Hey all. I currently have (2) 4" oscars in a 20 gallon while they quarantine. They will be moving to a 55 gallon tank shortly when some other fish get moved from it. While I work on their long term home, would a FX4 be too high powered for the 55 gallon? I do have some methods in mind to reduce/distribute flow more evenly throughout the tank if need be. Media will be MarinePure, and it will be sufficient in terms of bioload capacity for a long time (but will need WC!). Thoughts?
Grow Out Oscar Tank FX4
- Thread starter powerlifter4
- Start date
Why not work on the forever home in the first place and AFTER that buy the oscars?
I agree
a 55 is not an adequate home for 2 (or even 1)adult oscar(s)
Something in the 6 ft range of over 125 gallons would be what I would considered minimal
Thanks so much for the helpful replies, I really appreciate it. Glad to know people can actually read a question and answer it.....oh wait, nevermind.
You already have the Oscars, so having a home prepared before buying the fish is obviously not going to happen.
Those two fish are "quarantined" in a tank so small that they are likely to come out of it far less healthy than they went in; kind of the reverse of what one hopes to achieve. Once you get them into the 55 you and they will be better off, but you will need to work on getting larger accommodations for them quickly. You have perhaps a few months, not years, before they will be sorely overcrowded again.
If you find that the current from the canister is too strong...and I doubt that it will be...you can add some sort of diffuser to the end of the output, something along the lines of a perforated spraybar, which will soften the current a great deal. That will let you use this filter on the 55 right now, and then it will be fully-cycled and ready to swap over to the new larger tank with no fuss or muss.
Sorry if all the answers you have received said the same thing; for a moment it sounded as though this were yet another instance of putting the cart before the horse and buying fish before there is anywhere proper to put them...oh wait, nevermind...
Those two fish are "quarantined" in a tank so small that they are likely to come out of it far less healthy than they went in; kind of the reverse of what one hopes to achieve. Once you get them into the 55 you and they will be better off, but you will need to work on getting larger accommodations for them quickly. You have perhaps a few months, not years, before they will be sorely overcrowded again.
If you find that the current from the canister is too strong...and I doubt that it will be...you can add some sort of diffuser to the end of the output, something along the lines of a perforated spraybar, which will soften the current a great deal. That will let you use this filter on the 55 right now, and then it will be fully-cycled and ready to swap over to the new larger tank with no fuss or muss.
Sorry if all the answers you have received said the same thing; for a moment it sounded as though this were yet another instance of putting the cart before the horse and buying fish before there is anywhere proper to put them...oh wait, nevermind...
Everything that jjohnwm said above.
Regarding the FX4 in a 55g - Would not be a problem with too much flow, if outlet correctly positioned, or tamed. The spray bar above (as suggested by DMD123) would work well, as well as another version available from "the flow tamer" (https://flowtamerbar.com/product/flow-tamer-fx-for-fluval-fx4-fx5-fx6/). I have 2 of the flow tamers in 2 125g and they work beautifully.
A couple of additional considerations - if the outlet is positioned as in the picture attached (without spray bar), it will not result in too much flow, even without a spray bar. As shown in the right back corner of a 75g, the flow from each of the the two sides of the dual outlet will first hit either the side wall, or the back wall, then flow along the wall until reaching the next wall. The overall result is a circular motion from the two outlets to the inlet (left side of the tank). For several years I had a 75g equipped with an FX6 setup in this manner (operating at full flow) + an Aquaclear 110, without too much flow, even allowing fairly dense planting. I mention the plants, not as a suggestion for your Oscar tank, but as evidence of not too much flow.
But the 55g will quickly be too small for the Oscars....
Regarding the FX4 in a 55g - Would not be a problem with too much flow, if outlet correctly positioned, or tamed. The spray bar above (as suggested by DMD123) would work well, as well as another version available from "the flow tamer" (https://flowtamerbar.com/product/flow-tamer-fx-for-fluval-fx4-fx5-fx6/). I have 2 of the flow tamers in 2 125g and they work beautifully.
A couple of additional considerations - if the outlet is positioned as in the picture attached (without spray bar), it will not result in too much flow, even without a spray bar. As shown in the right back corner of a 75g, the flow from each of the the two sides of the dual outlet will first hit either the side wall, or the back wall, then flow along the wall until reaching the next wall. The overall result is a circular motion from the two outlets to the inlet (left side of the tank). For several years I had a 75g equipped with an FX6 setup in this manner (operating at full flow) + an Aquaclear 110, without too much flow, even allowing fairly dense planting. I mention the plants, not as a suggestion for your Oscar tank, but as evidence of not too much flow.
But the 55g will quickly be too small for the Oscars....