Goldfish tank question

[degbowl]

I just had a thought and wanted to get some opinions. Is there something I can put in my filter to buffer the ph? With a sw tank I can put crushed coral in my canister to help buffer the ph. I add ph buffer to make my tank 7.5 when I do water changes. I would be interested in what people put in their filters for goldfish tanks. I have a 40 gal with 4 fancy goldfish. I have a Filstar XP2 filter. I have to clean the filter every few weeks because of how messy goldfish tanks can get.

 

[FastFly67]

What exactly are 'fancy goldfish'

 

[degbowl]

Fantail goldfish. Orandas, Lionheads, Ranchus, Pearlscales, etc.

 

[FastFly67]

Fantail goldfish. Orandas, Lionheads, Ranchus, Pearlscales, etc.

ah

 

[Sum22]

What is the pH of your tap water?

generally, stability is recommended over trying to acheive a certain pH. Most fish live fine in a 8 pH even if they originate from an area with a lower pH. Crushed coral can be used in a fw tank also. Peat is used to get the pH lower.

 

[Phoenixphire55]

I second that. Whats the pH of your water before you add buffer? My goldfish are in hard alkaline water and they are fine, but I assume your water is on the acid side. I've heard that crushed coral is ok to use in freshwater tanks as long as you didn't get the coral fresh out of the ocean or something.

 

[jsoong]

Goldfish likes to live in hardish water (high 7's) .... but certainly stability is more important.

If you do not have enough buffering capacity in the water, then you can use crushed coral (or any other source of CaCO3) to buffer the water. This will drive the water to 7.8 or so and would be perfect for the golds. <Others use baking soda & other buffers, but IMO, cc is the most fool-proof way to buffer a tank.>

BTW - cleaning out a canister every few weeks is normal for a goldy tank! When I ran a canister, I have to do that weekly! That's why I have a sump.