bunch of random newbie questions

[Zaftig]

Hi all,

My husband works at a country club and a few months ago they had some awful event where goldfish were released into a swimming pool so people could catch them with nets and take them home.     Awful.  Anyway there were two "left over"    and they were going to be "disposed of"  *( so my husband took them home thinking we could just put them in a bowl for our two small children.  (I didn't know much about fish however I did know that wasn't a good plan.)  So....for a few months they lived in a 10 gallon tank.  I changed the water a lot while it cycled and they seemed to do fine.  Then I figured out by reading up a little that they were comets and needed boatloads more room      which would be fine if the weather was warmer; we do have a 3,000 gallon man-made pond in the backyard.  Come spring I am going to release them into it I think?  But anyway in the meantime I got a 56 gallon column tank.  Cycled it by using fish food, swapping filter media between that and the 10 gallon, adding commercial bacteria booster...anyway I moved them over into it yesterday because finally ammonia was back to 0, nitrite was 0 and nitrate was 10 (changed the water before putting them in.)  They seem to be doing great.  I have two filters hooked up, one for up to 50 gallons and the other for up to 75 gallons.  One is an Aqueon (sp?) and the other is the kind with the biowheel thingamajigee.

So my questions.  How warm should it get before I bump them into the outside pool?  Should I wait until they are larger?  They were about 2" long each when I acquired them and now they are closer to 3" long each.  When they go outside I would like to get some nice fancy goldfish for my tank.  Probably 2 would be okay for my tank size, no?  I've read all over the place that you shouldn't mix fancy with common...is that a total no-no or is the rule breakable if you make sure the fancies are getting food?

My next question is about aeration.  I got a long bubbler that runs against the back of the tank.  It's throwing off millions of tiny bubbles.  Is there such a thing as too many?  I don't love it aesthetically but I was concerned that with a column tank there wouldn't be enough oxygen flowing.  Or is that a moot point since my filters are doing 750 gallons an hour combined?

Which brings me to the current being generated by these filters.  I see almost a little vortex in one corner.  LOL!  The fish seem to be riding around in the water a little.  I mean, there are still points to be sure so they can get away from it if they like but thinking ahead to when I'm stocking fancies will that be a problem?  Is there any way to turn down the filters?

I have gravel in the bottom of the tank.  Now I'm realizing that's probably not the best idea.  Should I scoop it out?

I also was wondering about those hoses for water changes.  Is it worth the investment?  Does it make things a lot easier?  But how do people manage treating the water and getting it to the right temperature if it's coming directly from the sink?  Maybe I'm missing something here.  I've been using a 3 gallon bucket and that was super simple when I only had to fill it 1.5 times to clean the 10 gallon tank.  I've quickly learned that it's a lot of effort to change the water on this bigger tank (who said bigger tanks were easier?!?!  !!!) and I'm trying to think of ways to make that easier because I've seen it repeated so many times that water changes are important...

Thanks in advance for any insight and thank you for reading my long-winded post!!!   :cheesy:

[Lolafish]

Hi all,

My husband works at a country club and a few months ago they had some awful event where goldfish were released into a swimming pool so people could catch them with nets and take them home.      Awful.  Anyway there were two "left over"     and they were going to be "disposed of"   so my husband took them home thinking we could just put them in a bowl for our two small children.  (I didn't know much about fish however I did know that wasn't a good plan.)  So....for a few months they lived in a 10 gallon tank.  I changed the water a lot while it cycled and they seemed to do fine.  Then I figured out by reading up a little that they were comets and needed boatloads more room       which would be fine if the weather was warmer; we do have a 3,000 gallon man-made pond in the backyard.  Come spring I am going to release them into it I think?  But anyway in the meantime I got a 56 gallon column tank.  Cycled it by using fish food, swapping filter media between that and the 10 gallon, adding commercial bacteria booster...anyway I moved them over into it yesterday because finally ammonia was back to 0, nitrite was 0 and nitrate was 10 (changed the water before putting them in.)  They seem to be doing great.  I have two filters hooked up, one for up to 50 gallons and the other for up to 75 gallons.  One is an Aqueon (sp?) and the other is the kind with the biowheel thingamajigee.

