Any aquarium owners on the board?

[GG54172]

My mother recently gave my daughter about 10 goldfish from her pond. I have a decent sized (Approximately 20 gallons) hexagon acrylic aquariumsitting in the attic that My mom had given me years ago, but never used. All of the equipment is pretty old, so I am researching a new filter system for the aquarium. My mother had used an Undergravel filter (UGF), but I have encountered several sites on the net that do not use UGF's and provide reasonable reasons for doing so.

 

So, I got this aquarium that I would like to use for basic, low maintenance fresh water fish. I have some gravel and some old ornaments. I just need the cleaning "system" to get this thing going. The ten fish are currently sitting in my garage in a 2 gallon bucket. My mother assures me they will be fine for a week or so, but i'd rather not have my 6 and 4 yr old find their "pets" floating on the wrong side of the water.

 

I may buy a 10 gallon starter aquarium from the box store for now, but I would like to use the big hex aquarium eventually.

 

Any hobbist out there that can provide some info?

[Snaggletooth]

Man been through that! Everything from 10 gal. to a 180 gal reef tank.

 

For what you have and about any size tank I recommend a power head mounted on an updraft tube and a spounge filter at the bottom, just sitting on the surface of your gravel, rocks, what ever you use. The bigger the tank, add more power heads and filters. The power head at the top water level will circulate and aerate the water better than an air stone on a pump.

 

I do not like the undergravel filters myself. They are a total PITA to clean under them when needed. Most people use a an air stone in the updraft tube for them to pull the water and muck up form underneath. Just not strong enough. Changing the air stone to a power head helps but still not the best.

 

Using the power head through a spounge filter traps about everything it picks up and it developes a bacteria base the breaks down toxins along the way. A weekly rinse in cool tap water keeps it clean.

 

Buy a siphone type suction tube to clean the gravel about every week also. Suck out about a 1/3 of the water and replace it with fresh treated water. Because of the chemical treaments used in our water supplies the water must be treated to prevent killing the fish. Your local pet store can advise you on how much is needed for the water in your area.

 

If you are just going with goldfish you won't be needing a heater for the tank at least. They are cold water fish and using a heater with them will cause them to secrete more of their natural protective film which is not good for them.

 

When filling the tank for the first time be sure to let the water sit for a few days. Add a fish or two then and let the tank build up it's natural balance. After the first few survive then add the rest.

 

Hope that helps a little bit.

[BuddyRich]

Had everything form fresh tropical to salt water tropical. Even bred fish for a while. Biggest problem your going to have is Gold fish are cold water fish. And it seems I remember them being the dirtiest of all. The cooler water allows for higher oxygen content though. I have had UG filters when I first started but soon went to the Magnum filters and then reef filters in the saltwater tanks http://www.wetwebmedia.com/reef1.htm . Its kinda of additing once you get started. Especially when you see a bunch of baby fish one day. A 20 gallon tank ain't much. How big are these gold fish? one in 2 inches in length. Size make a difference in how many you can put in the tank.

[V7Goose]

I have been in the hobby a LONG time - spent many years breeding African Rift Lake cichlids, worked in the business part-time (so I could get wholesale discounts), etc. My fish room used to have 66 tanks in it, with a 200 gallon and other large show tanks in the house. I say all that so you can decide if you want to buy anything I say.

 

In the majority of circumstances, an under gravel filter is fine. Not good with fish who do a lot of digging, but there are ways around that problem too. I don't recommend not doing regular maintenance and cleaning filters, but if you have a tendency to let things like that slip sometimes, a UG filter is far better than other types. You can use either air-stacks or power head for circulation on the UG - both have benefits and drawbacks, but for your needs, either is fine. Power heads are easier until they burn up and die (many brands don't last two years). To work the best, a UG filter needs fairly fine gravel (smaller than pea-gravel, larger than sand). For tanks that do not need to maintain high alkalinity (you don't), you can't do better than sand-blast gravel from the hardware store. You'll want about two inches of it over the filter plate (the amount is not critical).

 

Goldfish are tough, but most grow pretty big. They are also a "dirty" fish (meaning lots of waste), so a 20 gallon tank may not be big enough for 10 of them (depending on size now, of course). Don't waste your money on more tanks until you learn about this hobby and decide you want to do more. You don't need any heater, even in the winter.

 

I can't try to teach all about the hobby here, but one more comment - most people setting up a new tank kill several tanks of fish before it stabilizes. ALL filters must have two types of bacteria growing in them to break down the poisons. It takes 3-6 weeks to get the filters going under normal circumstances, and that time is when everyone kills fish. The BEST possible thing you can do after you get the tank set up and have the fish in it is to go to a fish store and ask them to clean some dirty filter media in a small bucket for you - the water should look like mud when they are done, the more muck in it, the better. Now take that bucket home and dump it all in the new tank. The water will clear in a day (with your filter running, of course), and the filter will now be fully operational and removing the poisons.

Goose

Edited August 10, 2009 by V7Goose

[massey130]

i don't currently have one up, but i have had as many as 4 saltwater tanks going at one time (almost 100 gallons total). my thoughts are to get the stored tank up & running. filtration for salt & fresh water run in parrallel, so all my thoughts pertain to taking care of both.

