Monday, March 26, 2007

My DIY $20.00 BIG tank stand

That's right... just $20.00 worth of materials and you can have a 30" high tank stand that will easily hold a 48" by 18" tank like my 65G acrylic tank. This stand "design" is capable of holding much more weight. If you plan on adding some type of plywood veneer as the exterior of the stand, the basic frame would be the only thing needed as the plywood would provide the additional frame and squaring support. My exterior plans were going to be "cosmetic" rather than structural, so I built the interior of the stand to be the load bearing structure.

I never did "finish" the exterior of this stand since I was interrupted by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. I rode it out and me and all of my fish survived! I'm going to try and finish the exterior, doors and canopy this summer (2007).

Sorry that these pictures aren't the greatest quality. I was using a laptop and webcam to snap these pictures since I did not have my "good" digital camera with me at the time.

Here is my parts list:

7 - 96" (8') long 2x4's (actually 1.5"x3.5") = $14.00
1 - 4 lb. box of 2 1/2" deck screws = $ 5.00

You will also need a saw and screwdriver... preferably powered! I used a cordless drill and cordless circular saw.

Cut the seven 2x4's into the following lengths.
5 - 48" (Two of the 2x4's cut in half and 48" cut off the third)
6 - 23" (One and one-half 2x4's with 4-6" left over as scrap)
6 - 30" (Two 2x4's with 5-6" left over scrap from each one)
6 - 15" (One 2x4 with 5-6" left over as scrap)

Assemble as follows in these pictures.

4 - 48" long sections, 4 - 15" short sections and 4 - 30" inside leg sections. The 15" short sections combined with the 2x1.5" of the long sections makes this stand 48" long by 18" deep by 30" high.


The basic start of the frame with more of the pre-cut pieces waiting for assembly


The stand fully assembled. The 6 - 23" sections support the middle of the long sections and the four corners. The other 2 - 15" sections support the middle of the top and bottom. The last 48" section is the diagonal on the back to keep the frame "squared". While assembling, regularly measure the diagonals on both sides and the front/back to make sure the stand is "squared" properly (the diagonal measurements should be the same) before tightening up the screws completely. I put the "L" legs at each inside front corner to give the stand adequate resistance from going out of square in the front. A diagonal would be best but I wanted the front open for the eventual doors.
More pictures showing construction details
The empty tank on the stand.
Filling the tank with the Python
The final set up! Of course, with goldfish, the aquascaping constantly changes with the addition of new plants on a regular basis
Hope this helps. Please feel free to leave comments or questions and I'll answer your questions and add on to this article based on your comments or questions.
GoldLenny

Tuesday, March 20, 2007

Bio-Spira online - Where to buy???

2008-AUGUST - MORE LATE BREAKING NEWS

It seems that Dr. Tim Hovanec and Marineland have parted ways and the bad news is that Marineland has merged into Tetra which I consider to be a lesser quality company.... but the good news is that Dr. Tim has started his own company at http://www.drtimsaquatics.com/ and you can now buy his own version of an improved Bio-Spira-like product called Dr. Tim's One And Only http://www.drtimsaquatics.com/productguide/H2O-PURE_Products/H2O-PURE_Products.html which can also be purchased at most major retailers and online etailers. It doesn't have to be refrigerated and can last for up to six months at room temperatures but does last longer if it is kept refrigerated.

2008-0405 - LATE BREAKING NEWS ABOUT BIO-SPIRA

See the late breaking news here... http://goldlenny.blogspot.com/2008/04/bio-spira-late-breaking-news-good-or.html

For years and years, I use to recommend people buy their Bio-Spira from The Fish Store in Tennessee since they had the best prices and lowest shipping costs. I just learned today that they are no longer in business so I went to work finding a new online source for Bio-Spira

After Froogling and Yahoo Shopping searching, I found that DrsFosterSmith.com is the only online source at this time. They are a reputable website but their prices aren't always the best and when I check their online prices just now, http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod_Display.cfm?pcatid=15462&Ntt=bio%2Dspira&Ntk=All&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Np=1&N=2004&Nty=1 , it looks like it will cost around $40.00 for a 1 oz package and $50.00 for a 3 oz package, including overnight refrigerated shipping. Not cheap but still much better than spending a month or more humanely fishless cycling or putting you and your fish through the arduous process of cycling with fish.

If you come across other online sources of Bio-Spira, please leave me a comment so I can add that resource to this blog and to my favorites folder.

