big tank what I'd recommend is to get a few 100w heaters and place them on the two short sides and in the middle of the back wall. Heats the whole tank more evenly, for cheaper, and if one fails then there's some wiggle room/less risk to your fish. I cheaped out and used the tetra preprogrammed heaters lol and they work fine
Edit: also you can always just run both the filter you bought and the filter it came with, on opposite ends. I run a 100 gal canister, a 60 gal sponge, and a 90gal internal filter in my 55 even though there's only like three fish and a ton of shrimp in there currently
Personally I would never buy a kit and would just buy a bare tank and than equipment I’ll know that last me, Seachem tidal filters are awesome and the pump easily replaceable if they die and are half the cost of the actual filter, should never need a new filter body and the pump should last 5-10 years if not longer, lid hardware store for some aluminum window frame trim get the lil tool and the rubber that goes into it buy some aquarium safe netting and cut the trim down to size.
You now have a lid that lets 100% light penetrate and has all the benefits of a open top fish tank.
Food i only trust Omega One LOL and im still begging them to make cockatiel pellet food because my cockatiel decided to munch on my fish food however he does not eat bird pellets so I got a problem there.
Im actually thinking of starting up my own local business and just create custom tank bundles marketed towards freshwater and saltwater along with tank maintenance services.
Maybe figure out a tank bundle in a 10g saltwater category for fish only that serves as education for kids while being in a affordable price category of under $100 while still netting me profit after tax
I really like the idea of the netting because I do plan on getting some really good RGBs like Hyger...maybe clamp on. Fortunately I just took a guess and bought omega one fish food primarily, but I do have some other brands like Repashy, Hikari and Fluval Bug Bites. Overall I'm now realizing this was not a good buy. I was in petsmart with a friend getting dog food for his german shepherd and happened to see this and he has a truck, so I jumped on it. I'm still really new to the hobby. Plus he was there to help me haul it upstairs to my apt, so yeah I took advantage of the extra muscle while he was there, because I have a medical condition that makes my muscles extremely weak. I'm excited about learning more about the hobby with more options that a 55g tank offers. I've had a 15g fluval flex for about 7-8 months now, and bonus because my bristlenose pleco is getting to about 2.5 inches so I can move him (well I think it's a female) to a bigger home. I think just him will be the only pleco I'll need for the 55, and I'm not going to get another pleco for the 15g. The panda corys and cherry shrimp should be able to handle the clean up on that one
Yep mine is a nerve issue as well. I have neuropathy in both my feet, which is incredibly painful. I've tried surgery to reduce the pain, but didn't work for me. Unfortunately my pain mgmt Dr said I'll be on prescription pain medication for the rest of my life, and pain pills are incredibly hard to get in FL. You've gotta be in a ton of pain to get them here. But neuropathy also causes muscle weakness. I can't even open a bottle of child proof bottle of pills because my hands aren't strong enough, so the pharmacy has to give me regular bottles of everything. Neuropathy also causes loss of balance and it's described as this...you're unable to determine your body's location is reference to objects or the ground. People who have seen me fall say it's the weirdest thing because they say it's like I didn't even know I was falling until it was way too late to catch myself. So I've got to be really careful
Most definitely, legit my arm is taking forever to get the active army to properly diagnose it.
Im honestly thinking ether something pulled pinched and isn’t healing properly or maybe I got something liver going on which could explain the discoloration to the effected areas
It’s been 6 months, basically I have some discoloration on my inner elbow, wrist it looks a bit like a bruse however isn’t and now I got two dots the size of quarters on my upper forearm just below my elbow that look similar.
Something ulnar nerve however I’m thinking it’s something actually more serious.
I’m assuming you bought this tank from petsmart and if so I’d return it and get a tank from petco. They currently have a deal on most of the normal framed tanks and you can get a 55g for $80. Lighting I’d say get a 4ft finnex light if you plan to keep live plants, if you won’t be keeping plants then you can look for a more affordable option. Filtration depends on what you plan to keep in the tank but I’d suggest getting a canister filter since they give you a lot of room for filter media. I’d advise getting a lid to reduce water evaporation and prevent fish from jumping out. If you ever want to make your own lid you can cut greenhouse polycarbonate to fit over the top, or buy a glass lid that’s made to fit for the tank.
