I was talking to a guy in my tourism class and he told me about all these fish tanks he had that he didnt use. So i got one off him. I was shocked when i saw the size! Its the biggest tank i have ever owned. Measures between 50 and 70 gallons.
I was just wondering what i should do to prepare the tank for my fishys?

u could measure it and check the size of gallon :-) here the site that would help if u havn't already check. This site good because u canb tell the size of tank and also wat filtration you have for it adn how amny time is the cycle :-) here it is.

http://www.goldfishparadise.com/utl/calculator.php

I have a 55 with 6 goldies and 3 dojo and 2 angelfish.. It sound a little over crowded but it not. all of them are babies . 6gf= less than 1 1/2" and 2 angel= 1" and 3 dojo= 1 1/2"

I will get a 250 gallon this november. :-0 well have fun with ur tank ABZ
Oh yea how much u get it for :-)... I got mine off a frend wiht a fluval 3o3 adn heater 200watt and few other thing for 45 but i gave him a whole 50 :-)

get some heaters, lighting and filters, then start your fishless cycle so you can get some goldfish in there as soon as it cycles finish . Lucky you, hopefully the tank comes with a stand and top though, over here, thats what is expensive, not the tank!

Wow, now that's a tank!

First of all, check that it doesn't have leaks, cracks or weaknesses. Fill it up and let it stand for 24 hours then run your fingers all over the outside and see if you can detect any moisture seeping out.

Empty it out, then clean it thoroughly using a mild bleach solution (you don't know what creatures he had in there before and what they might have died of!) Then rinse it well using water and dechlorinator to get rid of the bleach. You now have a nice sterilised tank.

Put in the substrate and re-fill the tank, adding your plants and ornaments when it's half full. Then add the filter(s), light, hood (and heater if you're using one) and let the tank run empty for a few days to make sure everything is working properly, give the temperature time to even out and the cloudiness from the gravel etc. to disappear. Then either do a fishless cycle using ammonia, or put in a couple of your tougher goldies to start it off.

New tanks are so exciting!

The only thing i can say is Congradz! you lucky thing

Looks like you were in the right place at the right time!!!! LUCKY YOU! Enjoy!

wow! thats great!

abz, i remember when you first started to post here about your goldfish in a bowl. that was you wasnt it? now look at you! your about to have a 50+ gallon palace for your goldies! all in just a couple of months. once youve got it up and cycled, your goldies are gonna loooove it! if my memory serves me right, youve got a black moor or two and something else, right?

i doubt that it will but, measure and see if your existing filter(s) will fit on your new tanks rim. if it does, great! youll just have to figure out how big of a filter to add to reach an optimal filtration rate (gallons per hour). remember the 10 times per hour rule of thumb?

stuff youll need:

you may not need a heater right off the bat but, eventualy youll want one. youll need lights and a canopy too. as well as a filter or two (its mine and several other members here that believe that two smaller ones are better that one big one in case one fails!) if these things are a bit pricey, you could pay a visit to the diy section. theres a few really good ones in there!

stuff youll want:

everything else are just accessories. if your like me and cant afford everything at once, concentrate on plants, ornaments, backdrops and gravel later. again, check out the diy section.

hope this helps and good luck with your new goldie palace!

Alright...who has the ID of these people who just give large tanks away, and why are you keeping them from me lol!

Grats on the new tank! Make sure when you clean it not to use anything that is a "soap". You can use bleach (some people are iffy on that one), concentrated salt solution, or vinegar. I also saw someone on another forum suggest oxyclean, but I'm not sure about that one.

Don't forget you can use gravel or filter media from another one of your tanks to jumpstart the cycle.

Aloha Abz,

Congratulations on going big. I went big last year with 100 gal. Your gonna love it. A little more work but well worth it. I got my tank used also. The person I got it from had a few Koi in it that had died off. So I used Lime Off and bleach. I did not want to take any chances with dormant pathogens. Then I rinsed it till the cows came home. When I did my fill test on my back deck (avoid doing it in your home if at all possible) I placed old news paper under the tank. Doing this will help you catch a very slow leak because you’ll see that the paper is water damaged. Take care not to spill water on it while filling. This technique saved me a lot of pain because it did alert me to a very slow leak I might not have other wise seen. That in itself is another story.

Thanks for the advice guys.
Yeah i was the one who started with the bowl toothless. <_<
But i got over that. I moved upto my tiny 10 gallon tank but i wasnt happy.
I have two fish yes. My black moor (knight) and gold nymph (faith).
Only two fish, but so far i have only had room for two. I cant wait to have this tank up and running. I have come a long way quite quickly yes but thats cause i love goldies.
I will make sure i post up pictures of it once its done.

abz,

i didnt mean to single you out on starting with a bowl. i started with one too. within two weeks, i did a little research and realized my mistake. oh well, most of us start out that way.

good luck with faith and knight. they are very lucky to have such a caring keeper such as yourself.

Yeah, bowls are pretty evil indeed.
I didnt know they were so bad till i went onto koko's.
I wouldnt want my fish in them now.

I'm with Ceridwen on this.......Where do you find these people who give huge tanks away!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ME, I'm just trying to buy one and can't find any bargain. Even my daughter was looking to upgrade from a ten gal to maybe a 40 gal.hex,and we are at the pet store,some lady is talking to her about getting rid of her"smaller" tank,and the next thing I know,is my daughter bought a 75gal complete set-up with a stand for 150.00 Can you believe it? I was so busy telling her that it was such a good deal,not to pass it up,and she kept telling me that she wasn't looking for anything that big, then I decide ok I want it,and she buys it afterall!!!LOL Don't get me wrong,I was extremely happy for her,but where are these freebies,and good deals for me???? I've been trying to upgrade for months!!!

hmm.. how about getting a stand? and finding a nice spot for it??

maybe you would like to name your tank also..

whatever, enjoy.. you will have a lot of fun..

Congratulations Abz, I'm after one of those too. Hint Hint.

Hey Devs, your reply concerning your daughter and the 70g sounds like a classic case of reverse psychology.

Dang, the best I have found for a 75g + stand is 140 for the tank and 110 for the stand. I'm hoping to start a 75g planted tropical tank in the fall (gonna try to talk Dad into buying me the stand and tank for my bday, I gotta earn some cash for the lighting and such over the summer) so I've been looking everywhere at prices on them. The 29g + stand I just got for the goldies ran me just under $110 (38 for tank, 69 for stand).

The thing is I just know that if I run out and buy the 55 gal. that's on sale real cheap right now,I am still going to want a bigger one. After joining the forum,I guess I can feel ok by that because alot of people seem to have the same problem as me"how many tanks does one person need, When is a big tank big enough etc. Apparently thats a problem with alot of people because they own multiple tanks! I'm being very conservative when I say that I'd settle for a 75 or a 90gal cause deep down I'm thinking about 125gal, I think that I am a collector of fish tanks.....LOL (or one sick puppy!)

Hehe. 75g is my limit for the time being, I'm gonna be moving to I don't know where yet 2 years from now, so I figure its best not to go *too* big until that time.

Well i have jumped from having a 10 gallon to a near 70 gallon. Its a big step but i know im not going to be satisfied for long. The thing with keeping goldfish is that it is quite addictive. I will probably want two tanks soon enough. Im so crazy
I would spend so much money on fish if i had the money. Hehe!
People told me mild bleach to clean this new tank, any requirements to the mild bleach i can use?
Cheers

Hey guys,
the new tank is set now. It looks real awesome. I have it all colourful. Lots of pinks and blues and greens I love watching my fish in it so much. so far it has been a breeze to look after.