Santa came early!

[Dark Phoenix]

We are now the proud owners of a brand new 50 gallon tank, and have built a
sturdy stand/bookcase to put it on. A couple of questions:
When I opened the box, I smelt silicon. I have left the box open since then
(about 1-1/2 weeks) to let it air and the smell is almost completely gone;
is it safe to fill and put the fish in? Or is that stuff perfectly safe?

The small tank is against the wall and I've let algae grow on the back wall,
as I've heard this is good. The new tank will be where it can be viewed from
all sides and I don't really want algae on the glass. How necessary is the
algae to tank health?

And how often and how much % wise do you have to do water changes with this
size tank and 4 goldies, about 2" each?

Thanks!

--
Laurie, Dark Phoenix

"Every dog has it's day, but nights are reserved for cats." -

[[email protected]]

you were smelling vinegar .... the acetic acid outgassing. It is recommended that
new tanks be treated with a salt brine for 24 hours. fill the tank up and add enough
salt that no more dissolves. apparently, this cures the silicone. then drain, rinse
and refill with fresh water.
all sides? well. leave the bottom bare and algae will grow down there.
water changes are done as often as needed to keep nitrates 20 ppm or lower. Ingrid

"Dark Phoenix" > wrote:

>We are now the proud owners of a brand new 50 gallon tank, and have built a
>sturdy stand/bookcase to put it on. A couple of questions:
>When I opened the box, I smelt silicon. I have left the box open since then
>(about 1-1/2 weeks) to let it air and the smell is almost completely gone;
>is it safe to fill and put the fish in? Or is that stuff perfectly safe?
>
>The small tank is against the wall and I've let algae grow on the back wall,
>as I've heard this is good. The new tank will be where it can be viewed from
>all sides and I don't really want algae on the glass. How necessary is the
>algae to tank health?
>
>And how often and how much % wise do you have to do water changes with this
>size tank and 4 goldies, about 2" each?
>
>Thanks!



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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http://puregold.aquaria.net/
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endorsements or recommendations I make.

[Loewen-Roberts]

Don't feed your fish too much, add a few live plants,a nd keep it out of
direct sunlight. THere are wasyou can solve your alge problem.

[Dark Phoenix]

"Loewen-Roberts" > wrote in message
news:iRDHb.853454$6C4.188836@pd7tw1no...
> Don't feed your fish too much, add a few live plants,a nd keep it out of
> direct sunlight. THere are wasyou can solve your alge problem.

Oh, I don't consider the algae growing a problem- when it gets too much
where I don't want it, I just take the sponge to it. I mean the fact that
the algae harbors good biobugs, and I need a place for it to grow now that
the new tank is a room divider- everyone who comes in will be forced to
admire my babies!

I always try to keep plants in the tank so the water stays good longer. Not
that the plants are allowed to live long... are goldfish related to deer???


--
Laurie, Dark Phoenix

"Every dog has it's day, but nights are reserved for cats." -