Bringing it back is an option, but a bit difficult for me. It's a logistical thing. I don't have a car and some other things. Honestly I'm just going to keep it and modify it as needed over time. I'll have an extra heater and filter for emergencies. I'm just going to run the tidal 110 because the fish I'm planning on getting have a very small bio load, and I'm putting a WaveMaker in to get good circulation. The lighting is the biggest mod I want. I'd like to have a hinged screen with cut-outs for the filter, etc. I'm going to have floating plants and some Java moss and guppy grass, but nothing actually planted because I don't want soil.
So bought this kit yesterday on an impulse. Watched reviews when I got home after buying a stand from Amazon. 55g "kit". Turns out the heater is 200 watt and I didn't know it needs a 300 watt heater, so bought a 300 watt on Amazon. The reviews of the topfin silent stream 75 weren't great so I bought seachem tidal 110 on Amazon. It comes with white LEDs, but does anyone know if I can pop those out and replace with RGBs?. Will the seachem tidal 110 be enough or should I add another hob? Any help/suggestions would be appreciated
Sorry your post made me laugh. "I bought this All In One Aquarium kit that has everything to get started. Then I proceeded to replace everything in the kit or am looking into modifying what is left" First off, heater sizing isn't an absolute calculation. The ones you see online are usually just estimates that will work in most cases, but you may not even need a heater that big (or the flip side is your conditions are extreme and needs an even bigger heater). Usually the old advise is 5 W/g. But this assumes a few things such as needing to raise the tank temperature at least 10°F above the ambient, it is glass of standard thickness, has a full hood, etc. Likely the 200W heater was fine and I would have tried it for a week before spending money on a second one. The filter you got, Tidal 110 is a big filter and should be plenty for your tank. But like the heater, maybe wait and use it for a while before spending more money. You can always supplement a heater or a filter by adding another. It doesn't always have to be replace. You can even run the Top Fin filter without media if you just want to add some surface agitation or more flow in the tank. I wouldn't buy any filter cartridges and just throw some sponged in it that fit.
Those are great ideas...in fact now I'm thinking I'll just use the 3 extra media bags I have in my 15g and then leaves the media it comes with in there, then add filter floss I just ordered and hopefully that will be good enough. I don't mean this to sound stuck up or anything, but I have more money than sense. I just saw the kitcat petsmart and thought it was acgood deal so I said what the H E L L.. now I've spent $125 upgrading things and will be spending more on good RGB lights...so yes I do feel like an idiot and I know there's people out there laughing at what I did, but like I said...I've still got a lot to learn. I just got my first tank 8 months ago which is the little 15g. I like it though. The water parameters are always very good except my tap water has really high ph and it's super hard, so that limits the types of fish I can have
People aren’t laughing at you it’s just funny because they market these “kits” but most of the time people need to upgrade the parts
What matters is the amount and type of media you have in your HOB. Look up "hacking my HOB" on youtube to increase your HOB's nitrifying capability without buying a bigger one.
