# New Goldfish tank - hooray!



## miss_mystra (Jun 24, 2010)

Finally had some free time to fill my new 4ft tank for my goldfish 

The good news is... it hasn't fell through the floor lol TOUCH WOOD!

Will take some pics tomorrow as it's a bit dark in here (our lights are poo!)

The only problem is the bloody filter pump thing... it's huge and awkward - the tank has glass bits going around the edges and across so i can't put it on the end like i planned and the wire is really short grrrr might just get another one tomorrow

My fish is unimpressed as i've pretty much taken everything bar a couple of plants out his old tank so its a bit bare while we wait for this to be ready!


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## goldie1212 (Mar 5, 2010)

aww always good when goldies get an upgrade, and im sure he will forgive you nicking all his decor when he gets into his new home :2thumb: i cant rate fluval 4+ enough, well any of the older ones but i like 3+ and 4+ the best. a 4+ would do your tank and the flow is directional too so if its a bit much for him you can direct it towards a side wall. i run a 3+ and two 4+ internals alongside my fluval fx5 on my 6x2x2 fancy goldfish tank. love them, so easy to maintain :2thumb: and nice and cheap on ebay!

will you be getting him a little fancy friend when the tank is cycled and stable?


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## miss_mystra (Jun 24, 2010)

goldie1212 said:


> aww always good when goldies get an upgrade, and im sure he will forgive you nicking all his decor when he gets into his new home :2thumb: i cant rate fluval 4+ enough, well any of the older ones but i like 3+ and 4+ the best. a 4+ would do your tank and the flow is directional too so if its a bit much for him you can direct it towards a side wall. i run a 3+ and two 4+ internals alongside my fluval fx5 on my 6x2x2 fancy goldfish tank. love them, so easy to maintain :2thumb: and nice and cheap on ebay!
> 
> will you be getting him a little fancy friend when the tank is cycled and stable?


i certainly will if he behaves himself, and of course my loach will need a pal too if there is room 

will have to get a goldie the same size as him though, he can be a bully trust me... i once found him nomming a little plec i bought last year :gasp: but probably should not have put it in there in the first if i had known better, poor thing 

i'll take a look at the fluvals tomorrow i might go for a little trip to the shop woohoo


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## goldie1212 (Mar 5, 2010)

im sure he will behave in a larger tank. there may be some chasing around but its normal, and as you said get a new one of the same size or slightly larger and it should be fine. if you put plenty of plants and wood etc in the tank it willhelp break up line of sight too which will help them get along nicely. mine chase now and again but they just bump around the tank for 10 mins and stop again. when the females are ready to spawn it can last a day or more but no harm comes of them.

the dojo loach will definately enjoy the company of a couple of others :2thumb: but do watch out as i had issues keeping dojos with my fancies, when i fed them the sinking pellets, the dojos would dive in to the goldfish through the gills to grab the pellets from the mouths of the goldfish :gasp: 1 started it at first, did it at every feed,it would whisker its way along the side of the fish, then nose inside, then all you would get is a spazzing out goldfish hurtling around the tank with half a dojo hanging out of its gills...not good, then the others seemed to cotten on to what he was doing and all 5 did it in the end. the stress on the goldfish was too much so i rehomed them. just something to keep an eye on, no-one else on any other forums i go on had ever heard of such a thing.


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## miss_mystra (Jun 24, 2010)

goldie1212 said:


> im sure he will behave in a larger tank. there may be some chasing around but its normal, and as you said get a new one of the same size or slightly larger and it should be fine. if you put plenty of plants and wood etc in the tank it willhelp break up line of sight too which will help them get along nicely. mine chase now and again but they just bump around the tank for 10 mins and stop again. when the females are ready to spawn it can last a day or more but no harm comes of them.
> 
> the dojo loach will definately enjoy the company of a couple of others :2thumb: but do watch out as i had issues keeping dojos with my fancies, when i fed them the sinking pellets, the dojos would dive in to the goldfish through the gills to grab the pellets from the mouths of the goldfish :gasp: 1 started it at first, did it at every feed,it would whisker its way along the side of the fish, then nose inside, then all you would get is a spazzing out goldfish hurtling around the tank with half a dojo hanging out of its gills...not good, then the others seemed to cotten on to what he was doing and all 5 did it in the end. the stress on the goldfish was too much so i rehomed them. just something to keep an eye on, no-one else on any other forums i go on had ever heard of such a thing.



ooh can't say my loach has ever done that... nearest he's done was once he sucked a pellet out the goldies mouth when it was stuck which was very helpful lol if anything my goldie harrasses him :whistling2: poor guy has to be super quick at dinner time!! but i'll keep an eye out for anything like that, like you one does it then they all cotton on the buggers!!


