Yet Another Filter Question

[Guest GoldieSalvo]

Hi, Just brought a great tank for my poor old comet Goldie Salvo, he's recovering after an illness and doing great.

After 10 years in a 30 liter tank he's moving up to THE BIG TIME............ 160 L tank............ DA DAAAA.

Ok now I've been checking out this canister filter, retails for $100

Aqua Nova NCF-1500 *1500 litres per hour *40 watts *4 stage filtration *Complete with Filter media *Quality Fittings ( Taps, hoses & spray bar inc ) *Quick Release taps *Quiet and Extremely reliable *1 year Warranty *Suitable for up to 600 litres

I read on this forum that filtration should be 10x size of the tank

Do we approve of this filter?

Thanks for any advice

[Erinaceus]

You've got yourself a 42 gallon tank. If you're gonna use that for a single goldfish, you've got one happy goldfish on your hand . You should quickly notice, I think, that the added space/goldfish will make your rise slowly (though you'll still need something like weekly w/cs of course, though just not as large/frequent as most others), a bit like (but not completely like) what Lynda recently said when she compared it to us peeing in lake superior .

Especially given all that, the fact that you have a filtration factor of 9.4x your volume is quite enough I'd say .

[Guest GoldieSalvo]

Thanks for your info Erinaceus, I was thinking about getting him a comet friend eventually, it still should be very comfortable for 2 comets. By the way if your fish are as lovely as your girlfriend your a very lucky man!

So I'll go ahead with canister filter then (when I can afford it) hopefully soon.

Tank set me back $365 it's a tank/cabinet combo, looks great and very sturdy, upgrading has been a costly exercise but it'll be worth it seeing him swim around in this, I plan to get real plants and maybe river stones for the substrate.

Do you think I should add my comet (Goldie Salvo), once the tank is cycled of course, before or after the "new" fish? If I add the new fish first he can be the "tester" before I add precious 10 year old Goldie Salvo?

[samoht70]

Once the cycle is established, the tank should be safe for Goldie Salvo. The new fish should be quarantined, though, because he'll almost certainly carry some parasites (and be stressed from the journey home, making him more susceptible to disease). I would quarantine the new fish in the old setup for a few weeks and then move him in.

[lynda441]

Agreed. Get your new tank up and running and cycled first. Then move GoldieSalvo to the big, new tank. Goldie should be in there for at least one month before adding a new friend. Of course, as quarantining a new fish can 2-4 weeks, you could get a new friend fairly soon after moving GoldieSalvo, but just keep the new friend in the qt tank for the 2-4 required weeks and then, when Goldie's all settled in and your sure the main tank is stable, the new friend will also be ready to go and then you can add them both together!

With regard to your filter: your tank is 160L. Filtration should be 10x the water per hour as the size of the tank, or 1600 lph. So, your 1500 lph filter is a little short, and we usually say better to go over than under, but see how it works. That manufacturer's recommendation of suitable up to 600L is for tropicals. If you haven't bought this filter yet, you might want to think about the next size up, or, go down to half the size and buy two. Putting one filter on each side of the tank will create lots of nice water movement, which translates to lots of oxygen. If you choose this one you're looking at, just make sure to do lots of water testing and keep records/a history of the water quality and also how your fish is/are reacting to getting enough oxygen as well for a while in the beginning to see how it's working. If it all seems okay, then this filter will be fine and you can go back to regular testing.

Edited August 30, 2008 by Lynda Von G

[Guest Orandaa]

I agree with Lynda's second suggestion. I'd go a step down (or two) from the filter you want, and buy 2 of them. Having one filter on either end of the tank is a much better way to circulate the water and ensure that all the water is getting filtered, not the just the water on the side the filter is on. Not to mention if one filter sucks something up and stops working, atleast you've still got some filtration happening with your other one.

Good luck

[Guest GoldieSalvo]

Hi, opps I lied the tank is more like 152 litres. 2 filters does sound good however if I get 2 of these........

Aqua Nova NCF-1000 *1000 litres per hour *20 watts *2 stage filtration *Complete with Filter media *Quality Fittings ( Taps, hoses & spray bar inc ) *Quick Release taps *Quiet and Extremely reliable *1 year Warranty *Suitable for up to 300 litres

I'm looking at $158 for 2 of the above filters, instead of $99 for the one 1500 lph canister filter. It's starting to become quite an expensive hobbie, but maybe that's the best option, I may just have to wait a little longer until I have the cash

The tank is just sitting there I'm SO keen to fill it up and get started but want to make sure I have the right equipment first. I've read that canister filters are the best for this size tank? Do I really need a cansiter filter? Maybe I can get a couple of internal power filters, or hang on filters? Any thoughts on these? I don't want anything cheap and nasty tho.

I will do another search on filters, but any replies are appreciated

[Erinaceus]

Hi, opps I lied the tank is more like 152 litres. 2 filters does sound good however if I get 2 of these........

Aqua Nova NCF-1000 *1000 litres per hour *20 watts *2 stage filtration *Complete with Filter media *Quality Fittings ( Taps, hoses & spray bar inc ) *Quick Release taps *Quiet and Extremely reliable *1 year Warranty *Suitable for up to 300 litres

I'm looking at $158 for 2 of the above filters, instead of $99 for the one 1500 lph canister filter. It's starting to become quite an expensive hobbie, but maybe that's the best option, I may just have to wait a little longer until I have the cash

The tank is just sitting there I'm SO keen to fill it up and get started but want to make sure I have the right equipment first. I've read that canister filters are the best for this size tank? Do I really need a cansiter filter? Maybe I can get a couple of internal power filters, or hang on filters? Any thoughts on these? I don't want anything cheap and nasty tho.

