# 10g Goldfish tank



## ctmpwrdcamry (May 23, 2005)

I already had to get a bigger tank to give her the ten gallon, she was starting with a 2gallon(im guessing). Now just have to figure out how to do water changes for a low tech goldfish tank.


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## MatPat (Mar 22, 2004)

Assuming she has a decent plant load you shouldn't need to do any waterchanges! I'll see if I can dig up some info over the next few days about waterchanges and low tech tanks. I think I may have forwarded a couple of links to Dineen in the past, maybe she will chime in...


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## ctmpwrdcamry (May 23, 2005)

I know in my low techs i never change the water, but i hear goldfish poison there own water. I do not want to kill the goldfish!


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## Simpte 27 (Jul 16, 2004)

Poison is such a strong word. Lets just say they create a lot of ammonia.


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## ctmpwrdcamry (May 23, 2005)

So as long as there is enought plants everythings ok?


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## Simpte 27 (Jul 16, 2004)

Your goldfish may make snacks out of your plants. You will still have to monitor NH3 levels.


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## ctmpwrdcamry (May 23, 2005)

Simpte 27 said:


> Your goldfish may make snacks out of your plants.


I've figured as much. I tired to help pick put plants that the goldfish would not munch or of that would grow fast enough to hopefully keep growing without becoming snacks. I also heard feeding them veggies helped the plants survive.


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## EcleckticGirl (Jul 26, 2005)

With my low tech tank, I only just stopped doing water changes with the last one on Saturday. I was reading a book and on a site that was a big proponent of regular and routine water changes. The low tech site also doesn't use filtration though, so water change is the only filtration besides plants. Though reading another site that one of the members posts on, he doesn't do water changes OR filter (but he has a rich organic matter --rabbit pellets-- under his substrate). 

My guess for a heavily planted, well-growing low tech goldfish tank that you aren't dosing with EI would be every couple of months do a water change. If you are dosing then you would want to do water changes like Tom recommends to remove excess ferts.


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## Simpte 27 (Jul 16, 2004)

Its not possible to have goldfish and do no waterchanges unless you have few goldies and a HUGE tank (over 100 gallons). They just create too much waste.


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## MatPat (Mar 22, 2004)

Simpte 27 said:


> Its not possible to have goldfish and do no waterchanges unless you have few goldies and a HUGE tank (over 100 gallons). They just create too much waste.


Are you sure of that? Have you ever kept a goldfish in a 10g planted tank before? People say you can't keep Rift Lake cichlids in planted tanks either but folks do it. Folks used to say PO4 causes algae...

I have not done either but it would definately be something I would try if I was into keeping goldfish or rift lake cichlids...

However, I also believe that little goldfish is going to outgrow that 10g tank very quickly.


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## EcleckticGirl (Jul 26, 2005)

Goldies DO produce a lot of waste, she may want do weekly 5-10 percent water changes to vacc up some of that excess mulm from the bottom. Definitely monitor the nitrate levels. The fresh water will dilute the ammonia at that time too.

I gave up on goldfish a long time ago, deciding that they just aren't meant to be a beginner fish for a smaller tank. That she now has a planted tank in at least a ten gallon, hopefully the fish will live happier longer. As long as we instilled in her that she shouldn't feed it cookies. Please also tell me that she only has ONE goldie in the ten gallon.


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## ctmpwrdcamry (May 23, 2005)

Yeah, no more cookies. 

5-10% is easy enought. she only has one goldie in there now, along with some endler babies we couldnt catch when we movied the tank.

The plants look good, have to figure out a fert schedual for the tank. Ill try and get a picture soon also.


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## EcleckticGirl (Jul 26, 2005)

ctmpwrdcamry said:


> Yeah, no more cookies.
> The plants look good, have to figure out a fert schedual for the tank. Ill try and get a picture soon also.


Go to the GCAS site and in the HAP section they posted the powerpoint presentation of the talk Tom Barr gave. I am pretty sure he offered a fert routine for a low tech tank.

Hah... those Endlers grow up and have babies, they will be goldie food, you know!


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## MatPat (Mar 22, 2004)

Here's the link to Tom's presentation that Dineen was talking about: http://www.gcas.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4280

and also a link to fertilizing a low tech tank: http://www.barrreport.com/forums/showthread.php?t=395

At the bottom of the article he gives recommendations for a 20g so just cut those in half.

I would be more than willng to make you up a solution if you would rather dose PO4 that way. 1/64th of a tsp can be pretty hard to measure


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## ctmpwrdcamry (May 23, 2005)

Yeah, we just couldnt seem to get them all out without getting gravel too. I am supprised more have not been eatten. 

I am also familar with Toms fert schedual, just wasnt sure if it would be the same fore the goldie. Even so, i bagged up all the first and grabbed the measuring spoons and am heading over after work.


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## ctmpwrdcamry (May 23, 2005)

MatPat said:


> Here's the link to Tom's presentation that Dineen was talking about: http://www.gcas.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4280
> 
> and also a link to fertilizing a low tech tank: http://www.barrreport.com/forums/showthread.php?t=395
> 
> ...


That is probably not a bad idea. Could we use dosing bottles for that? I am trying to make this as(this is not derogatory) blonde proof as possible. If its to much to remember, it wont get done.  So, if its easy, there wont be a problem.


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## MatPat (Mar 22, 2004)

ctmpwrdcamry said:


> That is probably not a bad idea. Could we use dosing bottles for that? I am trying to make this as(this is not derogatory) blonde proof as possible. If its to much to remember, it wont get done.  So, if its easy, there wont be a problem.


Dosing bottles are an easy way to do it but almost any bottle will work! The dosing bottles are very easy to get a syringe into.  Here is a link to what one of my dosing bottles looks like: http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/showthread.php?t=9369

The pic is in reply #7. If you look at the bottle you'll notice I have it marked for how many ppm of NO3 each ml will add to each of my tank sizes. That pretty much makes it "blonde" proof in my opinion. I have both my KNO3 and KH2PO4 solutions in bottles this way. It makes it easy for me to remember how much I need to add to each tank


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## EcleckticGirl (Jul 26, 2005)

ctmpwrdcamry said:


> That is probably not a bad idea. Could we use dosing bottles for that? I am trying to make this as(this is not derogatory) blonde proof as possible. If its to much to remember, it wont get done.  So, if its easy, there wont be a problem.


It can't be derogatory if you're blonde too, Sean. Remember this is the woman who used to feed the fish cookies we're talking about.


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## ElectricHead (Sep 11, 2005)

I have about 50 or so goldfish (comets,shubunkins,sarassa,and koi) in my backyard pond. They put out a large amount of waste if you feed heavy. I would recommend water changes. I do water changes of about 300-400 gallon every month. More changes in summer time and less in cooler weather. When the water tempature gets to 50 degrees you have to stop feeding because goldfish metabolism slows way down to the point that if you feed you may kill them. So I don't have to do as much water changes in cool weather - less poop.


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## MatPat (Mar 22, 2004)

I just found this thread in the Fish for the Planted Aquarium Forum and thought it may be of interest to Lauren and her tank:

http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/showthread.php?t=10100

I have a bunch of the same plant that is in Tom's tank (hygrophila difformis) is she would like some. I can bring it to the meeting if I can stand it in the tank that long


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