You can also go to the Marineland.com - Order Bio-Spira page and on the left side, there is a place to enter your zip code to find a retailer but I've found that many of the retailers listed do not actually stock Bio-Spira but do carry other Marineland products. If you ask your local retailer, they may be able to order it for you and save you the expensive shipping charges associated with ordering a single pouch for yourself.

Hope this helps and saves a few "newbies" from having to go through the "cycling with fish"process. They can get Bio-Spira one day and get their fish the next day.

GoldLenny

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Saturday, March 17, 2007

Hailey's 10 Gallon Tank Stocking List And Suggestions - Updated Several Times By GoldLenny

http://tinyurl.com/10-Gallon-Stocking

Last Edited - August 14, 2010

You want to stick to fish that stay under 3 inches and are slow moving or at least not terribly active (that rules out things like tiger barbs...almost all barbs in fact, danios, most rainbows, etc).

Schooling fish appropriate for a 10 gallon:
(remember to keep schooling fish in groups of 6 or more)
neon tetra
black neon tetra
gold neon tetra
green neon tetra
ember tetra
red eye tetra
glowlight tetra
silver tip tetra
pristella tetra
green fire tetra
black phantom tetra
red phantom tetra
cochu's blue tetra
blue emperor tetra (Inpaichthys kerri...not to be confused with the emperor tetra, Nematobrycon palmeri)
emerald eye rasbora
harlequin rasbora
black harlequin rasbora
golden harlequin rasbora
red axelrod rasbora
dwarf rasbora
celestial pear danio (formerly known as galaxy rasbora)
one-lined pencilfish
black winged hatchetfish
marbeled hatchetfish
threadfin (or featherfin) rainbowfish
blue-eye rainbowfish or forktail rainbowfish of the pseudomugil genus (many different kinds...all small schooling fish, but some are semi-aggressive, so research and choose carefully)

Semi-schooling fish:
(these fish prefer 6 or more, but can be kept with just 2+, though more is always better)
cherry barbs (not most other barbs)
emperor tetras (Nematobrycon amphiloxus, not the "blue emperor tetra", Inpaichthys kerri)
kuhli loaches
panda corydora catfish (good scavenger)
pygmy corydora catfish (smaller version of the same)
otocinclus catfish (good algae eater)

Non-schooling fish (so you can have just 1):
dwarf gourami (can also be kept one male and two or more females)
or
betta spelendens*(see asterisk section below)
or
betta imbellis*
or
betta smaragdina*
(never mix the above fish and never keep two males of any in one tank)
platy
guppy
endler
(the above three prefer more of their own kind but are alright alone...if you add more than one make sure they are all male or you will have tons of fry being born all the time)

Invertebrates and other non-fish tankmates:
(these would be good with anything that doesn't get big enough to eat them)
amano shrimp (great algae eater)
cherry shrimp (good algae eater)
blue shrimp (good algae eater)
redfronted shrimp (good algae eater)
tiger shrimp (good algae eater)
bumblebee shrimp (okay algae eater)
ghost shrimp (does not eat algae, but can be a help as a scavenger)
apple snail
mystery snail
malaysian trumpet snail (very helpful as a sand sifter to keep anaerobic pockets from developing in sand substrates)
ramshorn snail
[Note: all snails breed rapidly and can overpopulate a tank quickly if over fed. Keep feeding to just what the fish need...the snails will find enough that the fish miss during feedings to live on]
african dwarf frog (not to be confused with the african clawed frog, which will get far too large and aggressive for a 10 gallon tank)

Species tank fish (keep only them, with nothing else):
dwarf puffers (1 male only, 3-4 females)
german blue rams (male/female pair)
sparkling gouramis (one male and 1 or more females)
licorice gouramis (male/female pair)
(the gouramis can be kept in very sedate, peaceful community tanks but do best in species tanks because they are so shy)
neolamprologus (aka. 'lamprologus') brevis (male/female pair)
neolamprologus (aka. 'lamprologus') multifasciatus (1 male, 2 females)
neolamprologus (aka. 'lamprologus') similis (1 male, 2 females)
(the three tanganyikan cichlids above must be provided with plenty of small shells that they can fit in, since they are shell dwellers)

Remember to try to keep schooling fish in groups of 6 or more...this makes it hard to stock a small tank, but if you get only one school of something you can do it, or if you stick to the tiniest schoolers like ember green neon, or neon tetras, and then add some non-schooling fish like a gourami, platy, betta, etc.

