getting ready to set up a 55 gallon tank

[Mr. Mom]

Getting ready to set up my 3rd tank in my house ... 55 gallons this time (stepping stones) ... anyhow I've a few questions as this is a new endeavor for me. First off Driftwood ... most drift wood I see for sale is dark, I prefer light colored wood. Is there any problem with me taking some drift wood from the river behind our farm, Its all bleached off white (live in southern Alberta) and there's some great specimens to choose from. Is there anything I need to know/do first with this driftwood, or for some reason would that be a no-no.
Plants ... I've never tried any before (only have 2 30 gallons up to now) but the 55 gallon is going into our living room and I think it would accent it better. What are the pros and cons to plants (this will be a freshwater tank) plus any and all advice would be appreciated. I've a green thumb and can grow plants easily outside of water (although my wife seems to kill them all) just never tried to grow plants in water (aquarium).
Don't need ideas on fish yet ... have a few that need to be moved out of my two 30s already ... then I'll re-evaluate all tanks at a later date.
I'm sure I'll have more questions as time goes ... just finished assembling the stand and changing the layout of our livingroom. Hoping to move the tank into the house within the week, haven't quite decided on bowfront or straight rectangle yet. But will probably end up with the bowfront.
Anyhow, thanks in advance for all advice

 

[badassissimo]

If the wood isn't sinking already, that would be a dilemma unless you want it to float. You would fix this by covering it with rocks or attaching suction cups. You also may want to boil it so you can release tannins and try to kill bacteria. It may not have tannins if its bleached white though.... Haven't tried that. I grabbed some pieces at the lake and boiled them because I was worried about oil residue from boats. I have tannins anyways and the wood will float for maybe years unless it just happens to water log or I weigh it down. My parrot fish likes it floating though so no worries on my end.

As far as plants, I don't know what kind of fish you have but some destroy them, others just eat them, and a few others will leave them alone so they can grow. Can't remember exactly which but I know an Oscar or pacu will not let your plants live. My little Africans in my 29 leave my Anubis alone. Maybe they would eat softer plants? Other than fish, snails will eat plants if you have those.

Hope this helped. These suggestions are my reading and experience. Should be accurate.

 

[Mr. Mom]

Thanks Badassissimo .... I'm keeping my snails in my 30 gallon tropical. As for the driftwood, I've many choices of both submerged and unsubmerged, I'll try to find something in the submerged I guess. Thanks for the info on boiling it. In our part of southern Alberta, almost all driftwood is bleached white, probably because of the lack of trees around us.
If I could get coloured plants it would be a bonus ... but I'll aim for just plants for now.
As for the fish that will be moved ... I've 2 green terrors, a mystery chiclid, synodontis catfish and a senegal bichir (about 4 1/2 inches now) ... as I said this tank is my stepping stones .... Need a bigger one in the basement down the road for the bichir. The mystery chiclid is something my son brought home one day.

 

[letstalkfish]

My GT just went in a semi-planted 75 and so far leaves everything alone, but my buddy has a GT that wrecks plants

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[Mr. Mom]

Picked up my 55 gallon today. Ended up with the straight rectangle ... 48" x 12" .... stepping stones I call it. Hoping to hit the river this week for hunting driftwood. Also trying to decide what to use for the bottom of my tank, Sand or Small Gravel. Kinda leaning towards Small Gravel but then I'm stuck on what colour ... Black or White. Any ideas, thoughts or advice ... please.
Been enjoying the sticky on Filtration, very helpful although don't know if I ready yet. My stick to my trusted AquaClear ... I know more maintenance than others but ... once again stepping stones. Don't want to bite off more than I can chew just yet.

 

[Curtis Rouse]

Filtration: AquaClear is ime the best hob filter money can buy. Try a pair of AC50's or AC70's. That would be plenty enough filtration for your tank.

Plants: Your GT and mystery cichlid will most likely destroy any plants you put in your tank as cichlids trend to eat and uproot pants in general. I would still try it if you want pants. I've had luck with Anubias and Amazon Sword in my JD tank. They uproot them often but don't kill them.

