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I have a 55 gallon tank with messy, angry cichlids. I clean it once to twice a week, but it's always so dirty! Even after cleaning filter pads...

The gravel, no matter how often and how thoroughly I vacuum it, is -always- horribly dirty. And the water never seems exactly crystal clear, either.

Right now, it's running on two Top Fin 60's.

What do you think is the best filtration? I'd like something with a price that my parents won't freak out about

I would go with an Emperor if you can afford it.

I'd suggest two AC500's or a biowheel equilivent if you havent got live plants. Adding a powerhead if your fish dont mind the current will also likely help.

Check online @[link=Big als]http://www.bigalsonline.com" style="COLOR: #EB4288[/link] or [link=that fish place]http://www.thatfishplace.com" style="COLOR: #EB4288[/link] for some much cheaper prices that LFSs.

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The only live plants (it is a cichlid tnak, afterall) are vallisneria, java ferns and sword plants-- I may put in some anubias, too. Would a biowheel bother them?

Also, I've heard good things about fluvals and eheims-- what do you think about those?

If you've no plans of addinc CO2 to the tank a biowheel wont make any difference, they are a bit more expensive than the same GPH rated aquaclear.


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Okay, and that would help keep the tank cleaner/clearer? 'cause these little filters I have right now really aren't cutting it.

My first instinct is to ask What and How many times a day are you feeding your cichlids? I know if you feed them a high protein diet it will lead to a lot of waste. Secondly you talked about cleaning your filter pad ,Do you shut off your filter when you feed your fish?

When it comes down to it i guess its all about preference/what you can afford. Either the Emperor 400 or Aquaclear 500 are good choices for larger tanks. I use 2 emperor 400s on my 75 gallon with crystal clear water in a heavily stocked tank.

I feed my cichlids as sparsely as I can once a day (I used to do more, but since this waste problem, I've stopped). It's not high orlow protein-- regular ol' cichlid flakes.

I don't turn off the filter when I feed them, I've never heard of doing this before, and the plug-in is behind the stand and pretty inconvenient to get to...

Seems like most suggested an Emperor, and my LFS carries them. I'll check into it. Thanks

what types of cichlids are they? if they're larger cichlids the best thing you can do is get rid of those flakes and switch to a quality brand of pellets. pellet foods won't get sucked into a filter like flakes will and you should have less problems with the filter clogging up.

I'd go with Aquaclears personally. On my 55 I run 2 AC300's and the water is always clear. My cichlids are smaller though, and none will grow over 7". The more stock in the tank the more filtration you should go with.

Also, if your parents don't mind letting you order online, [link=http://www.bigalsonline]http://www.bigalsonline" style="COLOR: #FF8080[/link] (as already mentioned) has great prices on filters and even fish foods, but you can also get great quality bulk fish foods at [link=http://www.kensfish.com]http://www.kensfish.com" style="COLOR: #FF8080[/link]. I get about 90% of my fish food now from kensfish and it's great. The fish love it and the price really can't be beat. You can get 1 pound of cichlid pellets for $5.49ish whereas at an lfs an 8 oz. (1/2 pound) of Hikari cichlid pellets are at least $8.99.

Wow, thanks a lot! I have smallish african cichlids, none over 6 inches. It's moderately stocked, and I'm not going to put anymore fish in there. I'll look to switching to pellets, and definitely new filters too

Smantzer,

My vote is with Babel and Jason for the ACs. The units will come with one sponge and carbon. Toss the carbon and add a second sponge. Each week rinse one sponge in waste water from your aquarium. Put the "clean sponge at the top and the "dirty" sponge at the bottom. You now have a great filter that has an awesome bio filter and you never have to buy another pad!

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