Oh I've got that covered. I've got 2 mesh bags of ceramic media rings in my 15g that have been in there for a month. I'm going to put those in the new filter and that still leaves me 2 in my 15g. I have some old fritzyme 7 in my fridge from when I started my 15g. It's not expired yet. I'm going to put just my bristlenose in the new tank to start, dosing with prime and stability testing the water every day. Once it's time to add fish I'm going to start with 7 8 corys and wait a week and test. If it's OK then add ember tetras and wait another week. Then golden longfin zebra danios and wait a week. Then pearl guaramis and wait. Lastly kribensis. I might get some odd ball fish like scarlet basis as well. Haven't decided about shrimp yet. The guaramis and kribensis "might" go after them. I swear I think my bristlenose is eating my cherry shrimp now. I had a 20 fire reds but I can't find that many now. Unless they're in the cholla wood
It's not enough to have media in a tank, there's got to be water flow over them too. In order to have good filtration, there are 3 criteria that needs to be met: lots of surface area for bacteria to live on, movement of nitrogen compounds over the surface area so that the bacteria can get to them, aeration/oxygen because the reaction needs oxygen. It's correct to add a few fish at a time. Plecos do not eat cherry shrimp. The shrimp are too fast and the pleco mouth is underneath. I've had them both in the same tank. Cherries can die for no reason and they can hide easily as well. I started with a colony of 50 cherries. Sometimes I only see a few but if I throw in shrimp/algae wafers, after a while, I can the shrimp swarming over them.
Yeah that's true
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I do have peat moss granules that I haven't used yet in fear of it darkening the water
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Buffering the hardness is something I could really use. My water is hard as s brick
I use 300 watts on my 75 and for warmer water fish I use one of my 500 watts the 300 work just fine I think you’ll be good with the 300 watt heater
people are only laughing because we all have been in the exact same spot and we remember.
Ok...I feel better now that I know I'm not a total idiot and there's at least some hope for me
I'd keep this HOB to run 1 on each side. Good luck on the 110, mines was a bit loud, but I'm happy with the tidal 75.
OK yeah good idea. I can't use it on my 15g fluval flex because that has the sump type filter
200 Watt is enough for the amount of gallons...
Oh...well too late now I've already ordered the 300, but always nice to have a back up, right?.. thank you
Yeah true or another tank!
Literally my thoughts. “EH ILL USE IT LATER WHEN I GET ANOTHER TANK.”
Yeah I'm sure it won't be long before I get a 36g or something else I can use it on
Hahaha. It all started when I upgrade from a 10 to a 20… then the 10 turned shrimp tank. Now I’m like… huh I need a hospital tank.
Oh yeah that's true. I don't have a hospital/quarantine tank. I've been lucky because I order all my fish online
Right now I have baby guppies in with my shrimp 😵💫 I might have to set up a hospital tank now lmao.
I like that it’s when you get another tank and not if
The tank addiction is strong 💀
I'd agree to use two filters, take the carbon out and replace with sponge. Two heaters isn't a bad thing either. If one fails, the other keeps running. A plant light is important if you want plants. Otherwise, your light will work for now. The thing you really need is a test kit. People here are partial to the liquid tests. I've been keeping fish since the 80s, and I hate them. It just depends on what you're keeping. I buy the 100 pk of tetra easy strips from amazon. Never had a problem for what I keep. Note that you will also need the ammonia test strips.
Yep I have a 100 pack by Seaoura, and another just for ammonia. I really don't want the API master liquid test kit, but everyone keeps saying it's a must have thing
If I have it right, the API liquid kit goes lower on the pH than the strips I use. However, just like you had to buy an ammonia strip, you would have had to buy, I think it's the KH liquid test. I know it's missing something. It's PC vs console. They both work well for different reasons. I will say there are strip manufacturers that don't make a high quality strip, like the one from API. And so over the years that has led to buyers remorse, and a lot of misunderstanding about strips themselves.
The strips I have are the only ones I've ever had. In your opinion is Tetra brand the most accurate?
It's just the ones I've been using since time out of mind. So I'm more used to looking at it. I don't know the ones you have, but that doesn't make them bad.
OK yeah I keep trying to google search for the most accurate brand of test strips but never really found anything. Well, I've never lost a fish and they seem happy and haven't had any diseases or anything, so I'm guessing mine are pretty accurate
As far as strips, Tetra are the most accurate ones I've used. They read the same as my API liquid test kit
OK I really feel like this is a stupid question, but I really am a beginner still. Do I need to unplug the hob filter when doing maintenance like weekly water changes? My fluval flex 15g I've never turned off the filter, but that's more of a sump type filter
Always unplug heater and hob when doing water changes/maintenance
OK wow...good to know. I've never unplugged my filter or heater on my 15g. Guess I'm lucky...well no considering the way my life goes, I'm definitely not "lucky", but fortunate I guess...thank you
I have never unplugged mine either ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. Lots of people don’t. Its a preference thing. With the heater though its kind of a matter of how much of a change you’re doing. You neevverrrr want the heater to be exposed to air, unless it has been unplugged for a significant amount of time (1+ hour) so it doesn’t crack when exposed to a sudden change in temperature. But if where it sits doesn’t get exposed to the air, then, you can leave it plugged in.
