# New 55 Gallon Goldfish Tank



## eelz212 (Dec 22, 2007)

Hey all,

I'm gonna start a little thread here to track the progress of a new tank I've just set up.

Currently I've got two fancy goldfish living in a 10 gallon tank. These guys are growing fast. With the help of bettababy I've wised up and managed to fit a 55 gallon tank in my tiny bedroom. We're gonna be pretty cozy in here!

I've just got the tank running with an AquaClear 110 filter, and I also added the recommended doses of ammonia neutralizer and "stress zyme" bacteria to kick things into gear. Tomorrow I'm going to take the majority of the gravel from the 10gal, stick it in a stocking, and seed the new 55gal gravel.

I want to get these fish in the new tank ASAP. Any tips on how I can speed up the process?

This tank's gonna be a beauty, I'll get the camera out tomorrow and post some pics of what's going on.

Thanks in advance for any advice you can offer!

Take care,

Eli


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## bettababy (Oct 12, 2006)

Eli,
The seeding of gravel will help a lot, also using the water from the 10 gallon. If you take 1/2 of the water out of the 10 gallon and add it to the 55, leaving the fish in the 10 gallon, then go ahead and fill the 55 the rest of the way and use a dechlorinator. Once the 55 is full, take 1 cup at a time, and about every 5 minutes, put a cupful of water from the 55 into the 10 with the fish. When the 10 gallon is again full, put the fish into the 55, along with all of the water now in the 10 gallon. This will help them to adjust to the new conditions the easiest. Watch ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate levels in the new tank over the first 3 - 6 wks. 5 - 10 gallon water changes every other day will help to keep the water conditions good enough for the fish to survive cycling, just be sure not to touch the gravel or filter media during this time.
One last tip: take the filter media from the 10 gallon filter and set it into the new filter for a few wks. This will also help to seed your bacteria culture and will help cycle the tank much quicker.
So great to hear they're in a larger tank... am wondering, have you given thought about where to go with it for the next upgrade? If the 55 barely fits, the next size up could be a real challenge, and will only be about 1 - 2 yrs away. Now is always a good time to start planning, so you don't run into this problem again later.


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## eelz212 (Dec 22, 2007)

hey dawn-

i'll have my own place by then (i'm still living at home- i'm a young dude), and rather than being cramped in my room these guys will live in a 120gal in my living room, front and center. 

i have a few stockings full of the old gravel in the new tank. i moved the fish in last night, after only 36hrs of the new tank running. after running some tests, while the new tank had a little more ammonia than i'd like, the old one was a veritable cesspool (i.e., the new tank was at about .05ppm, the old one was .35. probably more). and that was after tons and tons of water changes. so, if you've got some goldfish in a 10 gallon tank and you think they can handle it, you're wrong my friend.

before i put the fish in i added about 5 gallons of the new water into their old tank (over the course of 3 hours). 

should i add the rest of the old water? would it not be dangerous due to those high ammonia levels?

i'm gonna try and take some pictures right now. the fish are still very frisky and hungry, probably cause i'm going very easy on the food. they're having fun but definitely a little overwhelmed by their giant new home. i can't wait to see them grow!


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## okiemavis (Nov 10, 2007)

Wow, it's really awesome that you're taking such good care of your fish, I know what a commitment a 55G is, when you thought they'd be fine in a 10G. A lot of people would find out that their fish weren't alright in such a small tank and not bother to do anything, or only upgrade to a 20 or 30G. Kudos for being an awesome, responsible fish owner! Plus, how amazing will it be to see two, 12 inch, 10 year old goldfish swimming majestically in their tank! It will be good for people who come through your home to see how old, and large goldfish can get, and what a properly cared for goldfish looks like. Okay, so happy for you!


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## bettababy (Oct 12, 2006)

Considering the fish have been in the tank for more than 24 hrs now, there is no need to add the water from the 10 gallon if the ammonia is that high. The idea when transferring them is to help them acclimate their conditions so the change isn't quite as drastic, while also bring a small amount of waste to get that bacteria fed asap. With .35 ammonia in the water, throw it out, for sure!
I'm glad you posted those water params, I'd have been curious to also know what the nitrite and nitrate readings were in the 10 gallon. If you can test it before you dump it, its a good example of what is happening in a small tank that we people can't see with the naked eye. A great lesson for everyone when stocking any size tank!


