What Type Of Gravel For A Goldfish Tank?

[sallyann]

Got some gravel for my new tank today, from the shop where i bought my new tank from, and the gravel I was given( I did say it was for a goldfish) says Alpine grit on it, is this ok? I was given some larger pebbles too, I have added both of these to my new tank, but am now worried that this is too small for my goldfish, I would hate him to choke on it, it does have some larger pieces in too, what should I do, I don't want to have to take all the gravel out!! I was planning on adding goldie tomorrow afternoon, with my current filter, which is able to cope with the tank, and the rest of plants and ornaments

 

[Colin_T]

goldfish don't normally swallow gravel. they will grub about on the bottom picking it up and spitting it out. it is unlikely to be a problem.

 

[sallyann]

goldfish don't normally swallow gravel. they will grub about on the bottom picking it up and spitting it out. it is unlikely to be a problem.

Whew!! thanks colin, I was worried, and dreaded taking it all out, I must admit my goldfish does suck up the gravel and spit it out.

 

[Miss Wiggle]

yeah should be fine

 

[sallyann]

yeah should be fine

Ok, ta, going to add goldie to his new tank after I have had my lunch, will let you know how I get on.
Got a new strip light too, as opposed to a single bulb light, this one is for plants too, interpet 14 watt, it is a pinky sort of light, I hope it does not promote algae, it has never been a problem in my other tank, I only get a bit.
I am planning on getting some new ornaments and a couple more plants too, the ones that goldfish won't nibble as much, when should i add these,? Thought I might wait till next week, is it best to leave my old tank up, in case of problems?

 

[Miss Wiggle]

algae is a funny one here's my best basic explanation

to get plants to grow you need lights, nutritents and Co2. obviously the lights are extra equipment although if the tank is in direct sunlight this will contribute too. There will be some nutrients in the water (think of the fishy poop as compost) and there is naturally some Co2 in the water anyway.

algae will also grow when the three things above are in good supply. algae is less demanding than plants. If you imagine quantifying the lights, nutrient and Co2 so for example you had 5 units of lighting, 4 units of nutrient and 3 units of Co2. your plants would use up the 3 units of Co2, 3 units of nutrients and 3 units of lighting, because there's only 3 units of Co2 they can't use the excess light and nutrients. The algae can grow without having lots of all 3 in place so they will use the extra units of lighting and nutrients and as such you'll get algae growth.

now it doesn't really work like that in practice, you can't always easily quantify the levels you have and different species of plants and algae will have different requirements. but it serves as an example to explain the theory.

so amongst those fishkeepers who are serious about plants they normally go down one of two routes

they either provide so much of all 3 that the plants grow so fast and use so many nutrients that the algae doesn't get a look in, or they provide a low level of all of them, then the plants use it all and you just get steady slow growth. really the second option is what most average fishkeepers aim for.

in short what i'd recommend you do is get a good few bunches of plants in there, if you find you're getting a lot of algae growth try turning the lights on for fewer hours a day. it's a bit of a balancing act really but just tinker with things and you should find a happy medium where you just get a little bit of algae (cos really, we all get some).

regarding new plants and decor, add them when you like, doesn't make any difference.

don't worry about keeping the old tank set up, if you've room to store it then keep hold of it so that you've got a spare tank incase you ever need it. cos you've got a mature filter all you'd need to do to set it up again is add water, move the filter over and then mvoe the fish over.

 

[sallyann]

Thanks miss wiggle, makes sense, I will monitor algae, ok, just popped goldie in his new tank, he was not bothered at all, swan around very happy, eating the bits that game off the filter when I transferred it, before I put him in.
Just done a water test, can you have a look at them please,.

ph 8.4, nitrite 0. nitrate o, ammonia, 0-0.25, just got a slight green tinge, nearer 0 than 0.25

ph is high I know, but I think my tap water is high, I have added safe water, is this ok, and how can I bring it down?
The goldfish has always lived in this water, so maybe he is uded to it,

 

[Miss Wiggle]

it's fairly common that you get a little ammonia blip when you move a tank around. give it a few hours then test it again, if it's down to 0 then you're fine, if it isn't then you might be experiencing a mini cycle. If that's the case then you'll need to do daily 25% water changes for a couple of days until the ammonia is steady at 0. You've done everything right to give yourself the best chance of avoiding it, but mini cycles when you move tanks around are pretty common and there's only so many precautions you can take.

if the pH has always been steady at that level then your goldie is used to it so it's fine.

pH is a tricky one, it's generally more hassle than it's worth to try and adjust it.

 

[sallyann]

it's fairly common that you get a little ammonia blip when you move a tank around. give it a few hours then test it again, if it's down to 0 then you're fine, if it isn't then you might be experiencing a mini cycle. If that's the case then you'll need to do daily 25% water changes for a couple of days until the ammonia is steady at 0. You've done everything right to give yourself the best chance of avoiding it, but mini cycles when you move tanks around are pretty common and there's only so many precautions you can take.

if the pH has always been steady at that level then your goldie is used to it so it's fine.

pH is a tricky one, it's generally more hassle than it's worth to try and adjust it.

ok, thanks for advice, I will test ammonia again later, the ph in the tank I removed the goldfish from was 7.4 when I tested it on Monday, so i think the ph does come down after a while, don't know why.
This goldfish is very hardy, as I used to remove the filter, and either wash it in tap water or replace it every 3 weeks, and I used to wash the whole tank, gravel etc, and srrub the algae off the ornament, and turn off the filter every night, I have been doing this for the past 10 years and it survived through all that!!!

 

[Miss Wiggle]

ok, thanks for advice, I will test ammonia again later, the ph in the tank I removed the goldfish from was 7.4 when I tested it on Monday, so i think the ph does come down after a while, don't know why.
This goldfish is very hardy, as I used to remove the filter, and either wash it in tap water or replace it every 3 weeks, and I used to wash the whole tank, gravel etc, and srrub the algae off the ornament, and turn off the filter every night, I have been doing this for the past 10 years and it survived through all that!!!

yeah, often the gravel and ornaments can have an affect on the pH. if goldies happy with it then just leave it be.

sounds much like how i ran my first tropical tank though so be assured you're not the first to do this (and won't be the last either). but you seem to have got this all sussed now and I'm sure goldie will be happy in his new home,

 

[sallyann]

ok, thanks for advice, I will test ammonia again later, the ph in the tank I removed the goldfish from was 7.4 when I tested it on Monday, so i think the ph does come down after a while, don't know why.
This goldfish is very hardy, as I used to remove the filter, and either wash it in tap water or replace it every 3 weeks, and I used to wash the whole tank, gravel etc, and srrub the algae off the ornament, and turn off the filter every night, I have been doing this for the past 10 years and it survived through all that!!!

yeah, often the gravel and ornaments can have an affect on the pH. if goldies happy with it then just leave it be.

sounds much like how i ran my first tropical tank though so be assured you're not the first to do this (and won't be the last either). but you seem to have got this all sussed now and I'm sure goldie will be happy in his new home,

thanks miss wiggle, and for all your good advice, thanks to you and a few others, goldie will now be much happier, have not told my son yet about new big tank in his room, will wait till he gets home from Uni!! LOL. BTW goldie is called Sharkeye, kids named him years ago.

 

[Miss Wiggle]

no problem at all, glad Sharkeye is liking his new home