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## miss_mystra (Jun 24, 2010)

Aaaarrrgghhh!!


Cycling takes FOREVER!! And its so confusing :S had it running for over a month now

Still waiting for my master test kit in the post....(snow over Xmas then waiting for re-orders blah blah) I can't believe how much you need to actually do to get a tank ready... Last time all I did was have the tank running with the new filter for 2 weeks then add the water from the old tank to top up ... How my fish didn't die from that I'll never know and thank goodness I know better now ( and that same info is what is getting them an even bigger tank!)

Anyway... My fish are looking so fed up they want their new tank!!

Oooh anyone know where I can get cheap backgrounds from?


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## goldie1212 (Mar 5, 2010)

if you transferred over all their old stuff and its filtered, i would have put them straight into the new tank. as long as you carry out say 20% water changes every other day, and feed them only every other day, until you have your test kit and know for sure, they will be just fine. they are far better off in the new bigger tank than sitting in their old small one. run their old filter on it alongside the new one aswell for 2 weeks to seed the new media, and the bacteria will easily keep up :2thumb: looking forward to pictures.


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## miss_mystra (Jun 24, 2010)

goldie1212 said:


> if you transferred over all their old stuff and its filtered, i would have put them straight into the new tank. as long as you carry out say 20% water changes every other day, and feed them only every other day, until you have your test kit and know for sure, they will be just fine. they are far better off in the new bigger tank than sitting in their old small one. run their old filter on it alongside the new one aswell for 2 weeks to seed the new media, and the bacteria will easily keep up :2thumb: looking forward to pictures.



cool, i have basically been putting all the water from the water changes in the old tank, into the new one... the test should arrive soon so once that comes fingers crossed it'll be ok and ready to go, hooray!:2thumb:


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## goldie1212 (Mar 5, 2010)

:lol2: i still would just swap them over into it. im not one for waiting, and ive done it before when ive run out of a test bottle and i just did a 20-30% water change every other day until i got the new bottle. :lol2: so far every time the tank has been cycled using old media in the filter anyway but i wasnt going to take the risk, ive never had problems doing it. hope your test kit comes soon :2thumb:


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## miss_mystra (Jun 24, 2010)

goldie1212 said:


> :lol2: i still would just swap them over into it. im not one for waiting, and ive done it before when ive run out of a test bottle and i just did a 20-30% water change every other day until i got the new bottle. :lol2: so far every time the tank has been cycled using old media in the filter anyway but i wasnt going to take the risk, ive never had problems doing it. hope your test kit comes soon :2thumb:



lol i'm sooo impatient too... trouble is its a brand new filter, and alotho i will be adding the old one in when the fish move in (old tanks getting converted into my boyfriend's -and mine- new project... we're making a star wars scene in it lol)... if my goldfish wasnt so pig dirty i'd risk it for half a day to give it a boost now and again while i wait. ho hum... hopefully the test comes soon!


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## goldie1212 (Mar 5, 2010)

just run both filters on the new tank for a fortnight, the bioload wont change it will just be more diluted. once the new filter is established by running alongside the old one after a couple of weeks you can shut off the old filter, though i would personally run both as then if 1 happens to break down you arent in a crazy rush to get a new one.


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## miss_mystra (Jun 24, 2010)

Yeah I'm gonna run the old one alongside anyway, bit if extra help won't hurt! I mean while I was waiting for everything to cycle, taking my filter out the current set up and plonking it in the new tank now n again... But knowing my fish he'd poo extra n make his current tank a pig hole in minutes!

Doesn't matter anyway... My test is here!

