setting up a tank for my pond babies

mesagsxbkr

Registered Member
Oct 16, 2004
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This year I had about 10-15 baby comets living in sort of a nursery tank, a 50 gallon preform with a bunch of oxygenators and a small pumpjust to keep the water moving. I was planning on bringing them in winter anyway, and sincemy pump gave out this week I figured now is as good of a time as any to bring them in. I plan on using A 35 gallon tank as most of the fish arent even even an inch long yet. Anyway I plan on setting up the tank with a pump and filter, a few plants (oxygenators), gravel. I was just going to leave the tank plain, but since I am probably going to keep most of the fish inside for a while, i figured why not make the tank look halfway decent. Is It a good idea to set up the tank with a pump and filter etc.? Right now I am planning on using a 29 gallon tank with a 3 stagefilter system (foam, charcoal and some bio stuff). Most of the water in the tank will be from the pond as will some arachnis.
What plants would be good for a set up like this (I know I should get some since the tank might be alittle overcrowded.)?
I am sorry for such a long and vague post, but I am kind of in the dark about aquariums...big ponds, I can do....Thanks for all of your help.
 
How long do you plan on keeping these guys in the aquarium for?
Even though they're small, 10-15 goldfish is too many to keep in a 29g on the long run.

Is It a good idea to set up the tank with a pump and filter etc.?
You'll need to mega filter the tank and not slack on water changes (i'm sure you know goldfish are super messy). I'd skip the charcoal and stock up on bio filtration. Don't bother transfering your old pond water into the new tank, the bacteria is mostly in the filter.

Since your old pump is busted you may have to cycle the new tank again(if you let the media dry up then all the bacteria is dead).
 
Comets are incredibly hardy and you may not need to do anything at all except stop feeding them. There are many articles stating that comets have even survived in shallow ponds that have completely frozen solid over the winter.

I had a preformed pond in northern Colorado that was only about the size of a bathtub. The half dozen comets I had easily survived over the winter with nothing more than an airstone to prevent the ice from freezing solid. The comets just go down to the bottom and hibernate until spring.

My comets lived through 3 winters, with the pond freezing nearly solid for some extended periods of time. If you live somewhere that the pond will not freeze absolutely solid, you may not need to bring them indoors for the winter.
 
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YuccaPatrol said:
Comets are incredibly hardy and you may not need to do anything at all except stop feeding them. There are many articles stating that comets have even survived in shallow ponds that have completely frozen solid over the winter.

This would be impossible, just as it would be impossible to freeze a human for 5 months and then thaw them out expecting s/he to come back to life. Not possible.

Goldfish need air, they need water, and this is why many of us who have ponds will keep a heater in our pond. I am constantly pouring hot water over my pond in the winter to melt away some of the layers. It is a never ending chore.
 
I dont have a problem keeping my fish in the big pond because it is deep enough to not freeze all the way, and with my heater thereis always a hole in the ice, But in the pond where the babies are, it is no where near deep enough to no freeze all the way to the bottom.
 
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