Goldfish Care

"Steve" wrote in message
news:OKTde.20500$0X6.8869@edtnps90...
Whats a good filter and pump to buy for a 10-20 gallon
fish tank to keep the water clean for 2 Goldfish. Very new
at this i just got 2 goldfish for my son about 6 months ago
and they are growing very fast. The plastic tank i have is only
3 gallons and the people at the pet store said they would grow
into it and that would be fine. One thing i have noticed is the water
does not stay clean very long and i am changing a third of the water
every 10 days or so. I have not got the tank yet but the size i was
looking for is 10-20 gallons is this ok.
Thanks Everyone for any help.
Steve!

The standard recommendation for GF is 10 gallons per fish. So you would need
at least 20 gallons. I have 5 large GF in 75 gallon and it's barely
adequate. But the largest GF is about the size of my hand. I also recommend
that you forego the gravel, it looks pretty, but it traps detritus. A small
amount of creek stone or glass gems (half marbles) looks OK and won't trap
as much poop.

You need to change at least 25% of the water once a week. I change about 40%
of the water once a week. It only takes me about an hour a week to clean all
three tanks, unless I'm cleaning filters (monthly), then it takes longer. I
recommend a siphon (Python) for removing/replacing water and vacuuming
gravel/poop. Don't forget to dechlorinate the water if you're on municipal
water and try to match the temperature and PH of the water you're adding
back to the tank. Most important, don't overfeed. One small feeding a day
should be lots.

I like the AquaClear HOT (Hang on Tank) filters for a small tank. Cheap,
easy to use, cheap to operate and do a decent job. Forget the carbon media,
just run two sponges or one sponge and some filter floss. Don't wash your
filter in tap water, as it kills the good bacteria (nitrogen cycle). Just
rinse it in a bucket with tank water. An Aquaclear 20 s/b OK for your 20
gallon, but I'd probably go with the 30.

http://www.hagen.com/usa/aquatic/pro...00600002010 1