5ft Column Fish Tank (The Classic Fool)

[musicman]

Every one of us have made our mistakes. Thats why we are here. Aquarium Advice is so that we don't have problems like that. And when we do make mistakes in spite of the collective wisdom. We can ask for help and make the best of the situation.

 

[timwag2001]

i'm very interested in everything that you get and what's gonna happen. take some pics please.

 

[PeteMakstar]

Picked up the tank last night. Really nice guy who sold it actually. Am very impessed with the width of the tank, thought it's be taller and thinner than it is, to my suprise it's fairly short and wide. 5ft isn't that high really. Looks like it should be good! I don't think surface area and gaseous exchange will be a problem. Still torn between coldwater and tropical to be honest. Any advice? I have no heater and to be honest I want to keep the running costs as low as possible and didn't want to be constantly heating such a large volume of water (although the huge airpump and powerhead will probably drink my electricity anyway).

I wanted a coldwater tank with 4 or 5 small but chubby goldfish type things (I need to find a photo of the kind I mean, my mum has a couple). When I suggested this he said I'd need to clean it once a week?! This is not really what I wanted to do, partial water changes is fine but I cannot clean that beast once a week! Surely 4 or 5 little fish would'nt make that much mess???

Plus (please correct this if it's wrong) my dad said that with undergravel filters, the more excrement etc. that is sucked down into the gravel and starts decaying then the more filtration you achieve. He said basically the more clogged up the gravel gets with poo, the better filtration you get as it technically turns into a biological filter (Please correct me if this is wrong as my dad does come up with some wacky stuff. He convinced me that the YMCA was the 'young mans cycling association' and when asked in 'Humanities Class' at school what YMCA meant, I proudly announced my answer to the class to a roar of laughter).

Thanks.

 

[gzeiger]

It's technically true that more poop means more biofiltration... because what the biofilter does is break down poop! When people talk about a biofilter they're talking about a colony of bacteria that eat and break down fish waste (both liquid and solid) into a safe form that won't harm the fish. With more available food you'll have more bacteria, but this is not a benefit.

Keep in mind what you'd have to do when something went wrong with an undergravel filter in that setup too.

Goldfish are generally agreed to be about the messiest fish you can buy. They are also not small fish by any stretch of the imagination. Pet stores sell only very young goldfish, so keep that in mind.

 

[jsoong]

Can you measure the diameter of the tank, that would give us a sense of the surface area & also the volume. That would determine if you can keep 4-5 chubby goldfish ....

You can expect goldfish to be fairly messy. Once a week cleaning is pretty standard ... You will be surprised at the amount of poop! <Even for small fish!>

I would not suggest UGF for this tank. You need surface area for the UGF to work, and since it is round, you can only fit a fairly small (square) plate in the tank, so you have fairly limited UGF as is. Although in theory, the more MULM you have, the more biological filtration you have, you also need O2 for the bacteria to live, that means water flow. A clogged UGF will not have good flow, so at some point, the bacteria will start dying. An anerobic filter like that not only will not break down the poop, but also produce H2S, a deadly gas. This is a significant problem in ponds when the bottom had not been cleaned & MULM accumulates, the H2S escapes when you stir up the bottom & you end up with a pond full of dead fish. You don't want to create the same in your tank!

 

[timwag2001]

i vote for a hang on back or something like that. and also to keep your water level lower so the water from the filter splashes. reason is for more surface agitation for more oxygen.

 

[boogie]

I don't think your electric costs will be as much as you think - do you live in Europe? Then maybe, I don't know.

10% weekly partial change is great, but if not, then do the standard 25% monthly. Only always follow this - the less fish, the less maintenance. I always say, take what you want to have and cut that in half and then take that cut in 1/4. Of course, that is just what I say, I certainly don't follow my own advice, though for newbies it really is a must. Keep it very simple and you will be happier and healthier stress wise.

And don't worry about suctioning 1 x per week. Just do a little suctioning once a month but it's always nice to have a fresh drink of water, ya know? So, once a week, just grab 2 clean buckets (pails) for fish only and take a glass and take a bucket out of old water and put a bucket in of new water and then once a month suction some out from bottom and it should be good. Never good to over clean - that's always been my problem. Little bitty bits at a time, just continual and it will be EASY, compared to putting things off. And get a book on cycling water, get some good magazines and really read up and read it over and over until you truly understand it.

I've been doing this a long time and I'm still refreshing myself and re-educating myself.

Have fun but follow the rules! It's all about chemistry and maintenance and follow through.

 

[PeteMakstar]

Many thanks again for all your responses. Think I'll print out this thread and use it as a guide! Here are the dimensions...

