# first 20g Tank



## raf2379 (Nov 24, 2009)

well not exactly my first tank, when I was 14 I had a 20G tank had a pleco, neon tetras, tiger barbs, guppies, zebras, well it was way overstocked. and since I was just a kid I had no idea about cycling, maintenance and how many fish I could have in a 20G tank. I even cleaned the complete tank thoroughly and all my filter media even few months. If I remember correctly it never went through a cycle, water was clear and I never lost a fish for about 5 years, then I moved and gave all my fish away.

now my 5 year old daughter wanted gold fish so I set up my 20G tank again. This time I'm using two AC 50 HOB filters. one has sponge, carbon and bio media, the other has sponge, ammonia and carbon. the tank cycled for 6 weeks using some cycle solution, once the water was all clear I added two gold fish and a high fin shark. I monitor my ammonia nitrate and nitrite levels. lately I've been having issues with cloudy water and rise in nitrate and nitrite levels, I was doing 25% water changes about every 4 days. my ammonia is not zero but its below 0.6. I work overseas so when i'm gone for 5 weeks my wife does the maintenance or lack thereof. anyways due to long days in calgary the sun through my window cause massive algae bloom, i moved the tank and got it under control, i did a 25% water change, vacuumed the gravel, cleaned the algae and been trying to keep up with the maintenance, went away for a week, tested for nitrates and nitrites and again they went up so I did a water change, vacuumed gravel. when I clean my filter media I clean only one at a time, usually every 4 weeks, never both at the same time. this morning I wake up to very cloudy water, water change was done a day ago. i tested for ammonia = 0, tested for Nitrate = 0, tested Nitrite = 0

I think my tank went into cycle mode again. now being a beginner i keep reading on bio media and maintenance, proper feeding and such. I am thinking I may not have enough bio media to help with my nitrate and nitrite levels, i might buy a Enheim 2217 and only use bio media in it to help establish a good bio bacteria environment and use the AC 50's with a sponge, ammonia media and carbon.

what to you guys think. Any suggestions for a good filter media combination, I’ve read that many people do not use carbon at all and the more bio media the better. I really wish I could get rid of the gold fish, but my daughter loves them and they are her fish. I am planning on a 175g or larger tanks once I get the hang of my 20g tank which I had for almost one year now.


----------



## raf2379 (Nov 24, 2009)

High Nitrate levels were probably a factor in my algae bloom as well.


----------



## Fishfur (Mar 4, 2012)

With two Aqua clear 50's, you have more than plenty of filtration for that size tank. But I'd take out the carbon and replace it with more bio media, or sponge and top off with filter floss. Personally, I don't use ammonia removing media at all, but if you've got ammonia problems it may help. 

I've got 30 G tanks with high stocking levels, and the filtration I use is a large sponge inside the tank, plus an Aqua Clear 70 with one sponge, a bag of bio media and the rest topped up with filter floss. The other tank has two smaller Aqua Clears and a big sponge filter. My tanks are in a south window and the only algae I see is in the uplift tubes, the brown stuff. Never have seen green algae since the cycle was complete the first time. 

While goldfish are messy creatures, with only two and one other fish, it ought not to be causing severe problems unless there are not enough water changes taking place. Needs to be done at least weekly. If it's not being done, then even with just 3 fish you are going to have these problems continue. Cycling aids are mostly not that great and I'm not aware of any that will totally cycle a tank on their own. Even after six weeks, if you had no plants, no aged media or filter rinsings from a mature filter, it may well be your tank was not fully cycled.. it can take a couple of months. Water being clear does not mean it is cycled. Tests for nitrites reading zero and nitrates under 20 ppm are what you want to see. Try reading the stickies on tank cycling here, lots of information there. 

For now I'd keep testing regularly and do regular water changes. Goldfish are pretty hardy but persistent high nitrates or nitrites will do harm, though fish can become somewhat habituated to high levels over time. But it will shorten their lives by quite a bit and is not pleasant for them. Also be sure the fish are not overfed.. excess food will ruin the water in no time. Feed no more than all the fish will eat in a couple or three minutes, twice a day is plenty. Maybe check to see your daughter is not feeding her fish more often or more food ? A young child wouldn't understand why she shouldn't, but might enjoy the feeding.

You're right that high nitrates can contribute to algae blooms.. as can excess light. Now the tank is moved, hopefully that problem won't reoccur. Carbon is usually used these days to do one of two things. Remove colour or odour from water or remove medications from water. So replace it with more biomedia, more sponge or filter floss and then be sure to rinse out all the filter media regularly, at least every couple of weeks, but only in tank water, never tap. Squeeze out the sponge and floss, rinse the bio media rings or whatever and toss the water out or water plants with it, then replace in the filter. Doing one filter each week is a good idea. I just take a big yogurt tub full of tank water out to use for rinsing. Use dechlorinator as directed for all tap water used for top up and water changes.. if you get Prime brand, it also helps with nitrates, and while more expensive per bottle, is very economical to use compared to many others. Allowing the tank to go weeks without minimal maintenance will only mean the problems continue, unfortunately. If you want clear water and healthy fish,maintenance is the key, no matter what fish you keep.


----------



## raf2379 (Nov 24, 2009)

Excelent Thank you for the info Fishfur, it is quite helpful. this evening the water is starting to clear up, I will replace the carbon with more bio media. When I'm not at work I do water changes every week, when I do a water change I fill one of my buckets with fresh tap water and use decloronizer and leave the water in the bucket for the next time I do a water change. I will do as you sugested and see what happens. Thanks for your help


----------



## Fishfur (Mar 4, 2012)

Good luck. Sometimes there are problems with a tank that seem to resist whatever we do to fix them, but weekly water changes of about 25%, regular filter cleaning and not overfeeding are the simplest things you can do that are most likely to have a positive effect. If when you are away, your family isn't able to do a 25% water change weekly, doing a smaller one, that would require only a small bucket, is better than not doing any change.. but filter cleaning is probably the most important of all, so if only one thing gets done, should be the filters. Filters that are not cleaned often enough can become little nitrate factories that will actually maintain high nitrate levels despite regular water changes. Something I learned the hard way, I might add.


----------



## raf2379 (Nov 24, 2009)

I have changed a few things, I bought one of the in tank UV sterilizer
http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2750628

also added an air pump with an air stone.

I removed the carbon media and only have a sponge and two bio max media bags in the two AC 50 filters. I also only feed the fish once in the morning with one dry shrimp each and some flake food, every third day I feed them blood worms.

i'm amazed at the water quality since I made these changes, I did 50% water change and after 3 days water cleared up. my ammonia levels are at zero and Nitrite at 0, the Nitrate levels are around 10.

So far I have 2 - gold fish, 3 - guppies and 1 high fin shark. the fish seem very active and healthy.


----------



## Fishfur (Mar 4, 2012)

That's great.. exactly what you want ! Even though goldfish can survive in low oxygen water, it isn't ideal and the air stone will certainly help with gas exchange and thus increase the oxygen, which is great for the fish. Carry on like this and you shouldn't have any more of these problems. 

One small bit of advice though.. might want to feed bloodworms a bit less often.. they are rich and some brands are not as clean as you might like them to be. Hikari is a good one.. but any bloodworm fed too much can sometimes cause problems for the fish. I'd give them blood worms maybe once a week, or twice at most. If you want to feed something live, try frozen brine shrimp as a substitute, they are much safer to feed often.


----------

