Hi all,

i have kept fish all my life but they have always been freshwater tropical fish.

i am going to set up a goldfish only tank.
i have done as much reaserch as possible and instead of asking what is the ideal set up, wich there is no one anser to, i will tell you the setup i want and you tell me if it is good, and what should be changed.
my ideal setup is this,
46 gal bow front tank, 36"x16" at the front of the bow x 20"
i need it to be against the wall as much as possible so the filter will be marineland c-360, this is a 360 gph canister filter, thats roughly 8 times the flow rate of my tank size.
i do not want any air pump/airstones.
it will be a gravel bottom, no live plants at all.

my main concern is enough filtration, will the 360gph cannister be enough?
also this particular filter does not include a spray bar, will i need any more water movement for proper air exchange?
if i used a powerhead for more water movement would it be to powerfull for the delicate goldfish?

thank you for any help

Nope not enough. You need 10x the gph per gallon. You got 46 gallons you need at least 460gph You shouldn't need a power head if you have enough filtration going. A lot of current is ill advised if your keeping fancies. Welcome to Koko's!!!

thank you, that is what i feared...

the xp4 is 450 gph, however i have read about ppl having problems with them and would rather go for something that has a good track record.

my other option would be to use two canister filters such as 2 eheim classic canister filter, 2217's, each rated at 260 gph for a total of 520gph however i read that it has only a 208gph filter circulation, i dont know what that means, but that would only be a total of 416gph. would two 2217's be enough for a 46 gal tank?

my next option would be two xp2's giving me a total of 600gph

the other part i like of using two is incase one fails there is always the backup...

so what do you all think of this filter setup?

thanx again

actually instead of two xp2's i will go with 2 xp3's...which should deff be enough, thats about 700gph.
please let me know if having two xp3's would be enough for my 46 gal bowfront as the only means of filtration/water movement.
thank you

I have one of those, and guess what? I LOVE IT!!! It is a great filter to work with.

thanx!
however i can get two xp3's for less money, and an obvious increase in gph, wouldnt having two be a better option?

It's actually better to have a HOB with a canister, so you get the benefits of both kinds of filtration. But good for you for sticking with the Rena's, they are good filters, and yes, of course, more gph is always better.

I have a Rena xp3 and love love love it I think two on that size tank would work out great. If you only have 2 or 3 fish. I know we say 10 gallons each here but that is more of a starting off point.
Unless you plan to up grade in a couple years it just won't be enough in the long run.
I have five goldfish in my 75 gallon with extra filtration and as long as they stay the average goldfish size or smaller they well be fine but if one or two get oh say 13 or more inches long I could have issues.
I just think the idea of 20 gallons for the first goldfish and 10 gallons for more is a great idea gives you breathing room so to speak.
Your off to a great start doing your research first then get the fish. A+++ for you.

thanx!
i understand what you meen with room to breath, my other pets in my house arent that diff, a reticulated python, burmes python, red tailed boa, all of them started off real small but they deff get pretty big real quick!
i want my goldfish to be healthy and i also have a spare 75gal tank in my gerage incase i need it!

ok so it looks like i will go with two xp3's should be plenty of filtration.

now i am thinking i will set each up the same as the other to simplify maintenance.
after much research i have decided not to use carbon. i know ppl dissagree with this but i dont use it on my other fresh water tank, unless i need to after medication or something to that nature, and that tank is running fine, i dont see how there can be any diff with a goldfish tank, however if i am wrong please let me know.

i will use extra bio stars/rings instead in the top tray and use different filter pads in the bottom two it should be more than enough bio filtration and very good mechanicle.

again thank you for the help

I don't think very many use it with goldies. Too expensive to replace all the time anyway. But after used up, makes great BB space.

thanx for the input!