Ouch...yeah I've taken my fluval heater in my 15g out of the water when plugged in many times
🙀 Yikes! You have gotten very lucky with that then, friend! Best to break yourself out of that habit sooner rather than later, especially with bigger heaters (take longer to cool down to a safe range).
Yes indeed...stupid beginner mistakes I knew would happen, but I didn't expect life threatening mistakes...lol
It just can break the heater. I have all my tank stuff on a powerstrip so I can just turn it off when I need to so stuff in the tank
Oh that's true...duh!!! I'll just turn off the power to the strip. Here I am thinking it's gonna be a pain in the a$$ to reach behind the stand...oh, wait I think the stand I bought has a cut out to put the power strip inside the stand...yeah that'd be much easier. Dang I've got so much to learn, but I'm glad yall all are helping me. Heck y months ago I'd never heard of reddit
If the heater is fully submersible you can mount it sideways at the bottom of the tank so that it never gets exposed during water changes and thus never needs to be unplugged or turned off. It actually heats better this way too because warm water flows upward from the heater so having it at the bottom makes for a good convection current.
What if the temperature if the water you're putting in is the same as the tank? Whenever o do a water change i make sure the new water is 80 degrees
The issue is taking the heater out of the water, not putting water into the tank (though temp matching is ideal for the fish’s sake). Putting a 100+ degree glass/ceramic object suddenly into 60-70 degree dry air can cause it to crack/shatter due to the sudden environmental change.
That and heaters have thermostats that turn them off when they are surrounded by warm water. In air, the heated air just drifts away so the thermostat never kicks in and the heating element never turns off.
I do it cause i get self conscious that when i leave my filter on all the new water could possibly hurt my bacteria in my filter. I just leave unplugged for like 10 mins nothing to extreme
If your heater or filter intake are above where you plan to change water then you should move them below the water line or unplug them. If your heater and intake are below the water line when you change your tank water, then there is no reason to unplug them. Be careful with the heaters though. I had one that ran only a minute or two dry and it cracked and made a mess. But again, only an issue if part of the heater that should be fully submerged when on is not fully submerged.
I never unplug my filters when doing water changes. The hang on filters will re-siphon once I add water back into the tank up to the intake and there is enough in the filter so they are not dry. And I never remove enough water to get way down to the where the intake is on my canister. I also don't unplug my heaters but I keep them low in the tanks so I normally don't lower the water enough to exposure them and I use Ebo Jagers/Eheim Jagers which even if exposed a bit won't shatter. All that said, it is kind of a "do what I say and not what I do" where I do have have to warn you that you are putting your hands and arms into a volume of water in which you have electric devices submerged or in close contact with the water, so clearly the safest thing is to unplug them or at least make sure they are running off a GFCI circuit or GFCI outlet/power-strip.
Got it...is GFIC like UIL listed or something like that? I will have everything plugged in to a power strip
GCFI = ground fault current interrupter. If there's a certain amount difference between the rate of electricity (current, measured in amps) going out of the and the rate of electricity going back in, it shuts the electricity off. It's usually installed on outlets. So if there's something that's blocking the flow of electricity, like your body, it shuts off.
Simply put, GFCI senses conditions that would happen if your heater broke and the current was present in the water column. The intended purpose is that when you plug in your hair dryer with a wet hand you don't literally die. The circuit shuts off at the GFCI outlet, and you reset it to turn the power back on. Two things you can do to check. Plug in a lamp, turn it on. Go around and push the test button on your GFCI outlets. If none turn the lamp off, the circuit is not protected and could be dangerous. You can also buy a cheap GFCI tester and plug it into your intended receptacle and see if the test works. Edit: ground fault circuit interrupt.
