Hi All,

This is my first post. I am in the market for a new fish tank, I am upgrading from a 38 gallon tank. I saw and like the look of the 56 gallon column style tank at PetSmart. Its 30 inches wide by 18 inches deep by 24 inches tall. Sort of cubish, and it had a stylish stand.

Has anyone seen or owned one? What do you think of it?
Was it easy to clean? How many gold fish could I realistically keep in a 56 gallon tank which has less water surface area than my current 38 gallong tank?

Thanks!!
Traz

Id go for the standard 55 gallon or bigger. That is just not enough water service IMO. However if you only put two goldfish in it or do tropical fish it would be ok I think.

I have a 56 corner tank - it is like a quarter of a pie shaped. It is rather odd in shape, but I love it.

As with any tank that is fairly tall and not as long, you will have less surface area for the oxygen to be incorporated into your water. Since your fish need oxygen as well as the beneficial bacteria that make up your nitrogen cycle, you will have to work just a bit harder to make sure that you turnover the water well, adding in oxygen and lifting the water from the bottom of the tank to turn over on the surface. This is not that hard to do.

Using multiple HOB filters with a waterfall return - splashing a bit as they do - will incorportate a fair amount of air into the system. Adding multiple air features that are set at the bottom of the tank that lift and circulate all the water around in the tank will go a long way to add oxygen, too. I have a bubble disk in the center of my tank to lift from the center, bars on the back sides and two HOB filters on the back two sides. I then have added a nice big cannister with a spray bar return for the rest of the gph needed for the tank.

I found, in my paricular tank, that the odd shape of the tank demanded more than 10 times turnover per hour to adequately filter the tank to clear water . You may need to add more than that. I have about 13 times.

The last suggestion I would have is that you select fancy goldfish for this tank that are NOT the streamlined athletes of the tanks. There is far less "swimming" room and far more "poking along" room in this configuration of tank. Pearlscales, moors, orandas, ryukin are better selections than shubies, comets, commons, etc.

The lfs here has one, but I thought it looked like the devil to clean, IMO. I'm not very tall, and could imagine myself standing on a chair or something and falling in, lol. I also wondered if the water current would reach the bottom to help keep it cleaner.

Its just whatever you like and prefer. Myself, I think I'll just stick to the rectangle. My tropicals are in a hexagonal shaped aquarium, and its just 2 more sides of glass to scrape for me!

[font="Comic Sans MS"][/font][size="2"][/size]Hi Everyone,

Thanks for your responses. I think that Yes it might be a pain to clean, I'm short too. But you all are right, it just comes down to prefernce. The fish won't complain. I think I really liked the price of the 56 column. They were only asking $299 for the stand, tank and cover+light. I'm trying not to spend too much money on a new tank.

I think I will opt for the 45 gallon 36x12x24. It's just as tall, but I can use the stand I already have and so save some $$.

I even thought of attempting to re-laminate the existing stand with counter top laminate pieces from the local hardware store but I've never done that nor do I have time to monkey around with it. Anyone ever try to re-finish a particle board oak stand?

Traz

No, but I'd be interested to see how anyone would or has done it, since thats the kind I have.

Good luck with your new tank! I think you'll be happy with the 45 gallon!

I would think that you could get some helpful info from your hardware store on that. They could probably tell you a good laminate, and a good glue to use as well. If your budget is tight, let them know and they should be able to recommend a good product for a decent price.



Good luck!

Debbie

HI Everyone,

On the question of re-laminating a particle board stand, I called a local hardware place. They seemed knowledgable and had someone who was an expert on laminate over particle board. She said I'd have to sand any hard laminate first, but if the particle board is covered with a film, paper of sorts, I'd have to completely remove that first as it would react with the glue.

I think I'm going to skip that for now since I wonder how strong this 15+ year old particle board will be once I start peeling the covering off.

Thanks,
Traz

Thats a good point Traz, not to mention how I would have to move the 30 gallon tank!
Thanks for checking, though!