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## eelz212 (Dec 22, 2007)

thank you so much. some of you on this site have been so kind and helpful (dawn especially). such lovely people.

i never thought of it in the way okie, but these fish can be activists for goldfish equality and prosperity. it really is a shame that probably like 1% of goldfish are properly cared for- because of this general concensus that they can happily live in bowls, and because many people who work at LFSs just don't know what the hell they're talking about.


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## bettababy (Oct 12, 2006)

That picture is all the thanks I needed! Very cute... and very much appreciated. I never mind helping, but I don't always get to tell people what they want to hear, and some get upset and forget that I am only being honest and trying to help. 
I do this for free, devote about 4 - 6 hrs of each day to helping people with their fish, and I do it because all I want is to make a difference... save lives.. and educate as many people as I can as quickly as I can. 
The way I see it, there could be an end to all of the abuse and neglect caused by lack of information and education. If I can teach one person here, that one person can teach someone else. When that someone else happens to be a staff member at a LFS, then that person teaches it to how many? I have a friend here in Wisconsin, we worked together at the store. She goes from LFS to LFS for jobs, and teaches while she's at each one. She butts heads with management about doing the right thing by the animals, and shows them how to make better profit by keeping healthy fish they can truly help people with. She calls whenever she runs into mass health issues with her new shipments, and is teaching people how to help save their profit, and lives at the same time. We're something of a team with her being my best friend, and saving the animals others forget seems to be our destiny. We share the same formal training, though mine a bit more extensive than hers, and then I have gone outside of that with independent study and research, and I will probably die some day while looking through a microscope or writing a research article. 
So if you really want to thank me, just take great care of those fish and share what you've learned with others... help me put an end to all of the cruelty going on that people don't even seem to realize. Everytime I am able to help save a life here, I am then able to save lives elsewhere as an end result. That's the best feeling in the whole world, and once you do it... once you teach someone, you'll feel it too.
Keep up the good work and thank you for setting such a perfect example for all others to follow.


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## eelz212 (Dec 22, 2007)

Hey guys,

So the tank is in its third or maybe fourth day. I woke up to find the water is incredibly cloudy- i'm figuring this is part of the cycling process?

What should i do? my fish are in there so i hope it's not dangerous.

I'm about to go ahead and do a 25% water swap.

let me know if you have any tips/ideas


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## eelz212 (Dec 22, 2007)

wow i tested for ammonia and it's ridiculously high right now. somehting like 4.0 or 5.0ppm. i'm nearly done done removing about 13 gallons of water and i'm about to replace it with fresh tap.

is there anything else i can do???


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## bettababy (Oct 12, 2006)

Small water changes as frequently as possible to help the fish, but keep them very small, and very frequent. 10% twice/day is better than 25% once/day.
If you test your water right now you will probably see a spike in nitrite levels. This is common, and it will clear as the tank cycles. Keep feedings small and to a minimum, and keep the temp cool, and they should be ok. 
The cloudy is called a bacterial bloom. The tank looks like someone dropped a white cloud into the water. They come on fast, and they leave just as fast. The more water you change at a time will only make it worse, so again, keep it small. If you can add an air stone, this will help a lot. Increasing the oxygen content in the water seems to help the bacterial blooms ease up much quicker, and its good for the goldfish.
Hang in there, this should clear up within a few days at most.


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## eelz212 (Dec 22, 2007)

So it's been about 4 days since the big bacterial bloom of '08.

i've been doing daily changes of 10%, after doing one big initial one of about 20%.

i also got a third air stone, and more importantly i upgraded my air pump, to one that's suitable for a 55-75 gallon tank. there's TONS of bubbling going on.

so the water is visibily clearer. still sort of a whitish haze to it, but nothing like the other day where i could barely see the fish. on the chemical side, i just did another test for ammonia and the reading was somewhere around 1.5ppm, not very good, but leagues better than the 6.0 or so it was the other day.

so, things are looking up! anything else i should consider doing or prepare myself for?