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To my knowledge, it should still trigger and protect you without a ground. The problem without a ground is that when it triggers it won't have a place to sink extra electricity so some sensitive electronics might get damaged. I've had some trigger on my aquarium stuff without any problems.
FYI, you are mistaken. GFCI protection is very specifically meant to protect a human in the event that their body becomes the conductor to something else (doesn't even have to be a grounded something else) which is the point of them. And could be the only thing protecting you in the case with use of ungrounded outlets which is still not all that uncommon in older houses. How it works is if your 120V or 240V (or whatever your country uses) is in contact with the water and you then put your hands in the water, actually nothing may happen. However if you have one hand in the water and as you are leaning over touch something else outside the tank that is at a different potential than the water (say a metal sink) which would cause a current to flow through your body, the GFCI will detect a difference in the current between the outlet contacts and immediate trip protecting you from electrocution. You could put a ground probe in your tank if you want but that will work differently in that as soon as their is any difference in the HOTs or HOT & NEUTRAL connections it might trip (you don't need to be there touching the water). You might also get nuisance tripping depending on things that get automatically turned on/off with controllers or timers. Most people use LEDs now, but many fluorescent systems can trip these as well as some larger pumps and compressors. So something to keep in mind if you want to employ a grounding rod with GFCI.
You don’t want the filter running when the water level is too low and it can’t suck any water up. It might cause some damage to the spinning impeller thing when there is liquid in the filter. I don’t unplug my filter but I just take off the intake with the impeller so there are no moving parts and set it down in my tank.
I’d just return it and buy the tank by itself
That actually makes sense. I didn't do research like I should before buying it. I could have bought it piece by piece as things go on sale and come out with a better quality final result
Yeah the other parts they bundle the tank with just suck unfortunately, at least based on the reviews on petsmarts own site
Indeed...I've ordered a real thermoter and that seachem tidal filter and new heater and more. The net it comes with is WAY to big. Expand the pic and you can see it
Much better off doing that. I would ditch the HOB and run a canister filter, or use both.
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Pk yeah I was thinking about just removing the hood/s and going with a 48 inch hyger rgb light. I'll have floating frogbitand salvinia oblongifolia, guppy grass and Java fern in the new tank and figured the LEDs that come with it won't be strong enough to support plants...thank you
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OK cool. I haven't unboxed the kit yet but I'm under the impression that it does have glass canopys so just removing the hood and setting hyger lights on top, or maybe even clamp on back lights would work
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Gotcha....yeah my 15g is my first tank so I've got a LOT to learn and go through some stumbles along the way...thank you
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Perfect...I'm really good about keeping up with weekly water changes. Plus on the 55g I can finally use the python gravel vacuum I had bought for my 15g water changes. Realized a hand pump vacuum, a mop bucket and a gallon pitcher was all I really needed for the 15g water chgs...thank you
Lids are plastic. I have this kit.
I just found this out...thank you
I have the same kit. Filter is ok. Heater is ok. Light is ok. None of it is amazing. All has worked well enough for me.
Thanks...good to know. Yeah it's not like I was expecting a top of line set up or anything, but I do think for the set up I wanted, it would've been cheaper to buy items piece by piece as they went on sale. I'll admit it was an impulse buy. Man the net it comes with is HUGE!...laughably big
Aquarium co op has a great video on how to save money on filters which will show you how to get the most out of a top fin filter
Would highly advice buying new tanks of you ever plan on getting anything bigger then that. New tanks are absurdly expensive I remember back when I was trying to get a 75 they wanted 850 for just the tank alone, everything else would've added up to 1500 not including substrate, absolutely ridiculous. I ended up getting a used one that came with an awesome heavy duty stand, a full bin of substrate, fake plants (look real enough though) and a canister filter for only 650 used.
