50 Gallon tank advice

So, I'm stepping up to a bigger tank this weekend I found a nice stand at PetSmart, and I had a 30% off coupon so I got stand and two hoods for a reasonable price.

Should I get one big heater or two smaller ones at each end? What size heater should I use?

I'm going with an under gravel filter because I've used them for years and have had good results from them. Any recommendations on air pumps? This is going in the bedroom next to the bed. I don't mind the bubbling, but the humming of the pump drives me nutso. I have a Rena pump, but it's very noisy so I gave it to the kids for their tank. I'm using a (tetra fin?) one of those with a big adjusment dial on the top that goes from 5-30 gallons. It's very very quiet, and so I'm tempted to get two of them. Is there an alternative to air stones in the risers that gives good flow but is quiet? I'm more interested in quiet then anything else.

Lastly, how deep would you suggest I put the gravel, and is there any type of gravel that would work better for an underground filter besides the run of the mill gravel you buy at your LFS?

Heater size should be 3 to 4 watts per gal.On a 55 gal.tank, I would go with two 150 watt heaters. One will only be a back-up if the other one quits. With heaters, you get what you pay for - get good ones.

I sure would think twice about that - by the time you get two RF powerheads for the up-lift tubes, you could get a couple bio-wheel filters, something like Marineland's or Penguin's 170s. Out of the three forms of aquaria pollution #1 - dissolved compounds (ammonia/nitrite) #2 - inorganic pollutants - DOCs (dissolved organic compounds) #3 - solid particulate waste. UG filters only deals with #1, leaving the other two in the tank. A bio-wheel power filter takes care of all three forms of pollutions.

I used UGFs for years - both in my breeding and growout tanks at the house, and in the pet shops. They are a little out dated now, and aren't near the filter as a bio-wheel. If you do go with the UGFs, get the RF power heads - they push the water up through the gravel, so any, and all, solids stay on top. Gravel size should be 3/8' to 1/2' - gives enough void space for good water flow and won't mat the waste..... Frank

Since it's only a 50, one Penguin 330 rather than two 170s should did it - -

Agree, that would work, but.

How do rooted plants do in a tank with a biowheel and shallow gravel? I'm not that firmly rooted (no pun intended) in the past and since soooo many people say to ditch the UG and go with the biowheel, I'm tempted to give it a shot. Is it really that good?

So, say I decide to use this wonder biowheel thingy. How much gravel would you recommend for the bottom of the tank. And on that subject, any words of wisdom regarding cleaning gravel with rooted plants growing in it?

Shallow gravel? I wouldn't suspect they would not do to good, if you don't give them enough gravel to root.

The under gravel filter does go back a few decades, but I think 1954 was off about 10 years. I think it was more like 1964 (?).

A RF (reverse flow) UGF isn't so bad as long as you keep the solid waste cleaned up daily. I wouldn't want the mess of plant roots and UGF plates. Bio-wheel (wet/dry) type filters remove DOCs (dissolved organic compounds) which other filters leave in the tank to accumlate. A build-up of DOCs create conditions that encourage disease, parasites, and opportunistic bacteria....... Frank

I slope the substrate toward the front middle of the tank. At that point, I have about an inch sloping up to about 2' toward the tanks back, and sloping up mabe another 2' towards each end.

If your not using UGFs, and keep up with the weekly water changes, you need only to siphon the solid waste which sits atop the substrate.