New Large Goldish Setup Advice

AAHoudiniAA

Haha.. Also, no one has said a word about the G6..

Is it going to work with a small family of very large oranda? (4-5.5" and about 8-2").

Media???

Thanks again!

Rich
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kelly528

I don't know too much about the G6 but what I CAN tell you is that for goldie filtration the general consensus is that you want a minimum of 10x the tank's volume in GPH for filtration. So you need a filter / combination of filters with a total rating of at least 1100 GPH.

As for stocking, the rule of thumb with fancies is 20g for the first fish and 10 for each additional fish. I suggest you take at least 10g off the total tank volume for substrate & decorations. I am gonna say that 9 goldies would be a nice, conservative number. Or you could do 8, the lucky number, which has good chi :) The MAXIMUM you will want in there is 11 but I would only consider this after the tank is stocked at 9. You don't want to be committing yourself to multiple water changes per week!

For plants I recommend (for obvious reasons) a low-light setup... I strongly recommend reading some of Byron's stickies because he is very practiced at the art of creating thriving low-light, low-tech planted tanks. Some plants that I have personally experienced great success with are:

-Any Anubias species (very tough, nasty tasting leaves)
-Java fern
-Moss of any sort
-Heavy rooters like cryptocorynes, vals, swords, vals, etc. that are hard to uproot.

Did you say you have one 30" fixture? Not sure if that will suffice lengthwise. Dont' know how long your tank is but you will want something close to the length of the tank.

AAHoudiniAA

There are actually 2 30" fixtures.

The G6 is ABOUT 650/GPH rated for upto 160gal tank.

I think I am going to run an FX5 on this tank at 900gph. But I guess I am asking... is this enough filtration... because this will be it... other than the natural bac. in the tank (gravel, deco, etc).

I am going to run the G6 alone on a salt fish and live rock tank... I met with the Fluval rep today and he said that this would be the only filtration I would need for that particular setup (another 110gal).

Ughhhhhhh... like I said... too many projects going on at once... but I will be posting some (what I hope to be) incredible pics in about June.

Thanks for the help.

Rich

kelly528

LOL! I feel ya... sometimes those fish really run us off our feet! You upgrade one stupid thing and BAM! All the hidden costs come tumbling out of the closet!

I doubt the Fluval FX5 will handle the full load of the fish... 900GPH is 200 GPH below the absolute minimum filtration requirement.

Filter ratings are very sneakily estimated... not only do they not account for how many GPH the filter will turn over when half-clogged with dead plants and fish poop, some filters are rated as secondary filtration... for instance the Aquaclear line is rated assuming you are already running a UG filter. So when they say its for a 30g tank what they ACTUALLY mean is that an AC 30 AND an undergravel filter would handle a 30g tank!!!

If you can fit a HOB ANYWHERE, great. Aquaclears are a great line. I also really like the Fluval U series and their older line, the Plus series. They are internal filters and the whole thing sits inside the tank which is awesome if you have no room for more canisters or HOBs. Don't be afraid to mix and match filters either. In addition to the FX5 I would suggest an AC110 or 2 Fluval 4 Pluses / U4s.

PaperclipGirl

I have a canister and HOB on my Goldfish tank.

I really can't wait to see pictures of your set up and fish!

AAHoudiniAA

Kelly,
I have no room for an HOB anywhere... :( I do have 2 brand new Cascade 1200's that I could run on this tank BTW... would this work (please say yes, please say yes...lol) (me chanting in hopes you say "yes"). Oh and let me further throw a big old wrench into this... it's a 150 not a 110.

Now... I do have a 110 that I will run the G6 on with an emperor 400. I have this and another 400 running on a 60T with 2 rUGF's. That tank has been up about 5-6 weeks by now and has two fairly large orandas swimming around.. I am so struggling with .5 to .75ppm of ammonia in that baby. I have been doing everyday water changes and feeding the bare minimum... the fish look and behave healthy it just that I can't get the tank to completely cycle... Yesterday I added ceramics to one side of each 400.... hoping :)

Okay, I think I've said too much :D

Rich

kelly528

Okay wait is the 150 for Goldfish?


Not sure how much GPH the Cascades turn over but any and all combinations of filters will do as long as they stack up to a total combined output of at least 10x the tank volume in GPH.

The tank that the goldies are in right now... is it the 60T or the 110? Any are you seeing any nitrite or nitrate?

Sometimes ammonia & nitrite can build up for lack of filtration, if you don't have enough surface area for all the bacteria required to handle the bioload to sit on. But high surface area medias like ceramic can help this problem.

AAHoudiniAA

Yes, 150 for GF.

350 gal/hr ea.

60T

Testing nitrate and nitrate now. Will report.

Running 2 Emperor 400s with AC and Ceramic ea. And 2 rUGFs with big ugly lack spongy covers.

Thanks,

Rich

AAHoudiniAA

Tested the 60T with the ammonia issues.

Ammonia .50ppm
Nitrate 6.0ppm
Nitrite .25ppm

Followed up with a 70% water change.

Running 2 Emperor 400s 1/2 AC 1/2 Ceramic.
Have two separate rUGF plates (not one).
Running one rUGF on each with a big black ugly spongy filter.

Fish behave healthy (2 med/lg orandas). One has had some white spots on its head. The other hides a lot. Otherwise swimming healthy, look strong and healthy.
Eat a variety of store bought ff... flakes, pellets, etc.
Feed twice a day... one flake per inch of fish. (10 flakes 2x day or 6 med pellets 2x day).

Thanks,

Rich

kelly528

Keep tabs on that ammonia.... the white spots and hiding fish also don't seem right. Can you describe the white spots and is the hiding fish sitting on the bottom?

I strongly recommend you pick up a copy of Fancy Goldfish: care and Collecting by Dr. Richard Hess and Erik L. Johnson... VERY gppd book, often referred to as the bible of Goldfish disease, among other things. Its pretty much the most referred-to bookon goldies forums, as Richard Hess owns GoldfishConnection.com and Erik Johnson is a world-class Goldfish / Koi vet.