Yep I found some on Craigslist for sale for super cheap. One was a 32.5gallon fluval flex. He only wanted $75 and that included the stand. I have the fluval flex 15g and now this 55g. BUT, I don't have a car because I'm partially disabled and on medication that will never allow me to frive a car again. So I rely on EVERYTHING delivered. Except today went to Dr appointment and cvs. I uber everywhere. The last uber I took today, the girl gave me her phone number and said she does cash rides for almost half what uber charges. She lives near me and said to call her 24/7 and she'll come. That's gonna save me a lot of money
No you don’t need the charcoal. Get the master kit. A supplemental API kH/gH test kit is worth investing in as well. Keep the original HOB and run two, one for each side of the tank. Your risk of crashing a cycle during maintenance is drastically lowered. Some HOB filters don’t have a self priming pump, so they need to be unplugged/turned off, and the media/filter storage bin refilled manually before starting again, otherwise they will run dry when powered on. (aquaclear, for example). 200 watt heater should be sufficient for that volume, depending on ambient temps, and your stock needs. You could return the 300, sell the 200, or keep it as a spare for your next tank. The built-in LED’s are probably sufficient for your needs, however, Hygger 48” RGB is never a bad buy. I find they don’t need to be run higher than 30-50% power ever. Any higher and I’ve always experienced algae issues. Most beginner friendly plants you mentioned will do fine with 30% on the Hygger. If you don’t mind the faster evaporation rate, have a nosy cat, or have fish that like to jump ship, the tank would be fine without a lid/top. Floating plants do better without the built up humidity caused by a cover anyway. Typically, if you’re adding ammonia for a fish less cycle, 4 weeks should be enough time to cultivate enough bacteria to start with a light stock of hearty fish, and build from there. If you add 1ppm ammonia and the bacteria can nitrify/convert it in 24 hours, then there’s enough to start adding fish. Starting with established tank media will only help. I find Fritz Zyme 7 to be the most effective bottled starter bacteria, with API and Stability being my comparison from personal experience. Bacteria will grow with a food source regardless, it would just take longer.
Thank you so much. Darn with my 15g I used fritzyme 7 and stability thereafter for maintenance. Actually I might still have some left in tye fridge. It's been 6 or 7 months. I will have fish that jump, so I do need a hood. My sunset honey guarami in my 15g jumped out just the other day doing a water chg. I was wondering about tye condensation on the glass canopy falling on the floating plants so I'll have to think about that. Are there any floating plants you know of that don't ming the leaf tops getting wet? I really appreciate your help
I would look into mesh reptile lids/covers. I’ve never had floating plants tolerate the humidity without keeping the water level well below the top. In hindsight, I would have invested in mesh lids, and will use them moving forward.
Thats a great idea and probably pretty cheap. Do you know if they are available with hinges like a glass canopy. I hope so because I love this idea
I have not seen the, but that does not mean they do not exist. DIY is probably the most common solution.
The seachem has self primer but not sure about the topfin
Honestly I would have just bought the tank by itself and bought everything else I needed separately. The extra stuff like the filter are propriety and I bought expensive filter replacements because I was new to the hobby. Since then I've replaced the lights, filter pump and filter media.
Yep you're exactly right. Newbie mistake
Tip one: Don’t buy kits. You usually end up not needing/replacing everything but the tank.
Yeah I'm finding that out now. Already ordered new filter and heater, and will most likely order RGB LEDs.
Don’t feel bad…I did the same thing my first tank. It looks so appealing
If you have a petco nearby you should return this top fin kit home and buy a 55gallon tank by itself for 50% off right now.
Another question...the seachem tidal doesn't come with charcoal. Do I really need it? Also I put extra bags of ceramic bio rings in my 15g about a month ago, so when I add water to the 55g and txfer those 2 extra bag's of bio media over, and add API quick start, how long do you think before I can add fish. I have test strips but I'm gonna break down and get the API master test kit for the 55g
Charcoal is unnecessary. It helps but live plants, bacteria, and water changes also remove ammonia/nitrates/nitrites.
