75 Gallon Project

[Lilo1207]

Hey guys!

So I bought my first big tank, and I'm considering doing a planted tank with fancy goldfish. Right now I just have the tank sitting, it has nothing in it. It is a blank canvas!

I have kept bettas my whole life because I do planted, low-tech nano tanks around 5 gallons. 

This is my first time wanting to try and keep goldfish so I need help planning proper substrate, plants recommended, hardscape, filtration. 

I haven't bought anything other than the tank and the stand from petsmart which was $200 off! so only $299! I am very excited about this!

 

Suggestions and comments please!!1

[shakaho]

Please read our guidelines for healthy goldfish.

[Lilo1207]

41 minutes ago, shakaho said:

Please read our guidelines for healthy goldfish.

Thank you! I must have been so tired last night I missed these!

Do you prefer a bare bottom tank with some drift wood plants? I feel like thats the way to go with goldfish as they are so messy. 

Any pointers on buying fancy goldfish?

[koko]

10 hours ago, Lilo1207 said:

Thank you! I must have been so tired last night I missed these!

Do you prefer a bare bottom tank with some drift wood plants? I feel like thats the way to go with goldfish as they are so messy. 

I wouldn't do wood unless your ph is high. If it's 7.8 or lower it can lower the ph

My tank is plants with some river rocks just kinda holding the roots down, with just a few hand full of pebble gravel at the bottom. It is for the most part bare as it is a lot easer to clean up after them  The pebble like gravel is for them to pick at during the day  

10 hours ago, Lilo1207 said:

Any pointers on buying fancy goldfish?

The first thing I look if they are in a LFS is all the fish in the tank, if everyone looks healthy then I will start looking at the fish I want.

Then I look to see if the eyes are clean and the fish isn't missing scales. 

I will also put my finger to the tank to see if the fish is interested in me. Thats just a me thing  

Some times you can get and employee to give them some food. If the fish ignores the food then there is something ( IMO) wrong and I won't get the fish.

Im sure others will have some tips for you too  

[Lilo1207]

1 minute ago, koko said:

I wouldn't do wood unless your ph is high. If it's 7.8 or lower it can lower the ph

My tank is plants with some river rocks just kinda holding the roots down, with just a few hand full of pebble gravel at the bottom. It is for the most part bare as it is a lot easer to clean up after them  The pebble like gravel is for them to pick at during the day  

The first thing I look if they are in a LFS is all the fish in the tank, if everyone looks healthy then I will start looking at the fish I want.

Then I look to see if the eyes are clean and the fish isn't missing scales. 

I will also put my finger to the tank to see if the fish is interested in me. Thats just a me thing  

Some times you can get and employee to give them some food. If the fish ignores the food then there is something ( IMO) wrong and I won't get the fish.

Im sure others will have some tips for you too  

Thank you so much! Rocks are a good idea to keep roots down. I really haven't even designed how I want this tank to be and I haven't bought anything so I'm excited to keep researching and see where this project will go. Examining fish are important because they are so beautiful but I would hate to buy sick fish. 

[koko]

2 minutes ago, Lilo1207 said:

Thank you so much! Rocks are a good idea to keep roots down. I really haven't even designed how I want this tank to be and I haven't bought anything so I'm excited to keep researching and see where this project will go. Examining fish are important because they are so beautiful but I would hate to buy sick fish. 

You should take a look around in the 

https://www.kokosgoldfish.invisionzone.com/forum/113-non-planted-tank-photos/

and the

https://www.kokosgoldfish.invisionzone.com/forum/114-planted-tank-photos/

There are some great looking tanks in there

Its sure hard to figure out what you really want to do. I think I have changed many times over the years  

but I have found that its better to keep it simple  

[Caretta Rose]

My advice would be to not rush into getting goldfish right away. Find a reputable source for healthy goldfish, take your time. I know it can be very exciting, but spend the next while planning your aquarium and getting the parameters and bacterial cultures established before you start fish shopping. This can take months. Take it slow, do your research. I'm glad that you found Koko's, the information here is excellent.

I have a 75-gallon as well, my first "big" tank too. I got it set up in the summer last year. I can totally relate to your excitement! 😁

[Lilo1207]

4 hours ago, Caretta Rose said:

My advice would be to not rush into getting goldfish right away. Find a reputable source for healthy goldfish, take your time. I know it can be very exciting, but spend the next while planning your aquarium and getting the parameters and bacterial cultures established before you start fish shopping. This can take months. Take it slow, do your research. I'm glad that you found Koko's, the information here is excellent.

I have a 75-gallon as well, my first "big" tank too. I got it set up in the summer last year. I can totally relate to your excitement! 😁

Thank you! I am very excited but I’ve had the tank about a month now sitting empty and I will definitely be heading into this slowly because I want a great environment for whatever fish I do end up buying as well as a great tank. 

[Arctic Mama]

I don’t personally do bare bottom tanks, I like some sand and rocks, but a thin layer is easier to manage.  

 

Generally speaking the active fish with clear eyes, no visible slime coat, and no missing scales or tattered fins is your best bet.  Online sellers and breeders are a good way to get stock, but I’ve found some lovely and inexpensive pet store fish too.

