Osage_Winter
Aquarium Advice FINatic
- Joined
- Sep 9, 2010
- Messages
- 807
I have a recently-acquired 60-gallon rectangular that's been up and running for maybe about a month and a half by now -- perhaps shorter. Filtration is provided by an Aqueon QuietFlow 55, which I was told was okay to use for aquariums up to 60 gallons, and I have two pieced-together Top Fin bubble wands for extra oxygen duties. I did not add any cycling boosters or anything to technically cycle the tank, just ran the Aqueon filter for about two weeks as the tank went into a cloudy state; eventually, the cloudyness seemed to clear and I did a water test. Everything came back normal according to the strips (I know they're not as reliable as the chemical kits, but...).
And so, we introduced two fancytail Oranda goldfish to the tank, medium sized, which seemed to flourish and exhibit signs of healthy activity. The cloudy water spiked again, and then cleared on its own, so we tested the water again and when it came back safe once more, we added a third black and gold fancytail, and he seems to be doing just fine as well. I still have all three fish, but here's the ongoing dilemma...
About a week or so ago, the tank became ridiculously cloudy again, so we ran more water tests and indeed some ammonia had spiked -- my wife immediately ran out and got some AmmoniaSafe from Tetra and Seachem's Prime, both of which I added to the tank according to instructions. As a side note, the water has been conditioned since it went in the tank from the beginning, and ever since I did a 25% or so water change -- so it's NOT straight tap water.
And so, with adding the Prime and AmmoniaSafe, I also did about a 20 or 25% water change, but then decided to give all the chemicals a break. The fish are STILL doing okay through all of this; these fancytails sure are tough! At any rate, just today, on advice from others on another site, I went out and got Seachem's Stability to start the cycling of the tank the "right" way, in addition to a second Aqueon filter (smaller than my QuietFlow 55) just to supplement the larger filter that's been running because I was told you need to overfilter goldfish tanks...
So, tonight I did the first dose of Stability, and I will follow the routine for the rest of the week (today was six capfuls for 60 gallons), but I'm wondering a few things...should I have bought the second filter to assist with the original larger one? Should I have bought the same sized filter as the secondary?
As for the Stability, is it okay that I began running it now, after weeks of having the fancytails in the tank? Is the correct way to use it just to follow the 7-day routine and then stop, using it only after that for water changes and new fish additions? Further, does anyone have any thoughts on the usage of "Purigen" by Seachem? I was told this is a product that "polishes" the water and makes it absolutely crystal-clear -- my local PetSmart didn't have it to buy today, but I would like to try it, as we really haven't had crystal-clear water since starting this tank weeks ago.
If anyone could shed some light here, I'd appreciate it!
And so, we introduced two fancytail Oranda goldfish to the tank, medium sized, which seemed to flourish and exhibit signs of healthy activity. The cloudy water spiked again, and then cleared on its own, so we tested the water again and when it came back safe once more, we added a third black and gold fancytail, and he seems to be doing just fine as well. I still have all three fish, but here's the ongoing dilemma...
About a week or so ago, the tank became ridiculously cloudy again, so we ran more water tests and indeed some ammonia had spiked -- my wife immediately ran out and got some AmmoniaSafe from Tetra and Seachem's Prime, both of which I added to the tank according to instructions. As a side note, the water has been conditioned since it went in the tank from the beginning, and ever since I did a 25% or so water change -- so it's NOT straight tap water.
And so, with adding the Prime and AmmoniaSafe, I also did about a 20 or 25% water change, but then decided to give all the chemicals a break. The fish are STILL doing okay through all of this; these fancytails sure are tough! At any rate, just today, on advice from others on another site, I went out and got Seachem's Stability to start the cycling of the tank the "right" way, in addition to a second Aqueon filter (smaller than my QuietFlow 55) just to supplement the larger filter that's been running because I was told you need to overfilter goldfish tanks...
So, tonight I did the first dose of Stability, and I will follow the routine for the rest of the week (today was six capfuls for 60 gallons), but I'm wondering a few things...should I have bought the second filter to assist with the original larger one? Should I have bought the same sized filter as the secondary?
As for the Stability, is it okay that I began running it now, after weeks of having the fancytails in the tank? Is the correct way to use it just to follow the 7-day routine and then stop, using it only after that for water changes and new fish additions? Further, does anyone have any thoughts on the usage of "Purigen" by Seachem? I was told this is a product that "polishes" the water and makes it absolutely crystal-clear -- my local PetSmart didn't have it to buy today, but I would like to try it, as we really haven't had crystal-clear water since starting this tank weeks ago.
If anyone could shed some light here, I'd appreciate it!