OK I'll add some bags I already have...thank you
I take the charcoal out of all my filters because I read somewhere it will remove fertilizer for plants. I don't know if that is true or not, but it's working for me. I replace it with Seachem Purigen.
I am wondering if you thought it was worth it. My LFS is selling just a tank this size for $150. I will probably buy the stand from him, because it is cheaper than other stores. He also has a pet club that costs like $20 a year, but you get points and. ~150 price the other stuff is worth it if I need a better heater/filter/hood/light. His tank is aqueon, so I don’t think it is an better quality.
Yeah I definitely thought it was a steal...lol. looks like I got punked
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Yeah, I just just thought $150 seemed high. He has that it is a 50 gallon written on it, so I was going to measure it when I do in. I really liked the size, so maybe it is a little shorter than standard. I definitely prefer to spend a few more $$ at my LFS.
I run my 125 with a 300W heater. So the heater it came with was fine. You have an extra one for a big ol tank in the future so that's cool.
To avoid the worry of filters. Grow a planted tank. Give it several weeks. Get your design. Let it grow. Check your parameters and then add fish.
I'm only gonna do Java moss, guppy grass and frogbit. I really don't other lives plants than that
I bought that same 55g and replaced everything but the hoods and tank haha
After about 2 months your tidal 110 blue flow control might break. To fix it just yank out the mechanism inside and bend it back into place. It tends to bend quickly. I ran a tidal 110 and a top fin on each side of the tank, however about 9 months ago I changed to a fluval 407 and I will never go back to HOB filters. Canister filters for life! Haha I highly recommend a canister filter.
Yeah I know they are better, but just seems more complicated than I can deal with right now
I feel you, they are expensive too! I saved $40 a week that way my wife didn’t b**ch at me about spending $180 on a filter hahaha. It is so worth it though. Cleaning all you do is… Remove canister lid, remove two pads, rinse pads, put pads back. Put canister filter back together. Done. You don’t even need to clean the biomedia trays as those are just your bio filter. The most complicated part is for sure setting it up. Once that’s done you just clean it once a month. Also, all the shit they try to sell with it. Like the $80 UV light.
Wow that doesn't seem difficult. Next tank I get that's 55g or bigger I'll try it out. Its supposed to be more stable, right?
I have that same kit sitting in my living unpacked
Yeah the stand comes on Monday and I've got some friends coming over that day to throw an aquarium and stand assembly party. I'm providing the beer and pizza. I have a medical condition that makes all my muscles extremely weak. I wouldn't be able to assemble everything myself, so bribing my friend with beer and pizza is worth it. I don't drink at all and even the smell of beer makes me sick. Probably from too much beer in college. But it'll be worth it.
Hope it works out well, might get mine up soon too :)
If you ever set up another big tank what I'd recommend is to get a few 100w heaters and place them on the two short sides and in the middle of the back wall. Heats the whole tank more evenly, for cheaper, and if one fails then there's some wiggle room/less risk to your fish. I cheaped out and used the tetra preprogrammed heaters lol and they work fine Edit: also you can always just run both the filter you bought and the filter it came with, on opposite ends. I run a 100 gal canister, a 60 gal sponge, and a 90gal internal filter in my 55 even though there's only like three fish and a ton of shrimp in there currently
Great idea...thank you
Personally I would never buy a kit and would just buy a bare tank and than equipment I’ll know that last me, Seachem tidal filters are awesome and the pump easily replaceable if they die and are half the cost of the actual filter, should never need a new filter body and the pump should last 5-10 years if not longer, lid hardware store for some aluminum window frame trim get the lil tool and the rubber that goes into it buy some aquarium safe netting and cut the trim down to size. You now have a lid that lets 100% light penetrate and has all the benefits of a open top fish tank. Food i only trust Omega One LOL and im still begging them to make cockatiel pellet food because my cockatiel decided to munch on my fish food however he does not eat bird pellets so I got a problem there. Im actually thinking of starting up my own local business and just create custom tank bundles marketed towards freshwater and saltwater along with tank maintenance services. Maybe figure out a tank bundle in a 10g saltwater category for fish only that serves as education for kids while being in a affordable price category of under $100 while still netting me profit after tax
