55gal Upgrade

Thinking of upgrading to a 55gallon and Petco has their dollar a gallon going right now. Is there any better deals that come up I should know about? Should I be skeptical buying a low-end Aqueon tank for that much volume?

Siebiscuit, I bought a Marineland low-end 55g kit and I like it pretty well. It's not the same as Aquaeon, and I'm not sure how the bare bones tanks hold up (maybe someone else can chime in with their experiences), but my 55 seems to be well built. I did like getting the hood + lights, with the kit - as opposed to having to buy those separate.

If you can do it safely, I would always recommend checking out the pets section on craigslist. There is always someone looking to get rid of their aquariums and equipment for pretty good prices!

I've gotten a 10 gallon from Craigslist, but noticed a few small issues after picking up that I wish I would have been more careful about. I had gift certificates and with dollar a gallon and 10% off I ended up getting it for like $49.50 plus tax. Not a penny out of pocket due to having too many gift certificates.

OK, starting to get the accessories here or ordered to get the 55gallon up and going. I've got 1000gph of filtration total, a plan for lights, air pumps, substrate (ordered). However, I'm just amping up the size of products I traditionally buy for my 30gal and under tanks. What recommendations would you add to a 55gallon setup that aren't typically used for smaller tanks?

I like the addition of a big, nice piece of driftwood in mine; one that has character. They are usually prohibitive in a small tank, but really add something to a larger one. Good luck on the setup!

A good light and a few plants

Mark