Psychlist1972

I have a 20g goldfish tank, and the aqueon filter that came with it clogs not too long after my filter change. One side gets all brown with what I assume to be algae (there's very little to no algae in the tank) and the bypass kicks in. Net result is the goldfish poop just floats around the tank, stirred up by the bubble wand. I tried rinsing the floss, but the buildup is impenetrable.

The tank currently has three goldfish (two common and one comet) that we "rescued" from a creek last october. The carnival folks just dumped all their extras into the water when the carnival finished. They're getting fairly large now. I'll move them to a 55g later this year.

It also has two plecos currently around 5-6" long. I'll be relocating them to an (already aquired) 55g tank soon.

Anyway, is that normal with those cartridges? I have a 10g tank with quite a bit more small fish (and tons of plants), but probably a lower bio load. I only need to replace the cartridge there once a month. Different brand.

Pete

gmen4life

hmmm how much are you feeding?

Psychlist1972

I feed the goldfish about what they can eat in a minute. Amazing what they can polish down. They very rarely have ye old sausage trail, so I assume they aren't being feed too much.

The plecos get an algae tablet sunk after the tank lights are off, and one in the morning. Goldfish still dig into those, and I want to make sure the two plecos eat. Yesterday I switched to shrimp pellets thinking that it may be the algae in the tablet doing it.

Still, when I do the weekly gravel vac, it's dirty, but those are 5 dirty fish in there.

Pete

gmen4life

seems a little quick for clogging to me mine dont seem to clog hmmm ill go look at my aquegon what model do you have?

Psychlist1972

It's the aqueon powerfilter 20 "for aquariums up to 20 gallons". Came in the kit that included the 20g tank.

Pete

gmen4life

oops sorry i hav an aqua tech was mistaken

Lucy

The difference between you two tanks is the stock
The 20g has all huge waste producers and as you already know, in too small of a tank.
It would be a good idea to step up the water changes and gravel vacs to twice weekly until you get them moved to the 55. Even then, with 2 common pleco, you'll have to keep on top of the water changes.
The fish in your 10g, even if it is a little overstocked probably aren't big waste producers so you won't see the filter getting clogged as quickly.

Psychlist1972

Thanks Lucy

When I move the fish around, do you think I should separate the two plecos in order to reduce the bio load? One in the 55 with the tropicals, and one in the other 55 with the goldfish?

The goldfish + pleco (despite what I was told when the plecos were sold to me) don't seem like a great match either in personality or in water prefs (and, of course, I was not told how big they get <g> dope-slap the noob). Curious, though, if they'll do better separately.

Pete

Lucy

bio-load and size wise yes, I think they'd do better seperated.
Have you even seen a grown one? Dang, those babies are huge!!
Not sure about one being with goldies because of the temp. Maybe do a little more reading about them.
I'm sure I've read of others keeping them together but I'm not sure it actually should be done.

Don't blame yourself. Fish stores should know better and advise people new to the hobby.
Some day stores will stop selling common pleco without telling people how big they get. (Yeah, in my dreams. lol)

Psychlist1972

I've seen them online, and a 10 incher or so in a local fish store. I haven't seen any 18s yet

As to keeping them together, I know they overlap only at extremes of temp ranges. I read up on that before, and decided to put them in with the tropicsl for that (and the feeding) reason.

I got hit twice up front. First when I said I wanted an algae eater of some sort for my GF tank, after failing with snails (snails were pecked to death in the GF tank). I was told the usual about the plecos being good algae eaters for a GF tank.

The second was with the chinese algae eater for the 10g community tank. I said I was interested in a bottom feeder (and explained what was in the tank) and was sold a chinese algae eater. I wasn't told they get big or aggressive. *sigh*

I've since learned to do my homework before picking anything up

Oh, and I also found a great local store with a much better selection than petco/petsmart, and hopefully more knowledge: House of Tropicals in Glen Burnie.

Pete

Lucy

Glad to hear you've found a good LFS. They're so rare to come by.
Good luck!

gmen4life

nice

yukoandk

Hello Pete!

I know exactly what you are experiencing with your aqueon filter. My boyfriend bought the same package to build his fresh water community tank, only his is 29gal. In my opinion, aqueon filters are very poorly designed and fall way short of their filtering abilities, and my boyfriend would simply call it a piece of . I have suggested him to forget the cartridge, take the blue plastic out, and modify it by sliding some sponges or floss material cut to fit into the left and right slots so the water flows through but with minimum bypass. He has since added a Cascade canister filter to his tank, and aqueon filter is still sitting there mostly for additional circulation.

