New Tank

[o2mcgovem]

Hi, Hope you're alright. Um, I've had the same fish tank now for about seven years and it's looking a bit shabby... It's only a plastic thing, I'm suprised it's lasted that long really. Anyway, I bought myself some new supplies and I want to start again. So, can somebody please help me set it up. Oh, here's a list of what I've got...

• One 11 Litre Fish Tank.
• One Bottle of "Chorine Control".
• One 2.5Kg Bag of Gravel.
• One Bottle of Green Algae Control. (last time we had an algae problem)
• Some Fish Food.
• Airstone with Airline and Pump Thing.

I don't really want to spend anymore money, the guy at the fish shop said I wouldn't need a filter and I've never used one before and the fish's lasted this long.

What do I do first then? Do I put some water aside and put the chlorine control in?

Your help will be very much appreciated!
Michael.

Oh, and what's the deal with changing water? Normally I just drain all the water and put some new (prepared) water in, but I don't think you're supposed to do that?

 

[black angel]

How many fish, what size, how long have you had them and how big are they?
You are upgrading to a 2.4 gallon uk tank? What are the fish in now?
Fancy goldfish need a minimum of 10 gallons when small and common and comets at least 20 gallons and thats EACH.
To be told you dont need filtration is really bad advice.
How often and how much are you doing water changes?

 

[PaulasPets]

You should not use chlorine control or algae control. You are adding chemicals to the water. BAD IDEA! To get rid of the chlorine in your tapwater, just use your airstone and airpump. After running the airstone for 24 hours your chlorine should be gone.

If you have algae problems don't fight them with something from a bottle. Instead look for the cause of your problem and fix that! Algae problems are often caused by overfeeding...

It is a good idea to have a pump/filter running. If you don't you will need to do more waterchanges. Instead of buying a pump/filter you could use your airpump to create an airlift.

 

[black angel]

You do need a dechlorinator as theres usually much more in the tap than chlorine.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

I agree with black angels advice, there's more to tap water than just chlorine. Although chlorine will eventually evaporate from water, there are harmful metals present in tap water as well which won't evaporate.
If you buy pond dechlorinator (which is the same stuff as aquarium dechlorinator), you can get dechlorinator very cheap- the bennefet to your fishes health and overal tank ecosystem is very great with dechlorinator, there's no reason not to use it, while there are loads of reasons why you should use it.
Dechlorinator/water conditioner should be part of any fish keepers kit .

I also have to agree with black angel that goldfish need far more than 2.4gals, and they do need filtration. A goldfish in an un-filtered bowl under 10gals may last a couple of years at the best and die a long and slow death, but a goldfish in a suitably sized and filtered tank can live to over 40 years and enjoy a much better quality of life.
Both filtration and dechlorinator will give the fish a much better quality of life, as well as having enough gallons too for them to thrive in- fancy goldfish usually grow to 7inches tops, while slim bodied goldfish can grow to over 10inches long.

 

[o2mcgovem]

Hey! Sorry I haven't been able to reply... I've had so much work to do lately.

Um, first I have just one fish (at the moment), I'd say it's no bigger than 2-4cm, I've had this fish for about 6 years now and I'm upgrading from a 11 litre tank (is that 2.4 UK Gallons? I really can't do imperial measurements... sorry. It's the same volume as the last tank anyway.)

I don't think it's a fancy fish? It seems to be an ordinary goldfish. It wasn't that expensive... We did have one that looked real pretty and cost a lot more, but it died. This is the only fish that's managed to survive... I don't want it dying. I also want to see if I can add other fish too.

Well, the lady in the fish shop said that I should change the water about once a month by dechlorinating some water, putting the fish into a bowl and emptying all the water in the tank. Then, cleaning the gravel off and the decorations, and then adding the new water. Put the fish back in. That was like 6 years ago when she said that, and that's what I do.

Do you reckon I should get a new tank? And how should I go about filtration? Do I need to?
If I do need this new stuff, can anyone get me a website where I can buy then from please. Please bear in mind that I don't have a lot of money to spend on this (Absolute max is £20 for an item.)

Thanks for all your help so far
Oh, and sorry for taking ages to reply...

 

[black angel]

Youre sure its a goldfish?
At six years old it should be full grown at around 8 inches plus. Its probably the size of tank thats kept it so small and it may or may not grow in a bigger tank. Stunted fish have shortened life spans and if you can get it a 20 gallon and see if it grows.
If you want it to have friends then you will have to see if it will grow any more or it will become food.