Just to be clear tho... What results do I want and should I do a 50% water change before adding my swimming orange terror lol


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## goldie1212 (Mar 5, 2010)

by all means do a water change before adding him to his new tank, it will help freshen it up a bit especially if you have been adding old water. definately run both filters, even if only for a few weeks until its all established.

once your mr fish is in here, you need to make sure you dont mini-cycle, so watch out for any ammonia or nitrite showing up. you want to be aiming for zero ammonia, zero nitrites, and a reading of nitrates but make sure they dont climb above 40ppm, even better if its kept under 20ppm. i dont let my tanks run over 20-30ppm nitrates.


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## miss_mystra (Jun 24, 2010)

Cool thanks for your advice!

Will defo be doing that water change, just tested it 

Ph was 8.4
Ammonia was 0.25 ppm
Nitrite was 0ppm
Nitrate was 160ppm!!!!!!!! Aaarrghhh!


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## goldie1212 (Mar 5, 2010)

ok, since you have no fish in there, drop the water down to almost nothing and then refill. that nitrate needs dropping a lot, as does the ammonia. when you get the old filter running on the tank chances are the ammonia will disappear so i wouldnt worry too much about that but the nitrates are there until you do a water change so do a huge one then add the filter and fish.


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## miss_mystra (Jun 24, 2010)

Cool thanks so much! Looks like I'll be roping my boyfriend into bucket duty again lol it's a pain having the livingroom on a different floor to the kitchen!


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## miss_mystra (Jun 24, 2010)

pffft... just me on bucket duty :whistling2::whistling2:

took out about 90% of the water (which wasn't a completely full tank anyway) and filled up the tank completely with new water with all the dechlorinator gubbins... i'll test it tomorrow night see what its like.

Meanwhile my goldfish is sulking under his last plant.. i don't see him offering to bloody help!! or pay for test kits!!:devil:


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## goldie1212 (Mar 5, 2010)

miss_mystra said:


> pffft... just me on bucket duty :whistling2::whistling2:
> 
> took out about 90% of the water (which wasn't a completely full tank anyway) and filled up the tank completely with new water with all the dechlorinator gubbins... i'll test it tomorrow night see what its like.
> 
> *Meanwhile my goldfish is sulking under his last plant.. i don't see him offering to bloody help!! or pay for test kits!!*:devil:


:lol2::lol2::lol2: love it!

lol i still dont know how you havent added the little guy and his buddy to the big tank yet, lol it wont be cycling with no ammonia in there so the test results will be the same until the ammonia source are swimming around in there :2thumb:


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## miss_mystra (Jun 24, 2010)

goldie1212 said:


> :lol2::lol2::lol2: love it!
> 
> lol i still dont know how you havent added the little guy and his buddy to the big tank yet, lol it wont be cycling with no ammonia in there so the test results will be the same until the ammonia source are swimming around in there :2thumb:



yeah just didn't wanna risk him in all that nitrate! Next couple of days tho he can go in


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## miss_mystra (Jun 24, 2010)

well test results were a bit better this time

ph still 8.2 (so weird as i've never had a ph problem in my other tank :s)
ammonia 0
nitrite 0
nitrate 80ppm :bash:

i'm testing the nitrate level of some plain tap water now...just out of curiousity and i put some of that api stuff in to sort out the ph......what do we reckon?

:whistling2:

ok nitrate level of my council pop is the same - 80ppm...


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## miss_mystra (Jun 24, 2010)

and who's the naughty bugger tagging this thread of waste of a good fish tank! ? :lol2::lol2:


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## goldie1212 (Mar 5, 2010)

miss_mystra said:


> and who's the naughty bugger tagging this thread of waste of a good fish tank! ? :lol2::lol2:


some idiot no doubt :whistling2: no such thing as a waste of a big tank, especially when it comes to goldfish :2thumb:


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## miss_mystra (Jun 24, 2010)

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!!

sorry its a dreadful phone picture as i don't have a camera yet! Got a nice background coming and will be ordering a hood come payday so can have a bit of light on the subject!!:no1:










You can just make out Pedro's permanent face of discontent :whip: and the Lieutenant is hidden away as loaches love to do


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## goldie1212 (Mar 5, 2010)

:2thumb: awsome, he will soon be much happier once hes settled in. great set-up. not long now until you get to go goldfish shopping for a new little friend for him :2thumb:

just as a word of warning though, make sure you take that rock formation thing out slowly and carefully upside down when you clean out the tank each time, and pour the water from inside out into the bucket etc, it will stink, had exactly the same one in my tropical tank a long time back. the smell made me give up on it, but it looked great.