So my questions.  How warm should it get before I bump them into the outside pool?  Should I wait until they are larger?  They were about 2" long each when I acquired them and now they are closer to 3" long each.  When they go outside I would like to get some nice fancy goldfish for my tank.  Probably 2 would be okay for my tank size, no?  I've read all over the place that you shouldn't mix fancy with common...is that a total no-no or is the rule breakable if you make sure the fancies are getting food?

My next question is about aeration.  I got a long bubbler that runs against the back of the tank.  It's throwing off millions of tiny bubbles.  Is there such a thing as too many?  I don't love it aesthetically but I was concerned that with a column tank there wouldn't be enough oxygen flowing.  Or is that a moot point since my filters are doing 750 gallons an hour combined?

Which brings me to the current being generated by these filters.  I see almost a little vortex in one corner.  LOL!  The fish seem to be riding around in the water a little.  I mean, there are still points to be sure so they can get away from it if they like but thinking ahead to when I'm stocking fancies will that be a problem?  Is there any way to turn down the filters?

I have gravel in the bottom of the tank.  Now I'm realizing that's probably not the best idea.  Should I scoop it out?

I also was wondering about those hoses for water changes.  Is it worth the investment?  Does it make things a lot easier?  But how do people manage treating the water and getting it to the right temperature if it's coming directly from the sink?  Maybe I'm missing something here.  I've been using a 3 gallon bucket and that was super simple when I only had to fill it 1.5 times to clean the 10 gallon tank.  I've quickly learned that it's a lot of effort to change the water on this bigger tank (who said bigger tanks were easier?!?!  !!!) and I'm trying to think of ways to make that easier because I've seen it repeated so many times that water changes are important...

Thanks in advance for any insight and thank you for reading my long-winded post!!!   

Aw, you rescued two fish!  That is so sweet of you!  What a great way to jump into the goldfish hobby.  Now you're gonna get hooked. 
 
I'd say as soon as the temp starts staying above 60F in your pond, they can go in.  They should be big enough to adjust.  3,000 gallons? I'm so jealous! Mine is only 300 gallons.      They will love it out there!
 
If you want to do the best by your new fancies when you get them, try to shoot for 20 gallons per fish for full grown goldfish.  It's just so much easier to take care of their tanks when you're not overstocked.  And no, you can NEVER have too many bubbles.     Aeration is very important.  I'm not sure about your current filtration setup, but we have some stickies that list the filter output of various brands.  If you're at a minimum of 10X gph for the size of your tank, you're good to go.  So for example, a 20g. needs 200g. per hour, a 55g. needs 550g. per hour, and so on.
 
Gravel is a personal choice, but in most of our opinions, it's just a disaster waiting to happen.  If you want to remove it (you don't have to, it is very much personal preference), then do so gradually as not to disrupt your cycle too much.
 
Pythons are pretty much a necessity for water changes, unless you really like carrying buckets of water.      You can adjust the temp as it's coming out of the tap, but generally speaking, our cold water from our tap is never that much under 72F, so I've always just used cold water, no hot water.  You treat the water once it's entered the tank, as you're filling...so no problemo.

[Lolafish]

Oops..you were worried about too much current, right?  If you've got the tank pretty much filled to the top, you should be okay there.  If your fish cannot rest at all anywhere in the tank without being moved around, then yes, you may have too much for them at the moment.  I think some filters are capable of being adjusted, but I've always used HOB's, which never seem to have a current problem.  (my fave brand is Emperor)  You can throw some fake plants in the most busy parts of the tank to reduce the shifting of the water if you want.  That's really helpful.

[Zaftig]

Thanks so much for your quick reply!!   :grin:   I was going to eventually get koi for the pond, never got around to it, so I guess it's just as well that these guys are going to be so big.  I just hope they don't get eaten.  I did stock the pond with bullfrogs and sometimes they get picked off by great herons.     But I guess they'll have to take their chances like any other wild friend.

