New 55 gallon tank for GSP and friends

[drives2002bmw]

I just acquired a 55 gallon tank with two 180gph filters running. (Planning on buying either a Penguin 350 filter or a Aqua Clear 70/300 filter) {Any ideas???}The water is beginning to cycle now and wanted to get any help to speed up the cycling. (adding plants?) I will be using a filter from a preexisting tank to help speed up the process though.

Also I want to make this a brackish tank for a GSP or two (will two be ok?) that will be being added as soon as it cycles. Dimensions 48" wide 17" high 15" deep.
I do have Instant Ocean salts to add and wanted to know how much to add and how slowly to add it.
What would be better to detect the specific gravity? A Spectrophotometer or Refractormeter
"Green Spotted Puffers prefer saltier conditions with around 3-5 tablespoons of marine salt per gallon of water or a specific gravity of 1.010-1.020." (found on the brackish tank page)
Thanks!!!

[Dadof4]

I just acquired a 55 gallon tank with two 180gph filters running. (Planning on buying either a Penguin 350 filter or a Aqua Clear 70/300 filter) {Any ideas???}

Also I want to make this a brackish tank for a GSP or two (will two be ok?) that will be being added as soon as it cycles. Dimensions 48" wide 17" high 15" deep.

You are going to want to over filter this tank, close to 10 times an hour. I'm partial to canister filters for brackish water because of their high flow rate and efficiency. I am partial to the Marineland C series canisters, I own a few and I've never had problems with them. They are inexpensive decent filters.The Penguin filters, while being great HOB filters, have a bio wheel and in a brackish/marine environ can become quite messy due to salt spray. You can remove the bio wheel but I feel that it does deliver a small boost in bio-filtration for that particular filter design. The Aqua clear is the better choice of the ones you have listed. If your on a budget (who isn't now, huh?) running two Aqua Clears would work well, IMHO.

The water is beginning to cycle now and wanted to get any help to speed up the cycling. (adding plants?) I will be using a filter from a preexisting tank to help speed up the process though.

Make sure you feed the tank as it cycles or you'll lose your bacteria. Pinch of flake food or small amounts of pure ammonia will work.

I do have Instant Ocean salts to add and wanted to know how much to add and how slowly to add it.
What would be better to detect the specific gravity? A Spectrophotometer or Refractormeter
"Green Spotted Puffers prefer saltier conditions with around 3-5 tablespoons of marine salt per gallon of water or a specific gravity of 1.010-1.020." (found on the brackish tank page)
Thanks!!!

I would go with the refractometer for measuring SG. Much easier, add drop of water, read SG, rest and relax. Also, as for how much salt.....There is no magic ratio to use to reach a specific SG. You need to premix your water, a least 24 hours in advance to let the salt dissolve properly, mix it well with a power head all 24 hours. If the SG is too low, add more. If it's too high, dilute with water. Premix about 50% of your tank volume. Do a 50% water change and add new mixed water. You can only bring you SG up by .002 per week or you'll crash your filter and end up with sick or dead GSP's. So, if your current water is 1.000 (normal fresh water) and you want to bring it up .002 you make your premixed water 1.004. By adding the SG 1.004 to the 1.000 your final dilution will be 1.002.