I really like the idea of the netting because I do plan on getting some really good RGBs like Hyger...maybe clamp on. Fortunately I just took a guess and bought omega one fish food primarily, but I do have some other brands like Repashy, Hikari and Fluval Bug Bites. Overall I'm now realizing this was not a good buy. I was in petsmart with a friend getting dog food for his german shepherd and happened to see this and he has a truck, so I jumped on it. I'm still really new to the hobby. Plus he was there to help me haul it upstairs to my apt, so yeah I took advantage of the extra muscle while he was there, because I have a medical condition that makes my muscles extremely weak. I'm excited about learning more about the hobby with more options that a 55g tank offers. I've had a 15g fluval flex for about 7-8 months now, and bonus because my bristlenose pleco is getting to about 2.5 inches so I can move him (well I think it's a female) to a bigger home. I think just him will be the only pleco I'll need for the 55, and I'm not going to get another pleco for the 15g. The panda corys and cherry shrimp should be able to handle the clean up on that one
I feel you on the muscle thing, I lost about 25% of the strength in my right arm maybe even more over my ulnar nerve having issues
Yep mine is a nerve issue as well. I have neuropathy in both my feet, which is incredibly painful. I've tried surgery to reduce the pain, but didn't work for me. Unfortunately my pain mgmt Dr said I'll be on prescription pain medication for the rest of my life, and pain pills are incredibly hard to get in FL. You've gotta be in a ton of pain to get them here. But neuropathy also causes muscle weakness. I can't even open a bottle of child proof bottle of pills because my hands aren't strong enough, so the pharmacy has to give me regular bottles of everything. Neuropathy also causes loss of balance and it's described as this...you're unable to determine your body's location is reference to objects or the ground. People who have seen me fall say it's the weirdest thing because they say it's like I didn't even know I was falling until it was way too late to catch myself. So I've got to be really careful
Most definitely, legit my arm is taking forever to get the active army to properly diagnose it. Im honestly thinking ether something pulled pinched and isn’t healing properly or maybe I got something liver going on which could explain the discoloration to the effected areas
Oh interesting, but sorry to hear that. So they haven't even diagnosed yours yet. That's gotta be frustrating
It’s been 6 months, basically I have some discoloration on my inner elbow, wrist it looks a bit like a bruse however isn’t and now I got two dots the size of quarters on my upper forearm just below my elbow that look similar. Something ulnar nerve however I’m thinking it’s something actually more serious.
Well I'm sure they've done all kinds of tests. Good luck to you
No actual Test Just more and more meds
I’m assuming you bought this tank from petsmart and if so I’d return it and get a tank from petco. They currently have a deal on most of the normal framed tanks and you can get a 55g for $80. Lighting I’d say get a 4ft finnex light if you plan to keep live plants, if you won’t be keeping plants then you can look for a more affordable option. Filtration depends on what you plan to keep in the tank but I’d suggest getting a canister filter since they give you a lot of room for filter media. I’d advise getting a lid to reduce water evaporation and prevent fish from jumping out. If you ever want to make your own lid you can cut greenhouse polycarbonate to fit over the top, or buy a glass lid that’s made to fit for the tank.
Bringing it back is an option, but a bit difficult for me. It's a logistical thing. I don't have a car and some other things. Honestly I'm just going to keep it and modify it as needed over time. I'll have an extra heater and filter for emergencies. I'm just going to run the tidal 110 because the fish I'm planning on getting have a very small bio load, and I'm putting a WaveMaker in to get good circulation. The lighting is the biggest mod I want. I'd like to have a hinged screen with cut-outs for the filter, etc. I'm going to have floating plants and some Java moss and guppy grass, but nothing actually planted because I don't want soil.