Newbie,needing Guidance!

[sweetmeister]

Hi
Just signed up to the forum as it seems full of helpful advice,which I need a lot of!!
I have just bought an Aqua one Ar850 tank which Is 165 litres.The problem I have is that I want to begin keeping tropical fish in this tank,but at the moment it is home to a rather large goldfish 8" or so!!
Is there a way to set the tank up ready for tropical fish whilst the goldfish is still present? Getting rid of the goldfish isnt an option I`m afraid,as its a bit of a family heirloom!!
I know it seems a stupid question but I really am clueless at the moment!Is it possible for a goldfish to live in a tropical tank?

Thanks in advance,any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Apologies if I have put this in the wrong section.

 

[lilfishie]

its not possible without causing health problems to the goldfish, maybe consider some of the coldwater fish such as dojo loach?

 

[Ronananator]

personally i have kept my goldfish for 5 years in tropical conditions got rid of him because i was moving but it does shorten there life spam they say but not by that much the only thing is u wont get much more fish in with a 8" goldfish to be honest =/

oh and when i was going from coldwater to tropical i just threw in the heater and set it to as low as it could go and then each day bring it up 1-2 degress fish were fine

 

[sweetmeister]

its not possible without causing health problems to the goldfish, maybe consider some of the coldwater fish such as dojo loach?

Thanks for the reply.The problem I have is that I want to keep tropical fish which is why i bought the bigger tank and heater etc,if I now buy more coldwater fish I will never get to the point where the tank is suitable for tropical fish,if you know what I mean?

personally i have kept my goldfish for 5 years in tropical conditions got rid of him because i was moving but it does shorten there life spam they say but not by that much the only thing is u wont get much more fish in with a 8" goldfish to be honest =/

oh and when i was going from coldwater to tropical i just threw in the heater and set it to as low as it could go and then each day bring it up 1-2 degress fish were fine

That is exactly what I had read elsewhere,and have today just started to up the temperature in the tank,like you say just by a couple of degrees each day.

 

[lilfishie]

they may seem fine at warmer temps but its not great for there health and there life span will drop, i wouldn't advise it

 

[sweetmeister]

So I would be best to wait until the goldfish goes to the giant tank in the sky or I give it a seperate home?

How can I start to cycle the filters in the tank with the goldfish still present? Is that possible? I dont believe my filters or water is very good at the moment as its a completely new system!!

 

[sweetmeister]

One more thing,has anybody any experience of the Ar850 tank? It has the two carbon cartridges within the filter system,but I have read that these are not really needed,if this is the case what is the best thing to replace them with?

 

[Owen386]

One more thing,has anybody any experience of the Ar850 tank? It has the two carbon cartridges within the filter system,but I have read that these are not really needed,if this is the case what is the best thing to replace them with?

Hey!

Newb myself, but some good people on here have given me advice on the same question you have asked. I was told carbon filters are not needed unless medicating tank, and some other reasons and actually the carbon dissipates rather quickly in only about 1-2 days any ways so no real need for the carbon or any reason for concern. Ive been told just to use sponges as that will filter your water as well as have a home for the delicious bacteria we all crave in fish keeping. If I am wrong in any way I`m sure a more some one will happily correct me, but to my knowledge all info is correct. IMO keeping that goldfish in a separate Tank would be a good idea. Good Luck!

-Owen

 

[kporteo]

Welcome to the forum!!
Id definatly recommend getting a new tank for your goldfish, which will have to be at least 30-40 gallons for the size of it. Saying that upping the temperature may shorten his life but hel still survive is like telling a human to live on one food for the rest of their life - we'd survive, but would we be healthy or happy??

If i were you, Id read the section at the top of this section called the beginners section, especially the section called cycling. You need bacteria to live in your filter to break down your ammonia (fish wee/poo) into less harmful nitrIte, then more bacteria to break this into even less harmful nitrAte. At the moment, your goldfish will be swimming around in its own toilet, you will need to perform major water changes everyday until you have 0ppm ammonia and nitrite everytime you test - this is when your filter is classed as cycled. To test your water you will need a test kit, most of us use the API master testkit.

Hope this helps, any questions just shout!

K

 

[sweetmeister]

Hi,thanks for the replies guys.Your help is really appreciated.
I have bought myself the API test kit today and have just done my first couple of tests!

PH 7.2
Ammonia 0.25ppm at my best guess

So is a water change the only way to bring down the ammonia level? If so what percentage of water should I be changing and how often?

Just done Nitrite test now aswell- 0ppm

What do these results mean!!!!!

 

[sweetmeister]

any thoughts please folks?

Should i be removing the carbon pads? Am I right in thinking they would stop the effect of a dechlorinator during water changes??

 

[sweetmeister]

Hi again,
I am going to carry out a 50litre water changein an attempt to bring down the ammonia,am I right in thinking i need to turn the pump etc off whilst doing this? Also if i use two 10litre buckets (one for out,one for in)should I treat every 10 litre bucket with chlorine remover before adding it back to the tank? If so does the water have to be left for any length of time or can i pour it straight in once I`ve treated it?

Sorry for all the questions,but I really need some help!!!

 

[sweetmeister]

Right guys,I have rehoused the goldfish emptied the tank,cleaned,refilled with dechlorinated water and have had it running now for 24hrs.
Set temperature at 84 and have just added my first dose of ammonia!! Will test the level shortly and keep going until I get to the 4ppm!!
Have I missed anything?

 

[sweetmeister]

Just how many drops is it going to take to get to 4ppm? I calculated that i needed 7ml of ammonia using the calculator on the forum.
Has anybody how many drops 7ml would equate to?

 

[Dodders]

I can't tell you how many drops (surely it would depend on the size of the hole they're coming out of!), but if you have a 5ml teaspoon, or even better, a 5ml medicine spoon, it'll be just under one and a half spoonfuls! Alternatively, you could use one of the API test tubes - I think the line is marked at 5ml.