I'm personally happy to see others with goldfish on this forum--good work on rescuing the animal who are often mistreated. I have started a 55gal for my goldfish and koi last week. I will stick to canister filters, although they are more expensive, as we all know goldfish are messy, and I don't think HOB filters can handle the load. I have an Eheim classic 2213 running so far and will add a 2215 (next size up) next week. I decided on Eheim classic model for their large media capacity. Here's a link to my post with my goldfish story if you have a minute to spare. ( How to use Seachem De-nitrate --Hi Lucy, thank you for your comment! )

As for your pleco, I tend to agree with you saying they are not a great match with goldfish personality wise. Bio load wise, I don't know a lot about pleco, but if I understand from what people are saying that they are messy, then I'd think goldfish + pleco = messier. If you are concerned about algae in your tank, one thing to remember is goldfish eat algae too. Plants and algae in the tank make a healthy snack for them, and goldfish are always happier to be nibbling on something, including snails! They won't clean the glass for you, but I find it easy enough to just wipe it with sponge with water change.

There is a website with information dedicated to goldfish keeping, and I would like to give a link here for your reference. ( http://www.goldfish-emergency.com/news.php ) I've learned a lot reading their stuff. Good luck with your tanks!

Psychlist1972

Thanks.

The pleco is messy, and mainly poos in his hide-away log, so it's a bit hard to clean. Originally I was concerned about algae, but it eventually became a non-issue. Mainly the concern is just where to best house the two of them, as I'd prefer not to give them to a store. MY current plan is to put one in my 55g community tropical tank and one in the 55g that will have the goldfish. That at least distributes the bio load.

I ended up going with AquaClear HOB filters at 500gph. They're like a canister filter in some ways, and get rave reviews here. I'll see how they work out.

Pete

yukoandk

Yes, I've looked at AquaClear filters before. I liked how they had a larger and more customizable media space. That will be nice.

How is the current load of the 55gal community tank--is there room for both pleco?

I suppose it is my personal preference to think goldfish and tropical fish separately. But I've seen goldfish living with tropicals everywhere, including in my own boyfriend's tank! I'd think three goldfish will be happy in a 55gal tank for a while and even have some room for pleco. If you are thinking of putting one of them with the goldfish anyway, how about putting both of them together, and here's the kicker, make this tank into a "high maintenance tank," meaning having to change water more frequently and clean more throughly. That way you can leave the community tank alone in its good balance.

Just an idea. Supposing you don't grow all fancy with goldfish like I did and start wanting more of them fat cuties!

Psychlist1972

That's a good idea, actually. Maybe I'll just do that. That would keep the current 20g community the same, just bump them up to a 55.

I've also considered popping a second AquaClear into the goldie tank (will decide once I see how one works), so this plays into that.

Eventually I'll almost certainly need to do something different with the pleco (especially if they decide to get territorial at some point, or grow huge), but maybe they'll be ok for a bit.

Thanks

Pete

Psychlist1972

Until the 55g is ready, I stuck the Aqueon 55 into the 20g tank. The thing is almost as big as the tank, and the end sticks into the gravel a bit

That should keep the water fairly clean. Plus, I can take one of the cartridges out and stick it into the aqueon 20 into the 55 to help cycle that tank.

Pete

Psychlist1972

Coming back around on this.

The 55g cycled quickly with the media from the 20g. The three goldfish are in there now. The plecos will be in after I finish planting/scaping.

Thanks for the recommendation on the AquaClear 110. That filter is REALLY good.

I also added an Aqueon 50 powerhead. Even on low it's a little too much current for my taste, but I'll adjust once the plants are in. I'm not sure if the goldfish would prefer still water, but they were rescued from a stream, so they should at least be familiar with water movement. heh. It does a good job agitating the surface, and with the filter attachment, helping to filter the dead corner of the tank. It's also much quieter than an air pump.

Between the two, I would hope there's plenty of filtration and aeration for those messy guys

Tank temp is 75-77 degrees. A bit high for the goldies, but that's the room temp this time of year. Should get a few degrees cooler in the winter. I'll need to dribble in the water for changes, or let it sit in buckets, as the water temp from our well is in the 60s, and will certainly be colder in the winter.

Pete

Psychlist1972

Actually, I clicked on the powerhead definition link in the post, and I see that powerheads can add heat to the tank. Is that your experience?

Pete