I have a fluval 305 canister filter which is a larger filter than needed for my 55 gallon. I'm wondering if I should cut the flowrate back on it. It creates alot of movement in the water and I'm not sure if that's good or bad for my cichlids. They do sometimes seem to like "swimming upstream" where the outlet is pumping water out. Any info would be appreciated. Thanks.

I do not think so, the flowrate on a 305 is only 185 gph, (http://www.aquariumguys.com/fluval-305- ... ilter.html) that's nothing, i have two aquaclear 110's on my 55 and they do between 500-1000 gallons per hour. A rule of thumb is the flow rate should be about ten times the gallons of your tank, so you would want 550 gph of filtration, so going by that you want at least two 305's on your 55.(not saying buy another, I just added that for emphasis.) Also as a side note the flow rate they advertise on the box is usually never achieved in an aquarium because they do their tests without anything in the filter, so in reality the flowrate can be as litle as half what they say.

Most people on this site i think will agree that what the company says a filter is suitable for is not nessisarily true, but i think you will be fine with that filter and thank you yours is very nice too.