*Bettas can be particularly tricky to keep with other fish, so I thought it best to elaborate on the subject of proper tankmates for bettas. Some good tankmates for bettas include corydoras, otocinclus, small, peaceful tetras and rasboras like the ones on this list (some others may not be appropriate), kuhli loaches, pencilfish, snails, african dwarf frogs (only one in a 10 gallon), and occasionally shrimp, if the betta doesn’t eat them. Avoid fish of the same color or shape (especially with long fins), fast swimmers (which I didn't put on the list anyway because they don't do well in 10 gallon tanks), labyrinth fish, or fish which occupy the top of the tank like the betta. This rules out gouramis, guppies, hatchetfish, any species of long finned tetras, and various other fish depending on the color of the betta you choose.

Recently, a group of freshwater fish classified as nano-fish are becoming available to the hobby. Frank's Aquariums sells a good selection of nano-fish - http://www.franksaquarium.com/nanofish.htm

And here's an article in the works on http://www.plantedtank.net/, called Nanofish List http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/planted-nano-tanks/31095-nanofish-list-v1-0-a.html but it's more for stocking what would be considered a Nano Planted Tank (10G or less) and it doesn't really break things down into which fish can go into which tanks but there may be some more information to be gleemed from the entire thread. As I read more into the thread, the "list" in post number two is obsolete and you can find the latest list, updated as of 11/09, at the following link but you may want to read further into the multi-page thread for an even newer list that may come up after April 13, 2010, which is the date I updated this blog article.

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/planted-nano-tanks/31095-nanofish-list-v1-0-a-7.html#post904496

Hope this helps with your 10G stocking ideas.

GoldLenny (with a BIG THANKS to Hailey for all of her work compiling the initial phase of this list)

Thursday, March 15, 2007

Pond Information and DIY Pond Information

Here is a recent post I did to a forum. I need to "clean" it up for this blog but I'm just getting it out here for now. :D

Go to my Blog Post about a DIY pump pre-filter/bio-filter that you can make for around $10.00 (not including the pump and fountain that you will need regardless, to keep your pond aerated).

You will also need a good liner... probably the most important thing since I've read horror stories of ponds leaking.

Also be careful of fountains and water falls as they have led to draining a small pond as well if they start spraying the water out of the pond for some reason... heavy wind day or they get moved for some reason.

I've read about using a plastic water trough for farm animals as a pre-fabbed pond which is more sturdier and deeper so they take advantage of the earths geothermal heating/cooling... or they can be used above ground as well but then you wouldn't get the geothermal assistance. http://www.rubbermaidproducts.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=RCP+4247+GRA&Category_Code=Farm+Tough%99+Stock+Tanks. You might be able to find these used for around $50.00 or less at farm auctions. The downside is they don't have the different levels like you could get with a pond liner but they are much cheaper than a good pond liner. I think they have different sizes with a 300G containers that is oval shaped and three feet deep. With a liner, you can make your design however you want but the cost would be more.

Using the dimensions you provided, your pond will be around 187 gallons (using this site http://www.fishpondinfo.com/calc.htm ) but will probably be less once you add the liner so if you get long bodied goldfish, you will only be able to have a few. With round bodied, you could have about 6 but YOU CANNOT GET THEM ALL AT ONCE. Just one or two at a time and you will have to cycle the pond and test your water just like a tank but it's not as bad since it's a bigger volume of water and outdoors which allows for rain, more plants, etc.

My Blog pre-filter/bio-filter relies on Anacharis as part of the system so that will help you keep your water crystal clear along with the filter system. I'm sure you will have other water plants too.. like lilies to cover about 1/2 of the pond to help give it shade and protect the fish from bird predators. You'll find out if you have raccoons or other land predators after you build the pond.

Here's one of my previous blog posts to start you off about the DIY pre-filter. http://goldlenny.blogspot.com/2007/03/pond-maintenance-q-about-algae-bloom.html

These next two articles are VERY GOOD about keeping a pond and keeping it clean and clear.
http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/ClearPond.html
http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/PondAlgae.html

This guy left a comment on my Blog and his site is pretty good and he has a free e-Book download on his filter system and pond.
http://leisure.prior-it.co.uk/pond.shtml

His eBook download link:
http://www.jpgo.co.uk/trk/Download_DIY_Bio-Filter_Ebook.php

This eBook is readable online at http://www.skippysstuff.com/pondbook.htm and covers everything from building the pond to keeping it running and stresses proper ecology and biology instead of chemical additives for every minor problem.