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## Julie's Julies (Jun 11, 2007)

That's so cool that you got your goldies into a bigger tank! My poor two are in a 10-gallon right now, so we're moving to a bigger place where I can get them into my 55-gallon. I am so excited!


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## eelz212 (Dec 22, 2007)

> That's so cool that you got your goldies into a bigger tank! My poor two are in a 10-gallon right now, so w*e're moving to a bigger place* where I can get them into my 55-gallon. I am so excited!


now _that's_ commitment!

good for you, i can tell you on my end that's it's a very satisfying thing to do to put goldfish into an environment where they can truly thrive. 

ps, the goldfish in your avatar's a beauty.


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## eelz212 (Dec 22, 2007)

when is it okay to move the gravel around a little bit? the bacterial bloom seems to have subsided, and i'd like to add a little fresh gravel and bury the new air stone i've got in the tank. also some of the fake plants have been knocked over.


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## eelz212 (Dec 22, 2007)

hey- when can i remove the stocking that contains the old tank's gravel?


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## eelz212 (Dec 22, 2007)

Hey guys-

So the new tank has been up and running for 3 weeks or so and things are fine.

while the water looks and tests clean, there is a brownish substance accumulating on the heater, filter powerhead, and some ornaments. what is is this stuff? can i just wipe it off?

thanks


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## scottysgirl (Jan 10, 2007)

It is called diatom algae, and is common in new tanks. It should be very easy to wipe off. Ottos will eat it. I get it in my Oscar tank a little bit, but I just clean it off once a week and deal with it. Reducing photo-period helps (the time the lights are on) but most important in my experience is keeping nitrates really low. In my Oscars tank that means twice weekly 40% water changes to keep the nitrates below 10 ppm, which is a little bit of a pain but it is OK.


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## scottysgirl (Jan 10, 2007)

PS--great job taking such a good care of your fish! How is the cycling process going?


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## eelz212 (Dec 22, 2007)

Thanks for the info and kind words scottysgirl-

i will get to cleaning it up. can diatom algae pose any risk to the fish or is it just an aesthetic issue? it seems to be growing fairly rapidly, i can see it on the glass of the tank now. what are these ottos you mentioned? is there a type of algae eating fish that would be a suitable tank-mate alongside my goldfish?

the cycle seems to be going well. the fish are as visibly healthy, frisky, and hungry as ever and have already started getting bigger. i do small (10%) changes twice a week and haven't touched the gravel or filter media. i've been keeping the feeding very light.

on the chemical side i've gotten the ammonia down to 0ppm. i still don't have the nitrate test.

it's been over three weeks since i set up the tank and i was wondering when i should do my first major clean (i.e. change some of the media in my filter, siphon gravel, etc.). my filter has three parts: a foam insert, carbon, and the biomax material that promotes beneficial bacteria. which should be changed first, and when?

thanks guys


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## eelz212 (Dec 22, 2007)

hey guys-

so, my tank's been running for about 5 weeks and things are really going great.

i've just done my first decent cleanup:

removed stocking that contained old tank's substrate
replaced the carbon pouch in my filter (didn't touch anything else)
siphoned about 2/3 of the gravel
wiped up a bunch of brown (diatom?) algae
moved some ornaments around to spice things up

ran some tests-

nitrate: 2.5ppm

ammonia: .05 I was a little bummed because while this is significantly lower than all the other ammonia tests i've done, i thought the ammonia would've been gone by now. but oh well

what's important is that the water is crystal clear, the algae outbreak has completely subsided (reducing photoperiod probably helped too), and oh yeah, the fish seem to be fantastic. frisky and getting plumper by the day. 

it's funny actually, i've put them in this sprawling new tank but they chill out in the leftmost corner all day waiting/begging for food. live a little guys! i try to lure them to other areas with food but i worry if i sprinkle it too far away they'll never find it (esp. the black moor, he doesn't see so good). i suppose they'll do some more exploring as they grow into the tank.

anyway, i'll post some pictures before too long and show you what my thriving goldfish look like

take care everybody,

eli


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## willow (Sep 9, 2006)

well done you for the new home for your goldies. 








don't worry they will use the room that you have provided.
can i be real cheecky and ask when you take more pics
we can see the whole tank,i love shots like that.


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