Hi,
I'm getting another tank, a huge one this time! 135 gallon seastar, it comes with a fluval 304 and a fluval 404, 2 heaters. Can I just mix bleach into water, and wash out the tank, and the filters? How will I know when all the bleach is gone? Are those 2 filters enough for the tank? I would like to keep a heater in there (set to around 72), is it better to keep both in? or should I just use one?

I got it at a great price, now I just need to make room..

The 304 filters 260 GPH
The 404 filters 340 GPH

So if you add these to gether then divide it by the tanks galls this gives you how many times the tank will be cycled.......4.4 times an hour. This for goldfish is to little you will need at least two other filters of 400GPH

As for cleaning the tank you want to do it one part bleach to ten parts water, scrub and then soak for at least an hour. Then you want to rinse the tank at least 3-4 times then I would add water to the tank and add a good size bottle of Declore to the water scrub the tank with that. Then let it sit for 3-4 hours. Then rinse again then air dry over nite This should get all the bleach out of the tank. Also make sure that you cant smell the bleach either after the dechlore.

Thanks for the info koko!

Question for anyone who knows, what exactly is a powerhead? I never got one before, but it comes with the used tank I am getting, its a hagen 802 powerhead. I read some stuff online, but its not very clear, does it just push water around, or is it like a filter where I can put media inside?

power heads are just about what you said there are parts that you can add to make it a sponge filter to the bottom of it. Or you can hook it to an under gravel filter......(I dont like them UGF).

Power head

Sponge attachment that you can add to it to make it into a filter

Thanks again!

I'm looking forward to all the goldfish I'm going to get.. I was dreaming about it yesterday

You can also disinfect a tank with an addition of potassium permanganate - add enough that the water appears purple. (this is about 4 crystals for a 10 gallon tank)Let it sit for 24 hours, or until the water look brownish. PP can be removed from the water with an addition of hydrogen peroxide, or simply empty the water out, give it a rinse and you are done. It is far easier to rinse away than bleach, and you can feel confident that even if you misses an infinite amount, no harm will come.

I have a question about large tanks: how many times an hour should a tank be cycled if it is 135 gallons? Also, with 3 or 4 filters on a tank, is it possible to have a hood? Thanks for answering my questions even though this isn't my thread

Hoods can mean a tremendous variety of things in a rather broad catagory. There are hoods that would not allow you to easily use an overhanging filter, and then there are hoods that could potentially allow you to hang an entire line of them down the back of your tank. You really need to have a look at the type of hood you are interested in. You need access to the side/back of the tank with room for an overflow. That is all.

Generally the MINIMUM of filtration needed is turning the water over 10 times per hour. So if you have a tank that holds 135 gallons, you need to filter at least 1350 gallons an hour. I try to aim for at least 12 times a hour or more, myself.

Simply add up the capasity of the various filters you have and you will see where you stand.

A cannister filter can take up very little tank side/back room, for all you need it the intake hose and the output spray bar to go in and out the the tank. This can give you another type of filter that takes up no room in a hood.

Since we are on the topic of filtration, if its measured purely in gallons per hour, does it matter what kind of filter we get? It seems silly to buy a canister filter then, I could just shove a bunch of cheap aquaclear 500s on the tank for some huge amount of gph for the same price as a decent canister filter.

How would you measure sponge filters? I have one with just an air pump into it. Would powerheads (hagen 802 with a sponge filter) count as like 400GPH, since, thats how much water it pushes through?

More filtration is never a bad thing, but I disagree that 10x per hour is the minimum required. I have had, and seen, many fish that do just fine with as little as 6x per hour filtration. More is always a good precaution, because goldies are such messy critters, but you can have healthy fish with less, so long as you're sure your flow-through is adequate to keep your water params healthy and you have a good gallon to fish ratio.

I'm mostly playing devil's advocate here. I do have tanks that have less than 10X turnovers, but others turn over 15X or more.

Nope. Everyone has their favorites, but no, it doesn't really matter.



Measure it by the GPH rate like any other filter. The most important part of filtration is the biofiltration, and that's what you get with sponge filters.