Canister or bigger Power Filter???

[GTkeeper]

I have to agree that one AC110 would be sufficient on a 55g. They move more water than an xp2 and hold a fair amount of media. A lot of ppl on this seem to overkill filtration (which is not a bad thing), but for your average stock in a 55g, the AC110 would be plenty. Just keep up on your water changes and you should have crystal clear water. I personally use AC110's and Rena canisters (2 xp4's to be exact). In my experience, they do their job well, but for a 55g, just save some $$ and get the 110. With the extra money you save you can adjust the media to fit your needs. Good luck. What are you stocking with anyway?

thats what im thinkin. and right now, its gunna be a clown pleco, tiger oscar and fenale GT

 

[creepyoldguy]

I'm sure someone will tell you that an oscar will outgrow a 55, so I'll save it since this thread is about filtration. So, I think you'll be just fine with a 110. You can customize your media to your liking. Personally, I don't use carbon so I replace that with rings for a larger bio load. Is that your female GT in your avator? I'm raising some young GT's right now in a 150g and their colors are amazing for being 2"! I can't wait until they mature

 

[GTkeeper]

I'm sure someone will tell you that an oscar will outgrow a 55, so I'll save it since this thread is about filtration. So, I think you'll be just fine with a 110. You can customize your media to your liking. Personally, I don't use carbon so I replace that with rings for a larger bio load. Is that your female GT in your avator? I'm raising some young GT's right now in a 150g and their colors are amazing for being 2"! I can't wait until they mature

No, that is my older GT that died awhile back. But this one is a juvie and its really colorful as well.

 

[creepyoldguy]

That's a beautiful fish! I got my GT's and Jacks from That Pet Place in Lancaster, Pa. I also purchased 2 Gt's(one died) from Petsmart. There is a huge difference in coloring between the 4 from That Pet Place and and 1 from Petsmart. My plan is to grow them out and have an all male 150g CA/SA tank

 

[surfpalmsncycads]

Agreed, my plan on my 150 was to run 2 xp4's for bio and a 110 to polish, but my dumb@ss set up the tank, filled it with water and transfered my filters over after it was filled with water only to find out i set it too close to the wall! hahaha. my stock is small now so i have some time to add the fx5 ive been wanting to get anyway!

save money. buy a submersible pump off ebay for 31 bucks shipped to your door. 700 gph. buy a 5 gallon sealed bucket and make your own. 2 bags of bio balls and whatever else you want. i only use aqua clear 110s for filter on all my tanks. bio i make myself. i buy used fluval canisters that are broken, pull the motors and hook straight up to a powerhead or submerse. last i checked canisters were 199 and up. good luck

 

[Bderick67]

Go with the AC110, you'll have much more effective mechanical filtration, plus more then adequate bio filtration. The XP2 flow rate is rather low in comparison to the AC110, the result is less mech filtration.

it depends on what kind of fish you have in there if you have a big bioload I dont think one ac110 will cut it..I would go with either 2 110s or canister..if your going canister go at least xp3 or do like everyone else here does and overfilter! I have a fluval 405 and marineland c360 on my 50 and wish I had more filtration

This wouldn't be the case if you were running an AC110

There is no way a single AC110 would not be able to handle the bioload from even a heavily stocked 55g.

 

[FLESHY]

Buy yourself an eheim and love yourself for making that decision for the rest of your life.

 

[Bderick67]

Buy yourself an eheim and love yourself for making that decision for the rest of your life.

:WTF: This is the best advice you can give? You can't even suggest a model? If the OP goes out and buys one of those P.O.S. ecco models, no one will blame him when he hunts you down and slaps you upside the head with it.



BTW not impressed with the eheim line myself, had three and got rid of them in favor of XP3s.

 

[tbonewarrior]

i used to run 2 emperor 400's on my 55G keep them very clean.

Ditto! I'm actually running them now on my 150 plus a powerhead/sponge filter combo, and ammonia and nitrite are zero with 60-70 gallon water changes weekly. I have a pair of dovii at 12" and 6".

 

[tbonewarrior]

I am also paranoid of canisters flooding my house. The tank is under filtered tho IMHO, so. I'll probably break down and get a canister eventually.