20 gal filtration

[willikris]

Hello all! I have recently cycled my new 20 gal! I have had fish all my life but have always gone tropical. I have always loved goldfish and took a particular liking to black moors. So...my new fish jordy is enjoying his new home!!

So to the point....I have a 150gph marineland filter with a bio wheel. It came in the kit with the tank. I've been reading that you should have 10 times the tank size or 200 gph for my tank. Is the filter I'm running good enough for a 20 gal goldfish tank? I know goldfish are messy little buggers so I just wasn't sure. My water parameters are great and jordy is one of the happiest fish I've had in years...I'm just curious on your advice. My water is pretty clear but you can tell it's not "crystal clear."

Thoughts?

 

[Greta1981]

More filtration is always the rule of thumbs with goldies. Fancies like black moors actually need a minimum of 30 gallons of water as juveniles and 55 gallons of water per fish as adults, due to how big they can grow and also due to the amount of waste that you have seen they produce. Too small tanks cause stunting, which means the goldie's outsides stop growing, but his insides don't, causing terrible pain and a slow, sad death.
I'm sure he's very happy now, as you said, but if there's any chance you can take advantage of the last day of Petco's dollar a gallon sale and get him a larger home, he'll be better off in the long run. Please know that I'm not criticizing you at all. I have two comets in a 50 gallon, who badly need to be in a 200 gallon. I just got an 80 gallon yesterday and hope to upgrade to a 160 within the next 6 months. I only made the above comments to suggest that you plan for his future. And, to return to your question, again, more is always better with a goldfish. Aquaclear is one of the preferred filters that goldie owners like both for water clarity and fish health.

 

[willikris]

Bigger home is in the works!! I have read up a lot. ! Thanks for the comment! I'm going to check out the aquaclear!