water changes during cycling

cutie_monster · Sep 17, 2006

i recently purchased a 5 gal tank and set it up with 2 small goldfish (fantails, i think) this was approx. 4-5 days ago. before i joined this site, i had never even heard of cycling. so my tank is cycling with fish in it. my question is...is it ok to do 100% water changes once a week during the cycling process? i rinse the rocks and the plants, and the inside of the tank as well (with water only) because the inside feels "slimy" to the touch. i also use the Aquasafe to make the water ok for my fish to go directly in it. will doing any of these things deter the cycling process? Patches and Sushi are VERY happy, regardless of the cycling and they would greatly appreciate any advice you can offer. thanks

Blueiz · Sep 17, 2006

The slimy feel you are feeling is biofilm, don't wash it off as this is your beneficial bacteria. As fas as water changes, you will need an ammonia and nitrite test kit, if you dont have them already. Since you are doing a fishy cycle, you will need to test and change the water as often as necessary to keep the ammonia as low as possible, and the nitrites once they start to show. This may require you to do several water changes a day. Heres a link all about cycling:

http://aquafacts.net/wiki/index.php/Cycling_a_Freshwater_Tank

HTH

Blue

sarcare · Sep 17, 2006

Sorry to be the one to say it, but goldfish really need to be in a much larger tank. Five gallons isn't really big enough for even a single goldfish, as they produce amazing amounts of waste! A 30g tank would be good for your two goldies, and they could live very long and happy lives (goldfish have very long lives in the 15-20yr range), whereas in a too small tank they will be stunted and die quite a lot sooner.

viboy · Sep 17, 2006

I would only do 50% water changes. 100% would greatly increase the time it takes your tank to cycle. Because you have 2 goldfish in there you may have to do the water changes fairly often to keep the ammonia levels down.

You are going to find that buying the goldfish has only caused you to have a lot of work and dissapointment. They really need a bigger tank. Because of the amount of waste they produce you will have to do daily water changes (for the life of the fish not just while the tank is cycling) and even with that you will more than likely end up with unhealthy or dead fish. If you can take the fish back and get something small like tetras. If returning them is not an option then look into getting a bigger tank (55g).

cutie_monster · Sep 17, 2006

Patches & Sushi are SOOO happy in their 5 gal tank. i have had great success with goldfish in a small tank before. when i was in grade school, our family had 2 goldfish AND an algea earter in a 1.5 gal hexagon tank (this was long before i knew about surface area requirements and cycling!) we did 100% weekly water changes and fed them once every 1-2 days. our goldfish lived to be over 10 years, and what finally did them in wasn't space restrictions at all, but a freak snow storm that knocked our power out for nearly 2 weeks, freezing the tank solid. by the time we were able to get home, the fish couldn't be revived. all i'm saying is that with a moderate amount of effort, folks can still have happy, healthy goldfish in a < 55 gal tank.

Ghostshrimp55 · Sep 17, 2006

cutie_monster said:
all i'm saying is that with a moderate amount of effort, folks can still have happy, healthy goldfish in a < 55 gal tank.

Well, all right then........I guess you're already determined to do a lot of work so, don't do more than 50% water changes at a time (you might might need to do a few each day), add some plants, don't wash the film off of your rocks and get a really good filter or two or three. Don't feed your fish every day. Feed them twice a week, that's it.

Good luck.

Rbishop · Sep 17, 2006

cutie_monster said:
Patches & Sushi are SOOO happy in their 5 gal tank. i have had great success with goldfish in a small tank before. when i was in grade school, our family had 2 goldfish AND an algea earter in a 1.5 gal hexagon tank (this was long before i knew about surface area requirements and cycling!) we did 100% weekly water changes and fed them once every 1-2 days. our goldfish lived to be over 10 years, and what finally did them in wasn't space restrictions at all, but a freak snow storm that knocked our power out for nearly 2 weeks, freezing the tank solid. by the time we were able to get home, the fish couldn't be revived. all i'm saying is that with a moderate amount of effort, folks can still have happy, healthy goldfish in a < 55 gal tank.

No you can't. Period.

Max · Sep 17, 2006

I agree ,"don't know much about f.w. but, I've always had goldfish in a pond", but, IME they need somewhere around 30 gallons per fish. In s.w. a stunted fish isn't a healthy fish and I can't see how there could be much difference.

Ghostshrimp55 · Sep 17, 2006

It already appears she's clearly set in the way she wants to keep these fish. It's a horrible way to do it but she seems to think that it's fine and might not change. I would just leave it as is and move on.


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water changes during cycling

cutie_monster

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Blueiz

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sarcare

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viboy

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cutie_monster

big cutie monster

Ghostshrimp55

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Rbishop

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Max

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Ghostshrimp55

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