 

i have always used the under gravel filter. sure you have to "vacuum" the rocks to keep the flow, but you are going to have maintenance & the under gravel filter is not that big a deal, remember that you don't have to have all the bottom used for under gravel, get a partial and run one bubble air tube. the hang on the back filters with the bio type wheels are very good. get one rated at least 50 % greater than your tank's water capacity.

 

water quality is important. you need to remove waste byproducts somehow. there are 2 ways. one is mechanical - filters, and the second is nature - bugs in the water that live off the waste and the bugs that live off the bugs that live off the waste. doing a water change each quarter will keep these things in balance. there is now an addin when you are first filling your tank to add these bugs rather than waiting for the natural cycle to happen.

 

getting good water is also helpful. bad water is cleaned by the stuff in your tank. so get distilled or reverse osmosis water as often as possible to lessen the work on your biological and mechanical filters.

 

watch what your decorations are made of. the cheaper the decoration, the cheaper the material. some material will leach chemicals after a period of time. this will cause a change in water chemistry that in turn will make your fish sick if not kill them.

 

the maintenance for a small tank is really not much less for a 30 gallon.

 

also look into the automatic fish feeders. these are great for weekends and make feeding consistant, or help children who don't remember that feeding the fish is their responsibility.

 

water temperature should be kept at a constant temp as well. if you run an air conditioner in the same room as the tank, the water should be at about the same temp. it takes longer for the water to change temps than air, but the winter is the key. when the season changes, you need to have a quality heater that you will adjust as the days get cooler that will keep the water the same temp as when the air conditioner was running. getting cool or warming up of water is not bad, it needs to be gradual. sudden water temp changes can kill fish or make them sick & then they die.

 

there is a lot to be learned. a good book can help a lot.

 

good luck.

 

Dale in Louisiana.

[BigBear]

mmmmmmmm....Sushi!

[Magnawake]

I too have raised Africans. Very good hobby to say the least. We had about 5 small goldfish in a 20 gal tank at work. Seems like everybody in the office would come back and sprinkle food in the tank. Goldfish are very DIRTY and very hard to keep the tank clean. Overfeeding them only compounded the problem. The tank turned out to be a toxic waste dump. Goldfish Never again. Yard ponds are great for them. I think the other post have covered it well. Dittos.

 

Good luck

[Guest tx2sturgis]

All I know about aquariums is that its sure fun to use a laser pointer on the ones at the doctors office and make those little f*****s swim fast and scared!

 

Aint got caught yet...might have to change docs if I do.

 

Why do yall keep bait in the house, anyway??

 

[BuddyRich]

We do that with the dogs, They ain't caught it yet but sure do like tryin...

[Magnawake]

Yeah thats funny, just dont try that with commercial airlines coming in for landing. Now thats a way to get throw into the clink, really. Bad idea.

[Snarley Bill]

My mother recently gave my daughter about 10 goldfish from her pond. I have a decent sized (Approximately 20 gallons) hexagon acrylic aquariumsitting in the attic that My mom had given me years ago, but never used. All of the equipment is pretty old, so I am researching a new filter system for the aquarium. My mother had used an Undergravel filter (UGF), but I have encountered several sites on the net that do not use UGF's and provide reasonable reasons for doing so.

 

So, I got this aquarium that I would like to use for basic, low maintenance fresh water fish. I have some gravel and some old ornaments. I just need the cleaning "system" to get this thing going. The ten fish are currently sitting in my garage in a 2 gallon bucket. My mother assures me they will be fine for a week or so, but i'd rather not have my 6 and 4 yr old find their "pets" floating on the wrong side of the water.

 

I may buy a 10 gallon starter aquarium from the box store for now, but I would like to use the big hex aquarium eventually.

 

Any hobbist out there that can provide some info?

they probably won't last but a few hours in a 2 gal. bucket. gold fish use alot of oxygen and crap alot very messy fish. a 20 gal. tank will probably be to small for that many gold fish. get a big filter and air pump at walmart. shoot air in that bucket they may make it. if they stay at the surface of the water they need air. i raise koi in a pond and have some gold fish. i would say about 5 medium size goldfish for 20 gal. tank. don't over feed them. it's the worst thing to do to pollute the water. buy a book. bill:)

[GG54172]

Thanks guys. Any recommendations on books?

 

I went to the local pet store today during lunch. Unfortunately, it has closed within the last week or so

 

So I guess it's off to the big box store with no one to really talk to. I have to run through Madison Thursday, maybe I can find a decent store there.

[GG54172]

I just talked to my Mother, she confirmed the fish are simple pond goldfish. She gave me ten because she let my daughter pick the ones she wants.

 

I figure I will get a small 10 gallon rectangle tank with a bubbler for now while I set up the Hexagon tank. After the nice tank is setup I may transfer 2 or 3 fish into the tank, but let the kids pick out some newer "fancy" fish. As the fancier fish capture the kids attantion, I will figure out what to do with the goldfish. The fish are currently between 1 and 2" long.

 

At least my mom didn't let her pick out a horse