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## miss_mystra (Jun 24, 2010)

goldie1212 said:


> :2thumb: awsome, he will soon be much happier once hes settled in. great set-up. not long now until you get to go goldfish shopping for a new little friend for him :2thumb:
> 
> just as a word of warning though, make sure you take that rock formation thing out slowly and carefully upside down when you clean out the tank each time, and pour the water from inside out into the bucket etc, it will stink, had exactly the same one in my tropical tank a long time back. the smell made me give up on it, but it looked great.



thanks! :2thumb::2thumb:

Yeah i used to always have to tip it out out the old tank the stench would be horrendous!!!! I can't see the ferns lasting long but i just wanted some cheap extra cover for the loach...had em before they just fall apart when you try rinse the poo off them!!


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## goldie1212 (Mar 5, 2010)

hope the ferns last for you, its a lovely looking set-up :2thumb:


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## miss_mystra (Jun 24, 2010)

goldie1212 said:


> hope the ferns last for you, its a lovely looking set-up :2thumb:



:2thumb::2thumb: thanks! and on a more important note, if it wasn't for you and the info you give out about the correct needs of these lovely goldfish, they'd still be in the wrong set-up, no doubt managing to live a couple of years and me thinking that's the norm - what an idiot i was!! so thank you!!! :no1:

It looked lovely when i went up to feed them this morning, he looked slightly less grumpy than usual - which is a big difference lol!!! but seriously he was having a good swim round and the loach was doing 'lengths' last night, bombing around like a good un!

The backgrounds just arrived in the post so sticking that on tonight should look but more colourful


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## goldie1212 (Mar 5, 2010)

you are more than welcome, im just happy that my information was useful and not just thrown aside as a lot of goldfish owners like to do. im sure your goldie will live a very long happy healthy life with you :2thumb:

oh, and more pics asap :lol2:


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## miss_mystra (Jun 24, 2010)

goldie1212 said:


> you are more than welcome, im just happy that my information was useful and not just thrown aside as a lot of goldfish owners like to do. im sure your goldie will live a very long happy healthy life with you :2thumb:
> 
> oh, and more pics asap :lol2:



lol silly thing is i bet he spends most of his time at one end where he can watch us eat once he works that one out. My OH thought a shoal of little fish would be nice in there but i've said no... Pedro will just eat them i don't trust him the sod!!!

I need to buy a camera...and soon! sick of taking pics with a phone they're awful!!


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## goldie1212 (Mar 5, 2010)

no i wouldnt mix smaller fish, much better to just find him another fancy goldfish friend. bet hes loving the space in there :2thumb:


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## miss_mystra (Jun 24, 2010)

goldie1212 said:


> no i wouldnt mix smaller fish, much better to just find him another fancy goldfish friend. bet hes loving the space in there :2thumb:



my thoughts too : victory:

Anyway, got home to put my nice new background on...it's the shortest 4ft i've ever seen, more like 3 and a half....grrrrrrr bloody ebay!!!:devil::devil:


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## goldie1212 (Mar 5, 2010)

miss_mystra said:


> my thoughts too : victory:
> 
> Anyway, got home to put my nice new background on...it's the shortest 4ft i've ever seen, more like 3 and a half....grrrrrrr bloody ebay!!!:devil::devil:


:lol2: been there, done that, annoying hey. i now only get mine from shops so im there while they cut it, or i ask for 1ft extra to what i need just incase, not really fair as i pay a little more but it works. get on to them and complain :2thumb:


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## miss_mystra (Jun 24, 2010)

goldie1212 said:


> :lol2: been there, done that, annoying hey. i now only get mine from shops so im there while they cut it, or i ask for 1ft extra to what i need just incase, not really fair as i pay a little more but it works. get on to them and complain :2thumb:



lol don't blame you!! still they're letting me keep this bit and are sending me another 4ft so not too bad... dunno what to do with this bit mind - there's not room for more fish tanks lol and i'm quite happy with just one... bucket duty on 2 tanks when there's stairs involved just doesn't appeal to my lazy nature!!!!:lol2::lol2:


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## AnythingWithAShell (Apr 14, 2009)

Lovely tank, well done on giving your goldie what he needs 

Goldie here is excellent for fishy advice :notworthy:

Just wanted to suggest you could use the extra background for the sides of the tank, leaving just the front open? Or squeeze in another tank somewhere.... :whistling2:


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## goldie1212 (Mar 5, 2010)

:lol2: thank you. just keep the extra bit, you never know when tank number 2 may throw itself at you :whistling2:


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## goldie1212 (Mar 5, 2010)

just thought, maybe you could put it on the old tank and restock it with some smaller fish :2thumb: cant remember what tank these guys were in


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## AnythingWithAShell (Apr 14, 2009)

goldie1212 said:


> just thought, maybe you could put it on the old tank and restock it with some smaller fish :2thumb: cant remember what tank these guys were in


Oooh yeah, good idea :2thumb:

miss_mystra, did your OH not want a shoal of something small?


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## goldie1212 (Mar 5, 2010)

:whistling2: not that we are encouraging you having multiple tanks :lol2:


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## miss_mystra (Jun 24, 2010)

AnythingWithAShell said:


> Oooh yeah, good idea :2thumb:
> 
> miss_mystra, did your OH not want a shoal of something small?



i did have a think about it, but to be honest... one big tank is enough for me! Plus my landlord is probably picturing the 'one goldfish tank' as a tiny bowl...lucky they never come round and couldn't care less as long as i don't bring a horse into the flat!!

When i say my OH wanted a little shoal of something small... he means in the sense that he wouldn't be looking after them lol

Will be using the space where the old tank to put my snakes' vivs on when they are big enough for them... might use that background in Betty's viv...fool her into thinking she's a sea snake with the lovely coral background haha


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## goldie1212 (Mar 5, 2010)

:lol2: sea snake. maybe you could stick it on here on the classifieds section. someone could maybe make use of it.


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## AnythingWithAShell (Apr 14, 2009)

miss_mystra said:


> i did have a think about it, but to be honest... one big tank is enough for me! Plus my landlord is probably picturing the 'one goldfish tank' as a tiny bowl...lucky they never come round and couldn't care less as long as i don't bring a horse into the flat!!
> 
> When i say my OH wanted a little shoal of something small... he means in the sense that he wouldn't be looking after them lol
> 
> Will be using the space where the old tank to put my snakes' vivs on when they are big enough for them... might use that background in Betty's viv...fool her into thinking she's a sea snake with the lovely coral background haha


Well good on you for being sensible if you think it'd be a bit much 

And :lol2: I have an image of a horse in a flat now, munching on the walls....


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## miss_mystra (Jun 24, 2010)

AnythingWithAShell said:


> Well good on you for being sensible if you think it'd be a bit much
> 
> And :lol2: I have an image of a horse in a flat now, munching on the walls....




lol... now i have!!!

and who is feeding the tag troll


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## goldie1212 (Mar 5, 2010)

the tag troll, :lol2:, some dumb child with nothing better to do,obviously, no adult would be that immature.....surely :whistling2:


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## AnythingWithAShell (Apr 14, 2009)

goldie1212 said:


> no adult would be that immature.....surely :whistling2:


I have my moments :blush:

I did the 'you suck' one, but it was intended in retaliation to the 'goldfish suck' one :lol2:


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## goldie1212 (Mar 5, 2010)

AnythingWithAShell said:


> I have my moments :blush:
> 
> I did the 'you suck' one, but it was intended in retaliation to the 'goldfish suck' one :lol2:


:lol2: well thats more than fair enough then. its not just on this thread, its on anything to do with proper goldie keepers.


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## AnythingWithAShell (Apr 14, 2009)

Stupid, isn't it? It's a fish, just like any other fish it needs certain things. Why people think they're 'lesser' fish, I have no idea. I personally think they're pretty impressive!


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## miss_mystra (Jun 24, 2010)

goldie1212 said:


> :lol2: well thats more than fair enough then. its not just on this thread, its on anything to do with proper goldie keepers.





AnythingWithAShell said:


> Stupid, isn't it? It's a fish, just like any other fish it needs certain things. Why people think they're 'lesser' fish, I have no idea. I personally think they're pretty impressive!



i'll set my goldfish Pedro on them... he'll grump face them into submission:whip:


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## goldie1212 (Mar 5, 2010)

miss_mystra said:


> i'll set my goldfish Pedro on them... he'll grump face them into submission:whip:


:lol2: love it!


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