 

[littlelk]

I just wanted to add that you should buy a filter which has a rating ten times the volume of your tank. So for a 20 gallon tank you want a 200gph (gallons per hour) filter. There are quite a few types, avoid undergravel filters but hang-on back or internal canister filters are good (there are probably others too). You should also read up on cycling a tank, it's important to your fish's health, and test kits for pH, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate are definately a good idea.

btw, I also agree that a water conditioner should be used to remove chlorine, chloramine and metals from your tap water.

Personally I would avoid using algae control though.

Unfortuantely I don't think you will be able to buy this stuff for £20, not new anyway. Try looking in the classifieds and on eBay for a second hand tank. They normally sell them with the filter and all the gear.

 

[black angel]

Its more to do with media than flow rate of a filter. You can buy cheap filters that do 200 gallons per hour and more in turnover but its not going to do you any good if the media is the size of a matchbox.
Gldfish need lots of media for the bacteria to grow so flow rate yes has to be good but the media inside has to be excellent. Externals are the best for goldfish and though more expensive they are well worth the money.

 

[o2mcgovem]

Okay... so I'm looking into filters, I'm gonna go down to the pet shop tomorrow, but can anyone tell me how to cycle a tank?

In the meantime though, I really do think I should move my fish into the new tank... the one it's in now is kinda murky looking. So do I just dechlorinate some water, leave it to stand for a day or two, then just add the new water to the tank with all the gravel and stuff in... and then move the fish in? That's what I've always done, but it seems that everything the fish lady (and guy... but he didn't really say much) told me is wrong.

Are you sure about getting a 20 gallon tank? It sounds awfully big? Isn't that like 90 litres?. Woah. I was thinking about getting a BiOrb... they look really cool. It's only 30 litres, which is about 7 gallons. I can't actually afford one though, I'm gonna look on eBay, and ask family and friends first... If anyone knows anywhere they do cheap fish tanks, please say! I'm poor! Well, I'm gonna be a student next year, so I'm putting my money away for that... then I will be poor... students never have any money. Well, some do... but most don't. I visited Oxford University last year and there were some students that were quite well-off because they had their parents paying for them, but loads were in debt. I don't reckon I'll be going to Oxford... I'm not too sure yet.

Some BiOrb stuff...

• http/www.reef-one.com/aquariums/biorb.htm
• http/www.biorb.com/product_details.php?p...amp;vlang_id=19
• http/www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/8701318.htm

Um, sorry it takes me so long to reply... I'm not really online at lot anymore.

Thanks so far

Oh, by the way... the BiOrb comes with a filter any everything.

 

[black angel]

biorbs are just glorified fish bowls. Please dont get one for your goldies as they need a lot of air to water ratio. A rectangular tank is needed so the fish get the maximum amount of oxygen.
If you look in the beginner section then theres articles on cycling a tank.
Ebay is a good place to look and also your local paper should have tanks in the pet section.
Filtration should be ten times the tank capacity, so for a 20 gallon you need a filter with lots of media to turn over 200 gph.

If you want to move your fish then do so but add the amount of dechlor you need and put it in the tank. You dont need to wait unless you want to heat the water a little to take the coldness away. I use a little boiled water to do that.

 

[o2mcgovem]

Oh right. No BiOrb then. Still, they do look pretty cool though.

Right, so normal tank and filter 10x the tank volume. Gotcha...

I'll post back later.

 

[littlelk]

I really wouldn't recommed moving in your fish before cycling first. You can cycle with goldfish already in but it means you having to test the water regularly and do very frequent water changes to keep them healthy.

People seem to have different rules about tank params with fish, personally I keep ammonia and nitrite under 0.5 and nitrate under 40, under 20 is preferable. test kits for the above and pH is a must. To cycle without fish add ammonia diretly the tank daily or use fish food. check params often. Ammonia should dip as nitrite rises. Ammonia should then go to zero, After a while nitrite will fall while nitrate will while rise. Once ammonia and nitrie are zero and you are showing nitrate do a 50 per cent water change and then add fish. It can take a while, maybe six weeks. Annoying, but better for your fish.

I agree about birobs not being suitable. For filter media cermaic noodles are good (also known as BioMax).
Don't use zeolite. Sponge is also good. When you buy your filter ignore the instructions about replacing sponge/biomax every month. Instead rinse the sponge in a bucket of tank water (not tap water) and replace it.

 

[Valyrian]

Just get a 10 gallon tank, they are usually 10 USD which is less than most smaller tanks cost and are better for the fish.

 

[black angel]

10 gallons is too small for a common and even a 20 if it grows will be too small in a year, but with it being stunted it will do just now.