 

Quarantine, though, is an absolute MUST.  Every plant and animal that comes in needs to go in a ten gallon tank or underbed tote FIRST for observation and possible treatment.  It is the single best way to protect your fish and make your fish keeping experiencing a good one.  This, for some reason, is even more critical with goldfish than many other species.  The cold water plus the foreign stock in the pet trade seems a recipe for all sorts of nasty pathogens and quarantine is your one stop to controlling that before it ruins your tank.  Separate water changer, scrub pads, everything - no contact between the quarantine/hospital stuff and the main system.  

[Lilo1207]

Okay sounds great! As I’ve read this is a huge issue with people skipping this step and losing an entire tank! I’m thinking of buying a clear bin as I’ve seen some people use those for their quarantine tanks! What do you think about that? Heavy filtration and I’ve read about quasiprantle? I probably butchered that lol! Any tips on how long?

[shakaho]

These work very well for quarantine/hospital tanks:

https://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/00130129/

https://www.homedepot.com/p/HDX-40-Qt-Premium-Underbed-Box-in-Clear-PC271606-001/204793104

You can maintain water quality with large frequent (like daily) water changes during quarantine.  

You will find useful information on quarantine here.

 

 

[Sue]

Hi, I have two questions. I am getting live plants for my tank. How do you treat a plant before it goes into your tank? What do you soak it in?     Also I would like to put a thin layer of sand on the bottom can you recommend the best sand to use.  There is a few on the market.  

Thank you again

[koko]

2 hours ago, Sue said:

Hi, I have two questions. I am getting live plants for my tank. How do you treat a plant before it goes into your tank? What do you soak it in?     Also I would like to put a thin layer of sand on the bottom can you recommend the best sand to use.  There is a few on the market.  

Thank you again

Here is a post on this

 

 

[dahling8]

3 hours ago, Sue said:

Hi, I have two questions. I am getting live plants for my tank. How do you treat a plant before it goes into your tank? What do you soak it in?     Also I would like to put a thin layer of sand on the bottom can you recommend the best sand to use.  There is a few on the market.  

Thank you again

In regards to sand, there's lots of options, so really choose sand that you like.  If you buy sand from the LFS, it will be aquarium safe and likely be inert...it shouldn't change your water parameters ie. GH, KH.  Estes brand of aquarium sand is nice - lots of colours, IIRC it is epoxied covered and very smooth and very expensive.  🙄 I use mainly pool filter sand for many tanks.  Pool filter sand is quite inexpensive, but I have to buy it in 50 pound bags.  Quite clean compared to playground sand but I still rinse it to get rid of dust particles.  I've seen it in beige and a darker brown colour.

But for my goldfish, our water is very soft, I need to buffer it to prevent any pH crashes, so I dose baking soda and I use Aragonite sand.  It may buffer and raise your pH too - it doesn't change my water parameters much because my pH is very stable at 8.2 with the addition of baking soda.  My goldfish are doing fine with it and they enjoy sifting through it all day long.  My understanding is that aragonite or oolitic sand "works" when pH is less than 7.8, so it's just an insurance policy for my goldfish and I figure any extra minerals that our tap water doesn't have, wouldn't hurt.  But I've started using a "Wondershell" too, and that works for me, your water conditions may be perfect out of the tap.

https://www.jlaquatics.com/dry-goods/aquarium-supplies/substrates-gravel/caribsea-aragamax-select-sand-substrate-bulk-per-pound.html

If your lights are on the dimmer side, I'd prefer a lighter coloured sand.  It just brightens things so much.  Black or a darker sand is a nice contrast when looking at your goldfish from above, but if you just use a thin layer, it's easy enough to remove it with a siphon and switch out colours until you find a look that you love.

[Sue]

Thank you!

[Lilo1207]

On 2/7/2019 at 7:22 PM, dahling8 said:

In regards to sand, there's lots of options, so really choose sand that you like.  If you buy sand from the LFS, it will be aquarium safe and likely be inert...it shouldn't change your water parameters ie. GH, KH.  Estes brand of aquarium sand is nice - lots of colours, IIRC it is epoxied covered and very smooth and very expensive.  🙄 I use mainly pool filter sand for many tanks.  Pool filter sand is quite inexpensive, but I have to buy it in 50 pound bags.  Quite clean compared to playground sand but I still rinse it to get rid of dust particles.  I've seen it in beige and a darker brown colour.

But for my goldfish, our water is very soft, I need to buffer it to prevent any pH crashes, so I dose baking soda and I use Aragonite sand.  It may buffer and raise your pH too - it doesn't change my water parameters much because my pH is very stable at 8.2 with the addition of baking soda.  My goldfish are doing fine with it and they enjoy sifting through it all day long.  My understanding is that aragonite or oolitic sand "works" when pH is less than 7.8, so it's just an insurance policy for my goldfish and I figure any extra minerals that our tap water doesn't have, wouldn't hurt.  But I've started using a "Wondershell" too, and that works for me, your water conditions may be perfect out of the tap.

https://www.jlaquatics.com/dry-goods/aquarium-supplies/substrates-gravel/caribsea-aragamax-select-sand-substrate-bulk-per-pound.html

If your lights are on the dimmer side, I'd prefer a lighter coloured sand.  It just brightens things so much.  Black or a darker sand is a nice contrast when looking at your goldfish from above, but if you just use a thin layer, it's easy enough to remove it with a siphon and switch out colours until you find a look that you love.

Thank you so much! Makes sense! I'm going to keep reading and looking.