GPH in a 55 gallon?

[tunedis95]

What kind of flow do we want to keep in a 55 gallon aquarium. I wanna keep circulation going in my aquarium but don't want the fish getting dizzy or something. If that does happen? And whats the best circulation path for the water if such a thing matters. thanx

[PhishPhreek]

Depends on what kind of fish you have. If their mouth is on the top of their head (Swordtails, gourami, bettas) they eat from the top and prefer slow moving water but if the mouth is in the middle of their face (tetras, barbs) they expect a fast moving stream to bring the food to them.

[Complexity]

I like to have two filtration methods on all my tanks which for me means two canister filters. I have a Rena XP4 and an Eheim Pro II 2128 on my 75g planted (the tank in my sig). My 90g cichlid tank has two XP4s. My 29g has two XP2s. I just have one XP2 on my little 20L that I use for plant overstock and quarantine.

For a 55g, I'd opt for two XP3s. If the flow of water coming out is too much, you can use the flow reducer. I don't use the original intake/output tubes that come with my filters, but what I use does have flow controls on them. I like to have two intakes instead of just one for each filter to better get the crud at all levels of the water.

Others here like to use wet/dry filters and HOB filters. You can combine any of them to meet your needs. So one XP3 and one wet/dry would work. Or one XP3 and one HOB. Or whatever combination you prefer. I simply recommend two filters no matter what the combination.

[tunedis95]

XP3's push out like 250GPH...i gotcha...i also have a filter already hanging on the back with the carbon cartridge...Sounds like a plan... I just wanna get some circulation going on now.

currently have "blue zebras" , "red finned boryeyi" , "Peacocks" , "Auratus" just to name a few...the are young.

[Complexity]

XP3 with an HOB (hang on back -- what you describe as having already) is a nice combination for cichlids.

[wesleydnunder]

Many folks advocate a 10x an hour turnover. A few decades ago Paul Loiselle suggested at least once and hour turnover for cichlid tanks. Interesting how things have changed in the intervening years. My discus have 300 gph on a 125g, the other tanks have anywhere fron 2 to 7 times turnover rate.

Mark

[danielp]

I learned long ago and have always held to 3.5 to 4x turn over per hour.

[tunedis95]

Good info! Good info!!!

[rullypullyfishhead]

i have one xp3 on my 55 gallon aquarium but i stock small fish.currently holding 7 lamprologus meleagris shellies.one thing i did do was i pickup a mini overflow for my xp3 canister so it pulls surface water back down into canister.actually its called a hagen surface skimmer.made by fluval.works great!i do have a power head which i rarely turn on .

[supadave]

If your filtration is fine...then i would simply add a powerhead.