I can’t believe it… My tank is cycled. Only took 3 years, but by Golly Gee it is cycled. The magical cure came from a very special source. She told me to replace one of my cartridges in my Emperor 400 Filter with a cartridge from a tank which was already cycled. So I put in this other cartridge, smaller than the one in my Emperor and let is sit deep in the water within the filter. Guess what happened? Just like that, my tank cycled. Wow… Unbelievable… All the money, time, chemicals, back breaking water changes were not in vain, for it taught me the only way I can learn which is by hard knocks.
I believe Sun’s cap (wen) is so huge it is hard for him to swim upwards. He does swim to the top of the tank from time to time and it is quite a sight.
I’ve made a few changes to the tank by taking out the gravel and putting in some large rocks. I took out 15 gallons of water and replaced it with 15 gallons out of my wife’s tank. Her tank is completely cycled. Still my nitrites are a smidgen high.
Lucky me. I met a wonderful person in the town where I work, whom happens to be an expert at raising goldfish. She gave me some great advice and I have a lot of hope now.
Zac I’ve made this video in response to your comments. If you are willing to give criticism, advice, and support, I’d certainly appreciate it. I would love to have an outside pond however it gets below zero here during the winter and I’m not sure if I could keep them alive out there. Besides not too sure if I could afford an outside pond.
I’ve decided to record all my ups and downs with raising goldfish. If I do this over the next few decades and some of these fish actually survive, folks will be able to see these fish as they have progressed. I only learn by hard knocks. I have to keep making the same mistakes over and over again until it actually hits me I am doing something wrong. Then just like that, I got it. I’ve looked at forums but have a hard time figuring out all the threads, who is actually speaking, and what they are talking about. For the most part all questions and/or complaints about fish results in the forum person asking about your water cycle. My water cycle has never cycled, never… I’ve tried every chemical imagined and have killed the fish through the efforts. Right now I do a weekly water change of about 15 gallons of water. I change the cartridges in the overhang filter once a month and the canister I address about every month and a half. I do not do both filters at the same time. I feed my fish twice a day… just a wee bit. I’ve always used sinking pellets and am thinking of using just regular flakes for awhile.
The water from the tap comes out high in ammonia. I fill five-gallon containers with this water and treat the water using Chlor-No-More. This treated water sits in the containers until the next weeks water change. Then I refill the containers, retreat, and set aside for the next change.
The video concentrates on the half of the tank where there isn’t any gravel. The fish congregate in this area for this is where I feed them. My two Orandas are blind so the gravel is shoved to the other side of the tank to keep the food from being hidden from them when it sinks.
I’ve been frustrated with myself for the failure of this tank. I’m going to give it a few more months and try changing things in order for it to work. I will perform surgery on both Oranda’s so they can see. I will lay gravel over the entire bottom of the tank. I will get this tank to cycle. When the tank cycles and remains cycled, when the fish are happy and swimming all over the tank, then I will feel I’ve accomplished what should have been done. If over the next few months there is not any improvement I will farm out the fish, take down the tank, and delete this blog.
I’ve had the hardest time trying to keep my Goldfish Tank clean. So I go and write Dr Foster and Smith pet store and ask for their advice. I sent them a link to this blog and to my record of maintenance and this was their response:
Dear Preston,
Thank you for your email. This tank size should be fine for 6 fancy goldfish. The recommendation for a freshwater tank is 1″ of fish per gallon. We are concerned that you are doing too many and too large of water changes. The recommended amount is up to 30% once a month or 10% once every other week. Change water too frequently or too large a volume depletes beneficial bacteria that helps break down ammonia, nitrite, and nitrates.
Canister filters are beneficial because you place specialized media to help with a more specific problem. Such as high nitrates. We recommend the Eheim Classic Canister Series. I have provided a link to the item below.
If we can be of additional assistance, please contact our Internet Customer Service Department at 1-800-381-7179, via email or on our Live Help link. Live Help is available 7:30 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. CST Monday through Friday and 7:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. CST weekends.
Sincerely,
Customer Support
Drs. Foster & Smith
Foster and Smith Aquatics
I value their opinion for they have to know much more than me and besides, less water changes works great for my tired old back.
Anyways I order this Eheim and it is delivered by Fed Ex. Fed Ex had a bad week or two because of snow covered airports so they handled my filter a bit much and when it arrived the box was a bit smashed and the intake valve on the canister was busted.
