Darnit, this tropical thing just isnt working out
- Thread starter Malbri
- Start date
Malbri, Although the AC is pulling more than enough water filter to suck all of the poop up. It doesn't have enough surface area in the filter for the bacteria to grow on and break down all of the waste. This leads to the filter clogging fast and poor water conditions.
First off it your have problems with heaters/power outages, then you definitely should look at coldwater fish. Two fancy goldfish in a 40 gallon would do just fine but will definately need heavy filtration. There are actually many other options for fish in a tank this size; white cloud mountain minnows, rosey reds, paradise fish, or many of the U.S. native species (especially minnows or killies). You can also have many different kids of invertabrates at these temperatures.
I went coldwater after I lost a tropical tank in Minnesota when the power went out one winter. The power went out at my place after I left for work in the morning. When I came home, my place was at 45 degrees and all the fish were dead.
First off it your have problems with heaters/power outages, then you definitely should look at coldwater fish. Two fancy goldfish in a 40 gallon would do just fine but will definately need heavy filtration. There are actually many other options for fish in a tank this size; white cloud mountain minnows, rosey reds, paradise fish, or many of the U.S. native species (especially minnows or killies). You can also have many different kids of invertabrates at these temperatures.
I went coldwater after I lost a tropical tank in Minnesota when the power went out one winter. The power went out at my place after I left for work in the morning. When I came home, my place was at 45 degrees and all the fish were dead.
I agree with V - the Aquaclear isn't sufficient. A good filter needs to have proper mechanical, biological, and chemical filtration. Although your aquaclear has good mechanical filtration (i.e. sucks up all the poo), a HOB filter can't filter a 40 gallon properly because it doesn't have enough surface area for good biological filtration (i.e. for happy bacteria to keep your chemicals in check).
If your tank gets down to 50 degrees, you won't have any luck with fancies. They are goldfish, so they can tolerate cooler temperatures, but fancies are not hardy enough for water that cold. 60 degrees, maybe, is their lower limit. Again, I agree with V - you might have good luck with white clouds, rosy reds, and similar native coldwater species.
You can try investing in a better heater - the newest models are extremely energy-efficient and use about as much power as a lightbulb. Be sure to place it horizontally along the bottom of the tank, so low water level won't cause problems. If you're worried about accidentally unplugging it, buy a heavy-duty extension cord in a short length, and plug the heater in to that. They are usually much harder to unplug, so you won't have to worry about it so much.
Best of luck.
If your tank gets down to 50 degrees, you won't have any luck with fancies. They are goldfish, so they can tolerate cooler temperatures, but fancies are not hardy enough for water that cold. 60 degrees, maybe, is their lower limit. Again, I agree with V - you might have good luck with white clouds, rosy reds, and similar native coldwater species.
You can try investing in a better heater - the newest models are extremely energy-efficient and use about as much power as a lightbulb. Be sure to place it horizontally along the bottom of the tank, so low water level won't cause problems. If you're worried about accidentally unplugging it, buy a heavy-duty extension cord in a short length, and plug the heater in to that. They are usually much harder to unplug, so you won't have to worry about it so much.
Best of luck.
Yes...and, nothing person to those of you who have goldfish, but goldfish are pigs and are not very interesting to look at. They are all either white, orange or black. If you are concerned with people or animals pulling the cords out of sockets I have seen devices that let you screw a plug into the middle screw of an outlet so that it cannot be pulled out. You may have to replace the plug but that is easy.
Red Devil, I think that is a very uninformed statement. Goldfish are just as interesting as tropicals, and they do not come in white, orange, or black. There are dozens of different body shape, finnage, and color variations.
^ Glad you answered that one Flaring. I had nothing that wouldn't get me banned to say to that one.
