New 45 gal cold tank questions

marlboro

marlboro

Happy fish guy
Jul 29, 2006
11
0
0
Marlborough, Mass.
I'm setting up a 45 gal goldfish tank. Using new water for most of it. For now, no decorations, gravel or anything else. Adjusting ph down with Wardley sodium biphosphate. still have a way to go. Temp is rising to room temp. added 4 tsp. Kordon amquel for ammonia chloramines and chlorine reduction (elimination?). Got 13 fish w/ the tank who are currently parked in established 20 gal. tank. They are crowded, but so far fine. They've been in there 1 day. Fantails, calicos and comets from 3 to 5 inches long. I will use the 20 gallons established tank water to top off the new tank.
I expect that i will still have to deal with some kind of a chlorine/nitrate (or is it nitrite?) spike. I have always set up a new tank, treated it, and let it run for a week or so before adding just a few fish and populating it slowly. I don't know if I have that option as the fish are crowded into my 20 gallon, now.
After matching ph and temp., what should I do? move some? All? the biggest? the small ones? I don't want to net out dead fish! These guys are counting on me! Can anyone offer advice? Thanks for reading.
 
You cant sustain all those fish healthily in a 45 gallon tank.

For a start, you shouldnt mix slower fantails with the faster comets and commons.
What size of filter do you have on it? You will need at least 10 times turnover per hour to tank capacity, so you need a filter not only with lots of media but one that does 450 gallons per hour.

For that size tank, and with good filtration you could get away with 3 or 4 fantails or two commons or one comet.

If you dont go with that stocking level then you are in danger of losing them all to disease, and seriously stunting them.

As for cycling with the fish. Why wait a week? You wont have any ammonia to get the filter started. Wait 24 hours for everything to settle and then add 2 fish. After a couple of days test for ammonia. If theres nothing then wait another 24 hours and test again. You are best to start the cycle with just the two fish to gradually build up the ammonia levels and not to stress the fish too much.
The others are going to have to manage with daily 60% water changes. You could actually use the old water to try and get the filter/s to kick start faster.
Keep the ammonia level below 1 and once you start to see nitrites keep those under 1 as well.
To help the fish through the nitrite phase add a teaspoon of salt per gallon *aquarium salt* and another teaspoon per gallon 12 hours later to bring you to .2% and remember to add this back in when doing water changes.
Can you add some old media from the original filter to help things along?
It takes around 6 weeks to start a fresh filter but with used media and gravel around 3 weeks.
You can then add other fish once the nitrites and ammonia have gone down but one every 3 or 4 days to stop it from spiking.

As ive already said you would be stocked with the two goldfish but what you place in after is up to you.

Hope that helps
 
new 45 gallon cold

Thanks for the response. I have a tetra advanced power filter 30-60 rated at 300 gal/hr. I just salvaged the old filter cartidges, but have already rinsed the "sponge" type media that sit in the filter after the slide in cartridges. Bad move, I guess. If ammonia spikes, do I treat it with the amquel product?
I am afraid I don't know how to test for .2% salt content.
I have the rocks and a wood ornament that were in the tank yesterday. will the helpful bacteria on these and the old cartidges have died overnight with these things having spent the night on newspaper in the hall? I was not going to use the wood object because it is attatched to a piece of slate with metal screws. It was pretty slimy when I laid it out and is dark almost black in some places. It's about a foot tall and very thick.
what do you think?
 
I am in the uk so not familiar with amquel.

As for the filter, i think you need to get another one to keep up with the filtration needed but watch out you dont have a tank like a washing machine.

You dont need to test for the salt. Just do it by teaspoons and just write down hpw many gallons you take out then calculate the salt again.

Hard to say about them being out overnight as they may have died if allowed to dry out. Bacteria need a slow current of water passing over them to stay healthy and can only last around 4 hours whilst wet before dying off.

I would add the tall piece of wood as it will still have algae the fish can eat.

Also, you say you are taking the ph down. Goldfish are happiest with a high ph and can manage well up to 9. As long as its stable it shouldnt be a problem. A lot of problems start happening when people start messing with the ph.
 
Amquel is an anti chlorine, chloramine, ammonia additive.
I have been told that there is a product that is a "start up bacteria" dose. I'll have to drive 30 mi to where I can get it, though Exceedingly hot here today. 36 celsius and very humid. I am concerned about these fish stressing as, until yesterday, they had been maintained in an air conditioned apartment. I appreciate your responses and will consider a larger filter. Enjoyed your "tank like a washing machine" line. Very funny. probably getting late for you. Another time.
 
You do not need the pH down. All you need is the dechlor. If the start up product is Bio Spira, then it can help, all the others are junk. Stop the additives, and you don't need the salt. The cure for your spikes, ammonia or nitrites, is water changes.

You shouldn't have more than two goldies in there. Get rid of the rest or get a 125 gal tank, for starters.

The filter at best, with media in place, will give you half the gph stated. You will barely have a 3x turnover for extremely messy fish, and considering you will be overstocked by about six times, you are headed for trouble.
 
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