Cold Water Setup

[devilmen]

hi, thinking about starting a cold water setup , gonna do a fishless cycle first , just need a few questions answered ,please-

TANK AQUAONE 620T
tank 95 litres - how many fish could i keep ,small or large , so its not to overcrowded ?
heater- do i need one it will be in a cental heated room?
fish- any recommendations dependent on how many i can keep ?
water change - do you think i should do a 10% chnge every week or less frequent ?

THANKS FOR ANY HELP SEAN

 

[rdd1952]

Hello and welcoome to the forum.

I am going to move your thread to the Coldwater Section so you will get more help and advice.

rdd1952

 

[Colin_T]

I would recommend small (up to 3inch long) fish for the tank. How many you keep will determine how much food goes into the tank and how often and how much water you change. The easiest way to tell if a tank is overcrowded is to monitor the nitrates. These are the end result of the filtration cycle. If they go up rapidly and you need to do massive water changes every few day, then the tank is overcrowded. If the nitrates only go up a bit over a couple of weeks then it is fine and could accept more fish.

A partial (30-50%) water change can be done each week. Again tho if you find the nitrates aren't going up very quickly you can do the water change every fortnight or even monthly. You can even do a smaller water change, perhaps 20%. Make sure any new water going in the tank is free of chlorine and has a similar temperature and PH to the tank water.

Coldwater tanks don't need a heater.

As for fish, it depends on where you live and what is available. Go to your LFS (local fish shop) and have a look around. Write down any fish you like and then research those fish.

 

[devilmen]

thanks for you reply colin, i have recently purchased a liquid testing kit so will keep an eye on nitrates,and add fish if ok ,was only thinking of adding about 3 small fish . what conditioner do you reccomend adding to new water ..thanks

 

[Colin_T]

Don't bother testing for nitrates until after the tank has cycled. Nitrate test kits will pick up nitrites as well and you get a false reading.
Keep the test kits cool and they will last longer. But don't let them freeze because that will screw them up.
3 small fish should be fine in the tank
I use Wardley's Tri Start to dechlorinate tap water for general use. And if I am making up water for rift lake tanks, (Tanganyika or Malawi cichlids) I use Aquasonic Rift Lake conditioner.
Most dechlorinators are much of a muchness. I just found Wardleys was the most economical for me.

 

[chicklette]

TANK AQUAONE 620T
tank 95 litres - how many fish could i keep ,small or large , so its not to overcrowded ?
heater- do i need one it will be in a cental heated room?
fish- any recommendations dependent on how many i can keep ?
water change - do you think i should do a 10% chnge every week or less frequent ?

A 95 L tank will hold two goldfish if strict with water changes and heavy duty filtration. I would not get the bigger goldies like telescopes, comets, shubunkins.
You can go with ryunkins, orandas, lionheads.

I would do a 30% to 50% cleaning every week to every two weeks. Goldfish are messy fish therefore, require a bit more maintenance then most fish.

I have a heater in my goldie tank and keep it at 68 degrees. Just so the water temp does not fluctuate, but that is just a personal preference but tha's up to you.