CichlidFish.com - Fish That Think.

Hi all,
Just so you know, my O is by far my favorite fish. It’s amazing how fast they grow on ya So I want to make sure I keep him happy and healthy.
I currently have him in a (I know I should be drug out into the street and shot for this ) a 10 gal tank.  I got him when he was about 2 ½” long and now he is about 4” and growing faster than I thought he would. But I’m trying to repent of this mistake. I just got a 55gal tank for him. I have a 28 gal tropical tank and the 10 that the O is in but I have never had experience in getting a BIG tank started up and ready for fish. So I could really use some tips and suggestions on what kind of filtration would be best (under gravel, bio weal, etc.), and how long should I cycle the tank before put my O in. 
I’m basically starting from scratch with the 55gal tank, all I have is the tank and the stand.
Much thanks for any and all help!!

Hi!  Congratulations, and just in the nick of time!  As to filtration, you have a lot of choices.  I'd eliminate the undergravel type.  Big cichlids like O's like to dig, which sort of negates the usefulness of the undergravel filter.  The bio-wheel type is nice, but not necessary.  My choice is to have two filters on most of my tanks, particularly the 55's and up.  You can mix types, or not.  I have one 55 running an Aquaclear 110 and a Penguin 300, and another with the Penguin and an Eheim 2213 cannister filter.  I find it best to offset the cleaning/media changes so that if the biological filtration in one of them gets messed up in the cleaning process, the other is still in good shape.  In addition to the filtration, I also change 60-70% of the water twice a week -- a Python is a really good investment! 

I'd recommend getting your tank set up and running for a few days before adding fish (though necessity sometimes intervenes).  I don't know if you're familiar with "cycling", but here's a thread that gives the basic idea -- scroll down toward the end of the post"

http://oscarsfishtank.com/discuss/index ... ic=16962.0

I've tried using Cycle, but found it worthless.  Just set up a new 30 using Stress-Zyme, and it worked pretty well, though I also cheated by substituting the bio-wheel on the new filter for one from an established tank.  Feed more sparingly than usual for at least a couple of weeks, and keep up with the water changes.  You might also add some salt while the cycling process is going on (salt helps de-toxify the nitrites). 

Good luck, and keep us posted on how it goes!