wassup monster keepers, im still new to the forum and i have a question about water changes on my 55 gal. tank with a 10" ocscar tiger and 10" common pleco, both fishes are fat and healthy. i have a whisper filter for a 60 gal. tank (i dont use carbon) any recommendation on a better filter?? i have a under gravel filter with penguin 660 power heads, should i use UGF??and also i just want to know how often do i have to do water changes bcuz i wanna avoid cloudy water and just want to keep them healthy and avoid diseases. lmk asap thanks.
any recommendations?
- Thread starter kyowa808
- Start date
A canister would be a big improvement. Other than that either a Emperor 400, or better than that an AC110 filter. For water changes with those two fish, I'd do at least one a week, and start looking for a bigger tank.
Welcome to MFK by the way.
Welcome to MFK by the way.
If you have an Oscar chances are it digs down to the plastic of your UGF.. They are for the most part considered obsolete, especially with cichlid keepers.. U see, when any of your fish dig to the plastic or pits close to the plastic floor of your UGF that is where the water chooses to escape first.. As water always seeks the easiest way out 
Hence leaving the rest of your UGF coverage Useless And stagnant.. Anymore I just say they look nice LOL
Personally I like the Emp 400 though if I were going to stay with a 55 for the O.. I would go with 2.One will work for just those two fish but 2 is better. You are going to get allot of good suggestions with a few choice name brands.. One will be AC or Aqua Clear.. Which I have no experience with but hear allot of good things, And then you will hear about Canisters Most likely Fluvals ...
Oh also I would do a water change every week.. Schedule a day and that is your change day... This is disputable based on allot of things.. But change a minimum of 30% and Vacuum every time Over more time you will find what works best for your tank parameters.. And then it will just be natural.. \
Just my two cents to hopefully push you in the right direction. Oh and you are also going to get flamed.. So take what you need(content) and leave the bull..
Hence leaving the rest of your UGF coverage Useless And stagnant.. Anymore I just say they look nice LOL Personally I like the Emp 400 though if I were going to stay with a 55 for the O.. I would go with 2.One will work for just those two fish but 2 is better
. You are going to get allot of good suggestions with a few choice name brands.. One will be AC or Aqua Clear.. Which I have no experience with but hear allot of good things, And then you will hear about Canisters Most likely Fluvals ... Oh also I would do a water change every week.. Schedule a day and that is your change day... This is disputable based on allot of things.. But change a minimum of 30% and Vacuum every time
Over more time you will find what works best for your tank parameters.. And then it will just be natural.. \Just my two cents to hopefully push you in the right direction.
Oh and you are also going to get flamed.. So take what you need(content) and leave the bull.. 
Two emp 400's, or two aquaclear 110's. Aquaclear filters are good, but they become the best HOB filters if you do the bio-wheel mod to them. I feel this way because submersed media is rarely better than wet/dry.
You need atleast a 75 gallon for the oscar, both of those fish are extremely messy so if you can afford it soon, get a 125 at 4x2 feet.
Good move on replacing that whisper, it's useless.
You need atleast a 75 gallon for the oscar, both of those fish are extremely messy so if you can afford it soon, get a 125 at 4x2 feet.
Good move on replacing that whisper, it's useless.
I use a ugf with my oscar,works great but hes not a digger.If yours digs then it wont work to full efficiency.The empereor 400 is a good filter I have a few and am happy with them.And the 75g or bigger suggestion is a good one at 10" your fish is almost too big to turn around easily in a 55g
Like everybody else said, get AC 110 or a Emp 400 (or one of each, and run the Emp without media so it is a wet dry and the AC for mechanical and chemical if you want some Purigen) Do a 50% water change a week or 2 30% water changes a week and start looking in the paper, on here, on craiglist, or at the store for a bigger tank. Neither fish is full grown yet.