I call up Foster and Smith and they were so kind and understanding about the situation. That very day they sent me another filter plus a mailing label to mail back the busted one at no charge.
All the time I’ve been waiting on this filter I had googled it and watched a few YouTubes. Wasn’t too much out there about installing this filter. Most folks complained about the instruction booklet, and I agree for the booklet gives so little info. Also most folks complained they wished they had a longer hose than the one which came with the filter. With this in mind I ordered an extra 5 foot of hose for this one, which I never used however, I did use every inch of the hose which came with the filter.
I hope you find this video useful if you have decided to purchase the same type of filter. I must say this is the quietest filter I’ve ever seen. Although folks complained about the instruction booklet and the length of hose, they all swore this is the best filter they have ever had. Many claimed to have used this filter for 15 years or more.
After putting the filter together, as you can see in the video, it ran like a charm when I plugged it in. Before I plugged it in I sucked on the end of the output hose to siphon the water into the canister to prime it and wound up with a mouth full of fish water, nitrites and all… Yuck….
I still have one Emperor 400 filter on my tank along with this Eheim 2215 canister. Also I have the ultra-violet light pump and air pump going. The way I figure it, all 55 gallons of this tank is being completely filtered every 20 minutes or so.
In the video I am trying to show the size of the fish by holding them. Bubbles by all means is my largest fish. Sun and Wabi-Sabi, the two Oranda’s are the next largest. In the scene where I am feeding them I want it known that after about 4 to 5 minutes of eating I remove any food remaining. Sun can eat better now since he doesn’t have to search through gravel to find it. He is blind as a bat, however he is like a vacuum cleaner sucking up the food from the glass bottom of the tank. I have to keep my eye on him for he will eat too much and wind up floating upside down because of the food pressing hard against his stomach. It is not easy at all taking care of these fish, but I am so determined to do so. I most likely need some sort of outside canister filter system but I know nothing about them. I don’t know what type of media to use in the canisters or how to clean them. Is there a canister system, which in the long run would save me money and time working with these fish?
Here is a video of all of my goldfish. Right now they are in a 55 gallon aquarium but soon they will outgrow it. I have my eyes on a 150 gallon tank for the future. Hope you enjoy.
I had watched this YouTube before getting Sun his Wen trim surgery. Just to think Sun could live to be 30 years old and to grow as large as the fish in the video. I wonder if I will live that long. Geez…. who would take care of my fish should something happen to me? Anyways, I have five goldfish in a 55 gallon tank, but if you see the size of the Oranda in the video, just what am I going to do in the future? Right now I’m looking at a 125 to a 150 gallon tank in the next few months. A tank that size will probably serve for a few years… Maybe.
This photo captures all my aqua buddies. Bottom left corner is Sun, above him is little Barri, above Barri is my dragon eye Bubbles, in front of Bubbles is Mojoanna, and to the far right is Wabi-Sabi. Between Sun and the bridge near the bottom of the aquarium is my little cory cat Charlie. I have a smaller 2o gallon aquarium which contains some neons, guppies, balloon mollies, a loach, and a snail.
All of these fish started out smaller than Barri. Now their bodies fill my palm with their tails extending way beyond my palm. I suspect they will grow two palms long. They are housed in this 55 gallon aquarium, but when they grow larger I will have to get a larger tank. Here is a video I took of them a little over two months ago:Five Fancy Goldfish.
I will have to make another video soon so you can see how much these guys have changed. Wabi-Sabi has changed the most. He was a totally gray little guy when I first got him. Bubbles also changed lots. Bubbles fins were totally black and lacy looking, but now he is almost total brilliant gold. My goldfish bring me lots of contentment. I will share my goldfish and their stories as time goes passes. I’m an amateur with these fish and am learning as I go along. I hope you will enjoy watching their journey.
They say an Oranda can live up to 30 years. I certainly hope so for these five will supply so much to write about. I’ve learned about the water cycle and some other basics, but I’ve always been one to make mistakes. My goal is to raise these fish for as many years as possible. Based on my age, they could possibly out live me.
I’m looking into the veterinarian hospital at Kansas State University and with a local veterinarian as far as removing the Wen around Sun’s eyes. I am going to have this done, but my concern is, is it too soon to do so? Sun’s Wen has grown over his eyes in just a couple of months or so. His Wen is still growing. If I have it trimmed now, will it grow back and cover his eyes again? He eats just fine, but I want him to be able to see.
I hope you enjoy the video and get an idea of my Fish Family and what they mean to me.