This is a pretty good site too... Robyn's Pond Site and there is a Yahoo Group thing to sign up for to get her Yahoo Group distributed newsletter but it's not a forum to ask questions, although there may be forums associated with her site... I haven't been there in a while:
http://www.fishpondinfo.com/pond.htm
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/pondnews

There's quite a few Yahoo Groups for ponds but most of them aren't moderated and get tons of spam. This next few are OK but they do not get a lot of activity but at least they're not filled with spam.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/gold-fish - A moderately busy group but NO spam.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ponds_and_plants/ - A slow group but NO spam.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/pondkeepers - A busy group that is moderated.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Ponds-Koi - A busy group but gets some spam on rare occasions.

This site has some pictures and diagrams and instructions.
http://www.watergarden.com/pages/build_wg.html

As does this one... but this site overall recommends too many chemical fixes but the instructions will probably help. http://www.macarthurwatergardens.com/BuildPond/buildpond.htm

This is another eBook type site but you have to send them your email info... I use a secondary email addy for these types of sites.. just in case of spam.
http://clearwaterlandscapes.com/pondebook.htm

Here is a PDF e-book called "101 Pond Tips and Tricks", put out by a pond liner product company but it has some good info and things to think about when building a pond.
http://www.pondarmor.com/ebooks/101tips.pdf

Here's a new site I recently found that has a weekly newsletter with a new article each week. http://www.practical-water-gardens.com/form/subscribe070209.htm
Or there FREE book download in .pdf format - The Pond Keeper's 10 Steps To Successful Koi Keeping - http://www.practical-water-gardens.com/10stepskoi.pdf

Here's a page of articles on various topics for pond care.
http://www.aquarticles.com/articles/ponds/index.html

Here's a page of FAQ's about pondkeeping that is pretty good.
http://www.geocities.com/justinm090/faq.html

A very good site about Pond Water Chemistry.
http://www.vcnet.com/koi_net/H2Oquality.html

Following are some online and regular subscription magazines. Most of these are FREE.

Here's one where you can read or download the current edition which comes out every two months. http://www.pondkeeper.com/ On the right side, a little down, you'll see the link to "Read the Current Edition" where it will open a .pdf document. It's a big file since it's the entire magazine but you can save a copy on your computer and read it at your leisure and print any pages you like.

http://www.pondowner.com/ is an online magazine where you can also read the past issues online. At the bottom, there is a link to "Subscribe" to their mailing list so you will be notified when each issue comes out.

http://www.victoria-adventure.org/water_gardening/png.html has the archives of previous "Pond & Garden" magazines and you can download the multi-part .pdf files. It's best to download the multiple parts into separate folders for each volume.

http://www.pondboss.com/ is more for BIG ponds or small lakes and you can subscribe to this one, but there is a free issue you can download to look over to see if you think you will like it.

http://www.watergardennews.com/wgn/magazine.aspx is a free subscription that will be mailed to you. If you are not involved in the "business" end of ponds, then you may have to fudge the info a little to make it look like you are. It's mailed to USA/Canada but if you are out of those areas, they have a .pdf subscription for "Foreign Subscribers".

I used to have a ton more links and other downloadable eBooks but I lost my "Favorites" folder when my hard drive froze up on my laptop and I didn't have the Favorites backed up. You can Google for lots of other pond sites but use caution about the sites that are pushing their chemicals or recommend chemical fixes for everything. Just like with tanks, if you have a proper biology/ecology, your pond will function reasonably well.

Hope this helps.

GoldLenny

Tuesday, March 6, 2007

Even MORE kudos for Mongabay.com!!!

Based on a recent post where I realized that a Mongabay.com fish profile had a typo or error on one of the profile, I took a few minutes to send them an email.

Much to my surprise, I heard back from them within the hour. Here is their reply, followed by my email to them. I am always impressed when a HUGE website replies to an email... much less replies so quickly. I'm not sure if this is the actual owner replying or one of his employees but according to the website, the owner of Mongabay.com is Rhett Butler and this email was "signed" by him.

I have to say, they just earned even more respect in my book!

Here is the actual email reply -------------------

Thank you Lenny.

I made the correction. Let me know if you ever find any errors or would like to contribute other information to the site.

Best regards,

Rhett


On 2/20/07, (GoldLenny) wrote:

Mongabay (via email available on their "Contact Us" page)

Re: Profile on Red Bellied Pacu
http://fish.mongabay.com/species/Piaractus_brachypomum.html

I am an advanced member and daily contributor to various fish keeping forums. I am always telling people to go to http://fish.mongabay.com/ to do their research on their fish or give them the actual fish profile or other information.

