New 55 Gallon Goldfish Tank

eelz212

So it's been about 4 days since the big bacterial bloom of '08.

i've been doing daily changes of 10%, after doing one big initial one of about 20%.

i also got a third air stone, and more importantly i upgraded my air pump, to one that's suitable for a 55-75 gallon tank. there's TONS of bubbling going on.

so the water is visibily clearer. still sort of a whitish haze to it, but nothing like the other day where i could barely see the fish. on the chemical side, i just did another test for ammonia and the reading was somewhere around 1.5ppm, not very good, but leagues better than the 6.0 or so it was the other day.

so, things are looking up! anything else i should consider doing or prepare myself for?

Julie's Julies

That's so cool that you got your goldies into a bigger tank! My poor two are in a 10-gallon right now, so we're moving to a bigger place where I can get them into my 55-gallon. I am so excited!

eelz212

now that's commitment!

good for you, i can tell you on my end that's it's a very satisfying thing to do to put Goldfish into an environment where they can truly thrive.

ps, the Goldfish in your avatar's a beauty.

eelz212

when is it okay to move the gravel around a little bit? the bacterial bloom seems to have subsided, and i'd like to add a little fresh gravel and bury the new air stone i've got in the tank. also some of the fake plants have been knocked over.

eelz212

hey- when can i remove the stocking that contains the old tank's gravel?

eelz212

Hey guys-

So the new tank has been up and running for 3 weeks or so and things are fine.

while the water looks and tests clean, there is a brownish substance accumulating on the heater, filter powerhead, and some ornaments. what is is this stuff? can i just wipe it off?

thanks

scottysgirl

It is called diatom algae, and is common in new tanks. It should be very easy to wipe off. Ottos will eat it. I get it in my Oscar tank a little bit, but I just clean it off once a week and deal with it. Reducing photo-period helps (the time the lights are on) but most important in my experience is keeping nitrates really low. In my Oscars tank that means twice weekly 40% water changes to keep the nitrates below 10 ppm, which is a little bit of a pain but it is OK.

scottysgirl

PS--great job taking such a good care of your fish! How is the cycling process going?

eelz212

Thanks for the info and kind words scottysgirl-

i will get to cleaning it up. can diatom algae pose any risk to the fish or is it just an aesthetic issue? it seems to be growing fairly rapidly, i can see it on the glass of the tank now. what are these ottos you mentioned? is there a type of algae eating fish that would be a suitable tank-mate alongside my Goldfish?

the cycle seems to be going well. the fish are as visibly healthy, frisky, and hungry as ever and have already started getting bigger. i do small (10%) changes twice a week and haven't touched the gravel or filter media. i've been keeping the feeding very light.

on the chemical side i've gotten the ammonia down to 0ppm. i still don't have the nitrate test.

it's been over three weeks since i set up the tank and i was wondering when i should do my first major clean (i.e. change some of the media in my filter, siphon gravel, etc.). my filter has three parts: a foam insert, carbon, and the biomax material that promotes beneficial bacteria. which should be changed first, and when?

thanks guys

eelz212

hey guys-

so, my tank's been running for about 5 weeks and things are really going great.

i've just done my first decent cleanup:

removed stocking that contained old tank's substrate
replaced the carbon pouch in my filter (didn't touch anything else)
siphoned about 2/3 of the gravel
wiped up a bunch of brown (diatom?) algae
moved some ornaments around to spice things up

ran some tests-

nitrate: 2.5ppm

ammonia: .05 I was a little bummed because while this is significantly lower than all the other ammonia tests i've done, i thought the ammonia would've been gone by now. but oh well

what's important is that the water is crystal clear, the algae outbreak has completely subsided (reducing photoperiod probably helped too), and oh yeah, the fish seem to be fantastic. frisky and getting plumper by the day.

it's funny actually, i've put them in this sprawling new tank but they chill out in the leftmost corner all day waiting/begging for food. live a little guys! i try to lure them to other areas with food but i worry if i sprinkle it too far away they'll never find it (esp. the black moor, he doesn't see so good). i suppose they'll do some more exploring as they grow into the tank.

anyway, i'll post some pictures before too long and show you what my thriving Goldfish look like

take care everybody,

eli