Very helpful advice, thanks again, I will go invest in the Python tomorrow.  I read the instructions on the package and was slightly baffled but I'll probably figure it out fine once I get it home.  Anything not to have to haul 2 million buckets of water back and forth.  That got old already.   :grin:

I'm antsy to get a fancy but spring will be here soon.   

[Lolafish]

We have some helpful hints about keeping your pond safe from predators, so when you're ready, that's a good forum to read.
 
I made a python tutorial...lemme' find it and post it for ya.  You'll love it.   :thumbup:
 
I know, can you believe Spring is right around the corner?  I lived in MA for several years, so I know that you don't get anywhere near as warm as we do here, however, Spring is a wonderful season up there.  It'll be here before ya know it!

[Lolafish]

Here ya go: (Python)
 
http://www.aquapuppies.com/aquapuppies/index.php/topic,889.0.html

[Zaftig]

Awesome!!  You're the best.    Much appreciated. 

I will read up on keeping predators away.  I'm hoping the number of hiding places will help; I do have a lot of lily pads and the deck overhangs it slightly.  And it gets pretty deep by the pump.

Say, do you know any breeders in the area?  For when I get the fancies this spring.  I wouldn't want to buy from any of the stores in this area  and I'm skeptical about shipping in fish from elsewhere.  Unless people think that's perfectly okay?

[Zaftig]

Alright so I bought the python.  Well, not that brand-- a 50 foot one sold by Aqueon.  It doesn't fit m faucet so I'm going to have to find some kind of attachment. 

I scooped out 75% of the gravel and removed the decorations because they were hollow and the plastic plants.  I added some large stones.  It's looking more to my taste now actually but kind of bare.  I guess I'll check out the section on plants.  I was thinking a couple of real ones would look good.

[Lolafish]

Alright so I bought the python.  Well, not that brand-- a 50 foot one sold by Aqueon.  It doesn't fit m faucet so I'm going to have to find some kind of attachment. 

I scooped out 75% of the gravel and removed the decorations because they were hollow and the plastic plants.  I added some large stones.  It's looking more to my taste now actually but kind of bare.  I guess I'll check out the section on plants.  I was thinking a couple of real ones would look good.

Excellent.  Are there pics somewhere yet of your fish?   

[Lolafish]

Awesome!!  You're the best.    Much appreciated. 

I will read up on keeping predators away.  I'm hoping the number of hiding places will help; I do have a lot of lily pads and the deck overhangs it slightly.  And it gets pretty deep by the pump.

Say, do you know any breeders in the area?  For when I get the fancies this spring.  I wouldn't want to buy from any of the stores in this area  and I'm skeptical about shipping in fish from elsewhere.  Unless people think that's perfectly okay?

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[Hanna]

Hi Zaftig, and welcome to this awesome forum, just reading up now, well, Tracy already gave tou beautiful advice and I only can emphasize what she said.
Yes, never enough bubbles for our fishies, they LOVE it. Ours ( we have 4 comets ) hang their tails in there or even the loaches sit on the bubble bar ) it is so cute to watch them.

I am so pleased you rescued those little darlings... how horrible to put them in a pool, all this chlorine and such.
Looks like you done an excellent job with cycling your tank. CONGRATULATIONS all way round.

As for plants, yes live ones are a hit with goldies ( and any other fishes ), they love them as a snack in between, so be prepared that you will have to replace them from time to time.
Also live plants will help to oxygenate the water but also consume some Nitrates.

Yes, pics would be very nice, we all love pics on here. And did you name your little friends? Do you already know if they are boy or girl or both???

ENJOY this fantastic hobby

[Zaftig]

I will take some pics and post them soon!  Their names (picked by my kids) are Mrs. Bubbles and Mr. Polkadot.  No idea if they're male or female.  But they are growing FAST in this new tank!!  On the advice of a book I read I am doing very frequent large water changes.  That python thing sure made that easy. 

Thanks for the help everyone!  I did add back a few of the natural-looking plastic plants.  I started feeling overwhelmed by the idea of figuring out how to take care of plants.  Maybe when things settle down I will revisit that.