I was looking for a 75 gal tank but got a great deal on a 55. It came with a Aquaclear 110 HOB filter, 2 300 watt heaters, 2 power heads, 2 air pumps, an under gravel filter (one for each side of tank), gravel, a python, and way too many ornaments. So now what do I do with all this stuff?

1. At some point I am going to get a canister filter however I am going to set up with this one for now. Seeing as I have the UG filter can I put that in the tank and hook it up to the canister later (reverse flow)? Is gravel tidy a MUST?

2. Do I need 2 power heads and where do they go? How do they work?

3. Do I need an air pump(s)? I see alot of tanks without them.

4. 1 300 watt heater or 2? Where is the best place to put them?

5. Do I deck this thing out with ornaments or just a few?

After I get some input I will put this together and post a pic before I fill with water so you can tell me what I did right or wrong.

Thanks
Roger

Roger95 wrote:

Hi and welcome to OFL.
Some answers and I'm sure the others will add on.

1-Yes, graveltidy is a must to keep your future- O's tank clean.They're messy eaters.I presume your gonna keep an Oscar, yes?
2-I got the exit of my pump with the upper bit of the pipes in the upper waterlevel, to create a current and flush away all floating dirt.
3-Airpumps are no must, but can help saturate your water with oxigen.
Looks nice though, and help keep the water circulated.I use loads of bubbles!
4-Totally depends on how warm you wanna keep your tank, if it's insulated,like with a background.You'll have to run your tank and see what is nescesary.
If you need a heater i'd be best to use 2 at a lower level, in case of trouble.
5- Ornaments are nice for a small O but big ones don't really bother with them.

Hope that helps a bit!

I've not had much experience with UGF so someone else will help you out. I'm a great love of canister filters as I believe these are ideal with large messy fish like Oscars.

you can use power heads or an air pump to run your under gravel filter, since the tank is quite small, I should think one would suffice.

When you talk about an air pump, are you referring to the type that create lots of bubbles in your tank?

A 300 W heater is more than enough for a 55 gallon tank

I would avoid putting too many ornaments in a small tank, remember that any object going into your tank will cause water displacement, basically this means the more you put in your tank, the less water you will have.

1. Hooking up the output from a cannister filter to your UGF will work great, it will give you extra filtration and reduce gravel cleaning. Yes a gravel tidy is a must. Oscars dig and if they dig to the bottom of the tank your UGF will not work

2. You dont need power heads but you can use them to create a flow around your tank

3. Air pumps create a flow of bubbles and these bubbles ripple the tank. You dont have to have an air pump but you should create a ripple on the top of the tank. You can use a power head or a filter outlet to do this. I like the look of the bubbles so i have air pumps

4. Get 2 300w heaters. Set one at a temp slightly lower than the other. One acts as insurance in case the other fails, check monthly both are working

5. Put in the tank whatever you think looks nice, if you put large rocks in then make sure they are very stable

Well I ordered a Fluval 405. Will be here monday. I can't seem to find the gravel tidy anywhere. Any sugestions? Thanks for all the advise.

I know Paul and I used the same easy homemade device.
Take a soda bottle, cut off the bottom, attach a hose to the top of the bottle.
I cut a jagged edge on the bottom partof the bottle and hose the water while keeping the bottle pressed tpo the bottom of my tank.
Work very nicely, removes all dirt without spreading any.
Before i used an Eheim gravel vaccuumpump but that did a poor job and costs loads of batteries.

I cannot find gravel tidy in the United States. Is there another product I can use?

google my friend, you can try ebay, or have your LFS order it for you.




or if your daring, make it yourself and cut it to the exact size and shape you need.

www.k-mac-plastics.net/pvc-perforated-sheet.htm

A gravel tidy is just a flexable plastic sheet with holes that are smaller than your gravel. Anything will do!!! If you can buy one then have a think about anything that will be suitable