Hello Everybody!

I started my fishkeeping hobby on the reccommendation of my LFS, and thought i was doing fine, until I began a battle with fin rot and fungus. I came to KGW, and have recieved all sorts of wonderful information and advice. I've learned a lot, and i'd like to try and be a better fishkeeper.

I currently have 2 common (one for sure, but i think one may be a comet now that i've read the posts on goldfish classification!) goldfish, both under 2", in a 10 Gllon tank. I have a petcetera store brand filter. I also have one airstone. Ammonia 0.0, ph 8.0. I feed them once a day with nutrafin Max Flake food.

Since the finrot battle began, i have been changing 20% of the water everyday, and treating with Maracyn2 and Maroxy. Before that, i did a gravel vaccuming, and in the process, changed 30-40% of the water each week, as well as taking out all of the decorations, rinsing them in tap water, and scrubbing out the ornaments and the rocks with a toothbrush, and cleaning out the filter tank and tubes also with the toothbrush.

I can no longer get the filter inserts that i need for my filter (i live in a remote community in BC Canada), and i would like to buy a new one. The ones available here are AquaClear. In the future, i would like to upgrade my tank to a 20 gallon. Can i buy a filter suitable for the twenty gallon tank now, and install it in the ten gallon tank?

My concerns about this are that, with my present filter, if i keep the flow on high one of my fish hides in the top corner, and the other obsessively swims facing the current. They also refuse to swim across the tank if the airstone is in a centrally placed location. It doesn't seem normal normal somehow, and i wonder if a larger filter will create the same issues.

I have read most of the posts on this forum, and as helpful as all the information is, i can't help but be a little overwhelmed. I do however want to do my best for my fish, so please forgive me if my queries are ones that you've answered often.

Thank you for your time and consideration,
Dana.

Hi dana,
If you want to buy aquaclear for 20 g, I would suggest "Aquaclear 50 Power Filter" which has 200 gph. You can adjust the filter to reduce the flow rate for now and also you can put some plastic plant to control the flow rate. This is my 2 cents and I believe somebody will have better answer for you.
Good luck!!!

Hi Small Ranchu,

Thank You for your suggestion! I took it with me to the LFS, but the only thing they had that was close was an AquaClear 30 (formally Aquaclear 150). It says that it's for 10-30 gallon tanks. So, thant's what i got.

The plant suggestion was a good one too. I got a nice tall plastic one. Hopefully it will help break up the current.

I also got an airflow control switch to put into my air line to the airstone. I didn't know there was such a thing! Is it normal for GF to be so sensitive about the current? Is it possible to have too much oxygen in your tank?

I'm sort of working backwards here, trying to establish a better regime in my fishkeeping skills. I've studied the 10 steps and general fish care basics that Koko has outlined on the homepage links, and i'm doing what i can to adopt these basic principles into my routine.

Does any one have a suggestion about how to incorporate this new filter into my tank with a minimal amount of disruption to the established environment?

Thanks again for all your help!

Dana.

Hi Again!

I've just taken the Aquaclear 30 out of the packaging. Is this the tpe of filter that you would recommend protecting the fish from getting sucked up against/into? The holes at the bottom of the intake tube are bigger than my current filter, and i certainly don't want my fish to get injured!

Dana.

I am using AquaClear 70 now and nothing happen to my fish. Don't worry, I believe common fishes are strong enough to get away from the intake tube. By the way, intake have a filter to prevent the fish go inside, don't you have that one?

On my 75g I have a total of 600 gph and hope to get anouther filter added so that I have 900 gph. The more gph the better for goldfish. 10X per gallon is what is recomended. And no my fish do not get battered all over the tank. There are places in the tank where is it quite but the spend most the time (when Im not near and they are begging for food) swimming all over.

edited for typos.

Well, maybe my GF are just wimps! And obsessive compulsive!

I put the new filter in, following some of the suggestions i found on the forum pages. The filter has 150 gph, which is over the recommended for the 10 gallon, but may not be enough when i upsize to the 20 gallon. Well, i guess i'll cross that bridge when i get to it.

I placed the tallest plant in front of the filter, hopefully to break up the current.

I removed all the natural rocks, just in case.

I re-arranged the decorations so that there was more open space for swimming.

I'm currently fighting a battle with tailrot, so i'm trying out a suggestion i found on the treatment forum that advised two light-free, food-free days to minimize bacterial growth in the tank.

I will however, continue testing the water, and doing the waterchages neccessary for cycling the tank, now that i have a new filter. As i mentioned, i'm trying to go back, and re-do all the things i should have done in the first place!

Thanks for your help!

Dana.

Don't forget to post the pic of the tank after everything is settle. Good Luck!!!

Hey dana,
I live in a remote community in BC, too! (a gulf island) If you can't find what you need at your lfs, try these Canadian mail order places:

Pets and Ponds

MOPS

BigAls Online

The prices are way cheap and the shipping is reasonable, too. I find that even though I have access to different pet shops, by the time I find a day that I can take a ferry into town and drive to the different ones (and then they don't have what I want!!), I could have ordered it online and had it delivered to my door, quicker!!

I put a cannister filter meant for a 60 g tank on my 25 gal. and it seems to me that the fish are struggling a little bit against the current. I think I'll upgrade to a 72 g. tank ( and an even bigger filter . . .)

Good Luck!

Hi Dymndgyrl!

Nice to hear from a fellow BC resident! Thank you so much for your suggestions of alternative fish sources, and one of these days, i just might use them. I do struggle with finding the balance between supporting the local economy on one hand, and getting what i want, when i want it on the other. It's a tough call, but at least i don't have to negotiate ferry schedules to get to the mainland! Just the Kicking Horse Pass! Online shopping seems like a great option from Nov-March!

Someone else had mentioned Big Al's to me as well, sounds like a great resource.

Small Ranchu - thanks for your well wishes! I will post a pic, so that i can get some opinions. I'm not sure about the new arrangement, so I may tinker a bit still...

Dana

i have a total of 450 gph on my one tank thats with 2 filters i am @ the point of getting another aqua clear something higher myself i like its functions and works well with filtration i have yet to have any probs with my fish getting sucked in or injuried in anyway the newer filtration systems that are out i think are much better course next mnth coming i plan on doing a completely planted tank with the CO2 System

I think you will be very happy with Aquaclear filters!! They are work horses! Easy to use & easy to clean. I have two AQ 110's on my big tank & I am planning to get a good sized one soon for my 30 gallon tank.