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joe-turbo joe-turbo
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  • Posted on: 3/8/2012 11:11
advise for a newbie please #1
Hi all,

I have recently moved in with the gf who has owned a blackmoor goldfish for a few years.

he/she is currently in a 13litre tank (W18.5 x L38.1 x H18.5 internal measurements)

I have spent some time on aquariumadvise.com who advised goldfish should not be kept in a tank smaller then 20gallon (75Litre)

I have now purchased a 90Litre tank on ebay, picking it up at the weekend. I currently have a rena superclean 40 so have ordered a rena superclean 90 for the larger tank.

I assume I should run them both on the new tank as the new filters media wont have any bacteria built up. Are there any parts on the filter that need to be replaced?

Can any one advise on water changes? I see the americans advise a python or aqueon but they dont seem to be availiable in the uk.

Any other advise for a newbie would be appreciated

Many thanks

Joe
TetraLinz TetraLinz
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  • Posted on: 3/8/2012 12:20
Re: advise for a newbie please #2
Hi Joe.

Well done on the upgrade. The BM will be much happier in a 90ltr than in the 13ltr, but I'm afraid I still have some bad news.

1) Goldfish are messy fish and should really have filters designed for at least double the tank size to cope with all the waste, so even your new filter will struggle.

2) FK recommends a minimum of 30gal/137ltrs/36 US gal for a single fancy goldfish (75ltrs is 20 US gallons, btw). This is because anything less than that can result in stunting. If your GF has had the B, for a few years, the chances are, it's already stunted. Please see these links for further advice:

http://www.fishkeeping.co.uk/articles ... -size-life-expectancy.htm

http://www.fishkeeping.co.uk/articles_12/keeping-goldfish.htm

Regarding the filter, the 2 you have aren't going to be up to scratch long term, but for now, you can just cram the media from the smaller filter into the newer one, to save you running 2 filters at the same time. Once you get an even bigger filter, you can do the same again and put the media (sponge/bioballs - whatever's inside the filter) into the bigger filter.

HTH Any more qyuestions, just ask.
T.L
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joe-turbo joe-turbo
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  • Posted on: 3/8/2012 12:40
Re: advise for a newbie please #3
hey,

Thanks for getting back to me so quickly.

I thought that would be the case but assumed a rena 40 plus rena 90(that i picked up for ?25) both running would filter more water having both running. Until i have the extra cash to buy one large filter?

Yes, after having a quick look around on this site I noticed it said 30G for goldfish but the other site said 20g for black moors so thought this would be ideal.

I think he/she is around 2/3 years old now so as you say, the growth has prob been stunted by now anyway but at least he should be happier with the larger tank.

Im a little confussed with replacable parts on the rena filter. It says you should replace the white crystal but im not sure what part this is? The one i have just seems to have the filter housing, a sponge at the bottom, media in the middle and impeller at the top. any ideas?

I have just ordered a hand pump syphon to help water change too
joe-turbo joe-turbo
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  • Posted on: 3/8/2012 12:42
Re: advise for a newbie please #4
hey,

Thanks for getting back to me so quickly.

I thought that would be the case but assumed a rena 40 plus rena 90(that i picked up for ?25) both running would filter more water having both running. Until i have the extra cash to buy one large filter?

Yes, after having a quick look around on this site I noticed it said 30G for goldfish but the other site said 20g for black moors so thought this would be ideal.

I think he/she is around 2/3 years old now so as you say, the growth has prob been stunted by now anyway but at least he should be happier with the larger tank.

Im a little confussed with replacable parts on the rena filter. It says you should replace the white crystal but im not sure what part this is? The one i have just seems to have the filter housing, a sponge at the bottom, media in the middle and impeller at the top. any ideas?

I have just ordered a hand pump syphon to help water change too
TetraLinz TetraLinz
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  • Posted on: 3/8/2012 14:27
Re: advise for a newbie please #5
Goldfish never stop growing - at least on the inside, so being in a bigger tank, he will probably start to grow again physically. It just means he may not to get to his full potential size of 10-12". Stunting is not as simple as the fish stops growing and looks small compared to a full sized fish of similar age. The organs NEVER stop growing, ragardless of what the physical form of the fish is doing, so if s/he's 2" long (or the size of a 6month old BM) his organs are the size of a 2-3 year old fish.

Having Googled your filter, it appears that the crystal is used to remove water discoluration. If so, it's a bit like carbon - it's best use is for removing meds and other impurities from the water, but otherwise it's not really needed. My advice would be to take it out and replace with other media, but keep it handy in case you need to start medicating the tank. The crystals will remove them from the water after the duration of the treatment is over.

The sponge is the media - that's where the bacteria will grow their colonies.
T.L
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Critch Critch
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  • Posted on: 3/8/2012 14:59
Re: advise for a newbie please #6
This Photo never ceases to amaze me,

http://www.fishkeeping.co.uk/modules/myalbum0/photo.php?lid=4852
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Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit, wisdom is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad!
I dont keep fish i keep water the fish are only there for decoration
suey2 suey2
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  • Posted on: 3/8/2012 17:15
Re: advise for a newbie please #7
Well done on the upgrade That is certainly going to better for him than his original home You'll probably see a bit more personality coming out now too.

Quote:

TetraLinz wrote:
Goldfish never stop growing - at least on the inside, so being in a bigger tank, he will probably start to grow again physically. It just means he may not to get to his full potential size of 10-12". Stunting is not as simple as the fish stops growing and looks small compared to a full sized fish of similar age. The organs NEVER stop growing, ragardless of what the physical form of the fish is doing, so if s/he's 2" long (or the size of a 6month old BM) his organs are the size of a 2-3 year old fish.


Bit of a side track but I'd be interested in seeing any research that states the internal organs keep on growing while the body does not, if you've got anything with more info I'd be very grateful for a nosey at it I did some research a while ago for an article on stunting for my own web project; I had a lot of input from people on here and from other forums and no one could find anything which conclusively proved this. So if there's something out there it would be great to see it
It's Not Just A Fish
joe-turbo joe-turbo
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  • Posted on: 4/8/2012 13:24
Re: advise for a newbie please #8
So would it be worth using both filters for now until I get one large one?

I'm now a little confused to what part the media is. I have attached a photo of my current filter in pieces, could you please point out what's part the media is and what part should be changed?

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y30/Joe-turbo/5b94d444.jpg

Many thanks
Fishlady Fishlady
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  • Posted on: 4/8/2012 17:09
Re: advise for a newbie please #9
The media is the spongey bits. You can run the two filters together until you get a new one. When you get the new, bigger filter take all the media from your current filters and put it inside the new filter along with as much new media as you can fit in. That way, all the bacteria that have grown in the meantime will be transferred to the new filter and will prevent the cycle from failing.
joe-turbo joe-turbo
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  • Posted on: 4/8/2012 18:02
Re: advise for a newbie please #10
Is the media the bottom part in the photo? Or the green middle bit?