Driftwood: Any driftwood you put in your tank must be hardwood. Hardwood typically comes from deciduous trees. Evergreen trees like pine and redwood would thus be softwood. You should boil the wood first to kill and parasites living in it. If it's too large to boil pouring boiling water on it should suffice. Also remove any and all bark from the wood as well.

Substrate: Personally I'm a fan of sand but rock can be just as pretty. I would suggest a medium brown rock if you're gonna go that route. It will look much more natural than black or white rock.

Post some pics of the tank once you get it all together. Sounds like it's gonna come out nice.

Sent from my mind to my fingers to my phone to the MFK servers to you

 

[Mr. Mom]

letstalkfish ... nice buck I've got to say.

Curtis Rouse .... thanks for the input, greatly appreciated. Got me thinking and ended up making a few changes. By the looks of things I'll be adding water probably within a couple of days. Picked up a second AC70 today, already had the one when you posted on my thread. Works for me as the filters are the same with my 2 30 gallons (have an AC70 on each).
As for driftwood, can't get to the farm anytime soon (4 hr drive) so I broke down and started looking at other avenues. Its not the light colour I was thinking of ... but I think its gonna work just fine. 1 large piece, 1 medium piece and 2 small pieces to work with the medium one. Currently boiling them now. Found the large piece on Kijiji .... and the guy ended up giving me a bunch of plants as well (beautiful lace plant included 5 or 6 inches tall at least ... warned him it'll probably become toast) He was changing over to saltwater thats why he was getting rid of them.
Now Substrate, this I have to truly thank you ... even my son (age 9) agreed. When we were at the lfs, he choose the tan/brown gravel ... and now that the gravel is laid in the tank. My wife if pleased
Here's a couple of pics of where I'm at now

 

[Armand]

Filtration: AquaClear is ime the best hob filter money can buy. Try a pair of AC50's or AC70's. That would be plenty enough filtration for your tank.

Plants: Your GT and mystery cichlid will most likely destroy any plants you put in your tank as cichlids trend to eat and uproot pants in general. I would still try it if you want pants. I've had luck with Anubias and Amazon Sword in my JD tank. They uproot them often but don't kill them.

Driftwood: Any driftwood you put in your tank must be hardwood. Hardwood typically comes from deciduous trees. Evergreen trees like pine and redwood would thus be softwood. You should boil the wood first to kill and parasites living in it. If it's too large to boil pouring boiling water on it should suffice. Also remove any and all bark from the wood as well.

Substrate: Personally I'm a fan of sand but rock can be just as pretty. I would suggest a medium brown rock if you're gonna go that route. It will look much more natural than black or white rock.

Post some pics of the tank once you get it all together. Sounds like it's gonna come out nice.

Sent from my mind to my fingers to my phone to the MFK servers to you

Why to get two AC 70 when he can get an AC 110?, I have one A C 110 in my 55 gal tank and dont need anything else.

 

[Armand]

You have better get an AC 110 you may regret not to have gotten one later.

You already have an AC70 that you can use as second filter if needed of if given the case.

 

[Mr. Mom]

You have better get an AC 110 you may regret not to have gotten one later.

You already have an AC70 that you can use as second filter if needed of if given the case.

You have a point Armand ... and to be honest I did consider it. I originally chose the AC70 (the box says 40-70 gallons ....and I'm fairly new to this) because I already have 2 of them, one of each of my 30 gallon tanks. So this way I'm only buying one type of supplies, which helps my family fill in for me should I be gone for a bit.
Curtis got me thinking about extra filtration, which is why I have them on my 30s. and I liked the idea of just using 2 AC70s for now. Its a long narrow tank 12" x 48" so I figure on having one in each rear corner for now.
These are stepping stones for me ... as I teach my family as well. Should I need to buy the AC 110 down the road ... I'll be kicking myself as I did think of it originally. Fortunately this won't be the last tank I purchase so the AC70s will get used one way or the other down the road. But thank you for the input ... you confirm my original idea before I even posted anything here. Still new and probably should started speaking my mind earlier than I did.
By the way ... does my idea make sense of having the AC70s at opposite ends of the tank length-wise? Or should they be next to each other? ... Still knew and appreciate all the advice