I will do another search on filters, but any replies are appreciated

I'll defer to the more knowledgable members for advice on what type of filter is 'best'. I would like to note however, that if you are talking about 'adding a couple of internal filters', then you should keep in mind that they will take up space, and when you want to know the gallons/fish, you should substract the filters' volume first (in case of one filter, that doesn't do much, but it might in case of a couple of them).

Edited September 2, 2008 by Erinaceus

[Guest GoldieSalvo]

Hey thanks Erinaceus you're so right! 2 internal power filters will take up space, I don't want that.

It looks as tho I'll be going for cansiter filters.

1000 lph canister filters x 2 will be enough "over filteration" and this is good yes?

I could go for the 600 lph canister filter x 2 (cheaper) but it will only be 1200 litres per hour

Sorry about all the litres as you probably know we don't "do" gallons in Australia

[Erinaceus]

Hey thanks Erinaceus you're so right! 2 internal power filters will take up space, I don't want that.

It looks as tho I'll be going for cansiter filters.

1000 lph canister filters x 2 will be enough "over filteration" and this is good yes?

I could go for the 600 lph canister filter x 2 (cheaper) but it will only be 1200 litres per hour

Sorry about all the litres as you probably know we don't "do" gallons in Australia

To start I should mention, I'm from Belgium (the small piece of real estate that's wedged between the Netherlands, France and Germany ), so litres are more my thing rather than gallons . Especially when converting tank width/height/length into tank volume ... yey for the metric system!

2x 1000 lph would be great for your 152 litre tank (that's a filtration factor of 13.3, but keep in mind that as filters age, they loose some of their 'vigour', so with 13x, it's excellent). Given that that's a whole lot of lph, think about where you're gonna place the inlets and outlets: it would probably be best not to put them in such a configuration that their respective water flows enhance each other, or your goldfish will be living in a perpetual whirlpool . Another thing you might consider is adding some stuff to the tank to create 'calm zones', e.g. with plants in pots, ornaments, etc. That way the fish can have a place to rest without having to fish a constant current. At this point I should note though that some fish can really enjoy a filter's current: Godzilla, our largest, a beautiful comet, really enjoys swimming against the current and doing here 'look at me, I'm a trout!' thing .

Hope this helps . If you have more questions, keep them coming .

[Guest GoldieSalvo]

Thanks again Erinaceus

I'll get the 2 canister filters very soon. Live now pay later!

I've gotta also clean the tank as the previous owners fish died in it, I think I read a pinned post recently on cleaning tanks with bleach so I should check it more thoroughly

I think there will be many more questions soon, thanks for your advice it has been most helpful, and yes YAY for the metric system!

[Guest GoldieSalvo]

I have a few questions on PH levels for gold fish

I'm having trouble with my PH it dips between 6.5 and 8.5

Melbourne water (I've been told is around 6.7)

I add a little bicarb to the tank when it gets to too low but then it gets up to 8.5, I find I'm using alot of expensive test strips, that I would rather conserve

Is 8.5 too high for Goldie Salvo?

I've just learnt that I should add bicarb to the tap water first then check ph after an hour then add water to tank

How can I get it just right? I find it's a bit of a guessing game

I've noticed more black streaks on Golide Salvo could this be an issue with high PH? Otherwise he's fine

Waiting for the cash to buy these filters is driving me crazy, beautiful tank just sitting there while Goldie S couped up in his little tank

Thanks for any advice

[Erinaceus]

I have a few questions on PH levels for gold fish

I'm having trouble with my PH it dips between 6.5 and 8.5

Melbourne water (I've been told is around 6.7)

I add a little bicarb to the tank when it gets to too low but then it gets up to 8.5, I find I'm using alot of expensive test strips, that I would rather conserve

Is 8.5 too high for Goldie Salvo?

I've just learnt that I should add bicarb to the tap water first then check ph after an hour then add water to tank

How can I get it just right? I find it's a bit of a guessing game

I've noticed more black streaks on Golide Salvo could this be an issue with high PH? Otherwise he's fine

Waiting for the cash to buy these filters is driving me crazy, beautiful tank just sitting there while Goldie S couped up in his little tank

Thanks for any advice

A pH of 8.5 is fine for goldfish. A pH of 8 is in fact better than a pH of 7, so with 8.5 you're in the green I'd think. As long as you're between 7 and, say, 8.8, I wouldn't try to influence your pH too much.

I don't know a lot about pH management, but if I recall correctly, people use crushed coral or something (but ask around, don't just trust me on this) to buffer their pH. Rather than the black streaks having to do with high pH, they might be the result of continuous changes in pH (if you're having trouble keeping it level). Keeping it level isn't easy if the pH isn't right to start with. I think some people also use buffers that are sold in the stores (Buffitup or something like that I think). If in the next couple of days you don't get much other responses in this section of the forum, it might be a good idea to post a new topic in Goldfish Discussions, asking how to deal with low-pH tap water.