Dimensions:
W 380mm (15")
D 380mm (15")
H 1730mm (68")

Capacity:
164 litres
(36 gallons)

I definately plan to have the powerhead breaking the surface of the water as much as possible. With regards to the UGF, it is indeed a square UGF that doesn't cover the whole octagonal base of the tank, however the guy I bought the fish tank from got round this by modifying a black plastic bin lid he bought from a hardware store. It is a large disc shape and perfectly fits the base of the tank, he's then punctured numerous holes (with a hole punch or something of similar size) through the lid to allow water to flow through. Looks like it should work ok. He had it running as a tropical tank and said the filter worked fine. The (very long) tube from the UGF runs all the way to the top of the tank and I've never seen a chunkier powerhead in my life, I'm pretty sure it'll do the job. The air pump is also extremely large as is the airstone that attaches. The airpump has 2 outputs also.

Quick question, where abouts would you have the bubbles flowing (upwards obviously, but where from?). You see the UGF tube has a large faux plant (ivy I think) wrapped around it for effect (see photo). Should I have the bubbles free flowing straight to the top avoiding this plant, or have the airstone underneath the plant so that the bubbles catch in the leaves etc? Just thought trapped air bubbles might be nice for the fish? Although it would impede the water circulation I suppose, think I'm looking into that aspect a bit too much maybe!

Will set it up this weekend I think. Am really interested in those moonlight l.e.d. lights, might have to get some of those...

 

[RoseHippi]

Please please do not put goldfish in that tank. They get to 12 inches and would not like that tiny space at all. I would maybe go with something small like guppies or if you want coldwater white cloud mountian minnows should work.
It is a death trap for goldfish of any kind.

 

[PeteMakstar]

Hi, I've attached 3 photos of varieties of Goldfish that look like the ones I wanted to put in there. I'm pretty sure my mum has Ranchus or Lionheads. They are really quite small and I am sure these varieties wouldn't grow to 12 inches?? More like a tennis ball size at the most?! They're pretty much spherical! I think they're either called Pearlscales, Ranchus or Lionheads (I am aware that my photos show all 3 varieties but am unsure which ones my mum has). I thought they'd be good as they're small and I've never seen one too large (even in a pet shop) to fit in my tank, they're very pretty (sure that'll be frowned upon) and they are docile. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[RoseHippi]

Yes those well/can grow to a foot. Please dont put goldfish of any kind in that tank.

 

[gzeiger]

Pet stores pretty much only sell baby goldfish. Rarely you'll see the bigger ones sold in tanks labeled Koi, but don't take the size of the ones you're looking at to be any representation of their adult size.

 

[jsoong]

The goldfish pics are (Lt to Rt) - Pearlscale, Mixed Ranchu/Fantail?, & really nice Ranchu (with nice wen).

All 3 are relatively weak swimmers, and all (esp. the pearlscale) demand good water conditions.

From what I read, the world record size for a fancy goldfish (according to his owner - a breeder in the far East) is 12-14". He is Bruce (named after Bruce Lee) & a Ryukin. However, fancies typically only grow to 6-8".

The size is deceptive. Fish make waste based on body mass. Most tropicals are thin, so don't have much mass. A chubby goldfish has girth as well as height. A 1" goldfish can easily weigh 10x more than a 1" tropical. The size increases exponentially. A 2" goldfish is about 8x heavier than the 1" baby, and a 3" might be 27x that. It is easy for growing goldfish to outstrip their tank.

Anyway, you tank has a surface area of ~175 sq in. That is even a bit smaller than the surface area of a standard 10 gal. Based on that alone, I would discourage you from keeping goldfish in it. If you really want to try it, I would suggest no more than 2 fancies, preferably smaller specimens and hardier variety (metallic fantails or moors). You can be successful provided that you are diligent with water changes & cleaning, and keep close monitoring on the tank so you know when the tank's capacity is being exceeded. <And no, I would not suggest "cheating" on pwc's with goldfish in a small setup (like a previous post).> I would guess that a pair of 3" fancies would be near or over the max carrying capacity of that tank. So I would also expect a backup plan for when the fish get big - ie a bigger tank, pond, etc. <For me, goldies are pets & family. They are not disposible.> Remember that goldfish can live over 10 years, so please plan accordingly.

 

[PeteMakstar]

I stand corrected (said the man in the orthopedic shoes).

Am rapidly just wanting to sell this friggin tank. Buy an inflatable hot tub for the garden instead. Might just re-list it on Ebay in a few weeks. I don't want a 5ft tank with 2 goldfish in. The power costs alone wouldn't make it worth it.

Thanks for the advice, will let you know what I do.