Brand New!

[darrentwins]

Hello to everyone, I got a 'complete aquarium set' for Christmas and what with loads of things going on i've only just got round to starting.
I have just today pre washed sand and put that in. bought and washed 2 little ornaments and 7 little stones (my 7 year old twin daughters call them the dwarfs), 1 little plastic plant and filled the tank and treated the water. I currently have 5 little goldfish in a small tank and am going to move them into the new one. I won't do this until i have completed the instructions for setting up the new one, which means getting a couple of little plants in the morning, switching on the filter and wait for three weeks before i can put my little fish into their new home. As i am completely new to this i shall no doubt be asking for help over the next few weeks, months and years and this looks like the place to get it. My 'complete aquarium' came with a heater and thermometer as well but i'm just going to leave them in the drawer for now until i am confident enough to get tropical (which i expect will be quite a while), but no rush. Anyway, thanks in advance and speak soon. bye
darren

 

[Ludwig Venter]

Hallo Darren... You are a concientious aquarium keeper and I'm sure you'll do well with your setup. Welcome to the forum.

 

[stang1]

 

[onebto]

to TFF

 

[veil92]

Hi. Welcome to the forum.

 

[LellowFish]

Hey and welcome to TFF!

 

[darrentwins]

thanks, i'm watching new tank and getting tempted to put fish in, 1 week gone (nearly)

 

[rabbut]

So, what exactly are you adding ATM? Fish food, liquid ammonia? If the answer is nothing, you are wasting your time as your 3 week wait adding nothing does; Nothing

To mature the filter, you need an ammonia source. This source can be from fish, fish food or preferably liquid ammonia. Have a read of this thread to see what you should be doing for this "setting-up" time. It's quite typical for manufactures and LFS's to give poor advice

Don't forget that you will need a massive tank for commons and a large one for fancies... Common Goldfish should get to 3 feet in length, and all my brood stock when I used to breed them were stunted, yet still got to 18".... Fancy goldfish grow to the size of Rugby Balls. Pesronally, I think common goldfish are Pond Only species, and Fancies are only suited to Large Tanks

It may be an idea to start with trops afterall. Most "community types" can actually be housed in a reasonable sized tank IME they are also easier to care for and less work. Goldfish are messy, which means lots of filter cleans and waterchanges...

All the best and to TFF
Rabbut

 

[darrentwins]

thanks for the welcome and for the advice. well i put the goldfish in the tank (kids wouldn't have it any other way) and have now got
5 goldfish in my 54l tank. I was told that is enough as they might grow a little bigger. We've had them for well over a year and i dont think they've grown much, will they have another growth spurt now they are in a bigger tank?
I know what you mean rabbut about the messy things and thanks for the advice i hope they dont grow that big 3foot is that not a dolphin lol.
I have taken some pics of tank and was gonna put them up but pics are awful (only got phone camera).
but if i can put them up i will as then you'll know what to advise when i'm stuck next time.
thanks for everything and i think i'm gonna enjoy
cheers

 

[WILDER]

What type of goldfish are they.
Common goldfish 20 gallons for the first one, 10 gallons for every other one added.
Fancy goldfish 15 galloons for the first one, 10 gallons for every other one added.
Double filteration to the tank as they are massive waste producers.
So for five goldifsh looking at 60 gallon, and a 120 gallon filter.

 

[rabbut]

I'll put it this way, my brood stock when I used to breed them were all stunted at 18" long... Personally, I don't think common Goldfish should be kept in a tank, they need a pond. Fancies, I'd give at least 20g to the first and 15g for each additional, considering they grow to Rugby ball size... Either way, 5 in a 54l tank is too many long-term