While "researching" the subject matter, I believe the referenced Mongabay profile needs to be updated since the Mongabay profile shows this fish only growing to 18" whereas it actually grows to 36" and some say up to 48" (See References below).

I don't like to see errors or typos on Mongabay as I preach to everyone how good your site is.

References:

http://www.thetropicaltank.co.uk/Fishindx/pacu-red.htm

http://www.aquatic-hobbyist.com/profiles/freshwater/chariciforms/redbellypacu.html

http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/SpeciesSummary.php?id=263

Lenny V___________
http://www.neighborhoodhomeservices.com/

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Monday, March 5, 2007

Goldfish Care Sheet - Fancy Goldfish

UPDATES ADDED TO ORIGINAL ARTICLE:
10/26/2008 - Sections added for "Filter Maintenance And Cleaning", "PWC - Partial Water Changes" and "Goldfish Illness Diagnosis".

Using my own experiences with pond and aquarium goldfish... AND due to the numerous "good" websites that, in my opinion, are still advising UNDERSIZED tanks or just "10 gallons per goldfish" (which is far too little IMO and based on scientific and mathematical facts), I decided to do my own "Goldfish Care Sheet".

Other references are listed at the bottom of this article but I wanted to post this link to one of the best "articles" on goldfish care that I've found on the net, http://www.aquarticles.com/articles/ponds/Wilkinson_1Goldfish.html, which, on page 2, has, "...Its true that a 40-litre (~10G) aquarium can house two to four small goldfish for a while but they will not reach their full growth potential or be as healthy as they could be. To properly house goldfish, they (all types) need 75 square centimeters of surface area for every 2 centimeters of goldfish" (comparable to 75 square inches of surface area for every 2 inches of goldfish, so an 8" goldfish needs around 300 square inches of surface area... that's 15" x 20" of surface area per goldfish!). "That means 120 to 200 litres of water for every goldfish" (~30G to 50G per goldfish).

Here's another good article all about Fancy Goldfish, that came out recently (Sept. 2008) in PFK - Practical Fishkeeping Magazine - a very good UK based magazine.
http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/pfk/pages/show_article.php?article_id=699
(You may have to "Join" the site, which is free, to see this article but it's worth it and you can also subscribe to get the e-Newsletter so you can read other good articles every month for free)

Another reference used for this care sheet is my own older blog article, "New Rules/Guidelines To Replace The Fish-Killing One Inch Rule", http://goldlenny.blogspot.com/2007/02/new-rules-guidelines-to-replace-1-per.html which has this info, "...Medium Large Fish (including Fancy Goldfish) - 3 Gallons per adult size inch for fish 6" to 10" as adults. Minimum Tank Size - 48" to 80" long (6X to 8X longer than longest expected adult sized fish in the tank)..." and "...Large Fish (including Oscars, Common Pleco's, Comets and Common Goldfish) - 5 Gallons per adult size inch for fish over 10" as adults. Minimum Tank Size - 80" long and UP depending on expected adult size of fish using the basis of 8X longer than the longest expected adult sized fish in the tank...."

A round-bodied goldfish increases it's body mass by eight times for every time it doubles its length. So a 2" goldfish is equal to eight 1" goldfish. A 4" goldfish is equal to eight 2" goldfish (or 64 1" goldfish). A 6" to 8" round-bodied goldfish is equal to hundreds of 1" goldfish... so how in the world can a goldfish be kept in 10G's of water? Would you keep hundreds of 1" goldfish in a 10G tank? A 6" to 8" round-bodied goldfish is a eating/pooping machine and there is simply no logical way that they should be kept in 10G of water.

Utilizing these three things as my primary references, here is my...

GOLDFISH CARE SHEET - Fancy Goldfish
MINIMUM TANK SIZE: 55G, four foot long tank for up to two round-bodied goldfish; 100G, six foot+ long tank for up to two long-bodied goldfish.

MORE LOGICAL REASONS WHY GOLDFISH NEED MUCH MORE THAN 10G PER GOLDFISH:

WOULD YOU PUT HUNDREDS OF ONE INCH GOLDFISH IN A 10G TANK?

I read this formula several years ago and it has always stuck because it makes so much sense...

A round-bodied goldfish grows eight times in body mass for every time it doubles its length. So a 2" goldfish is equal in body mass to eight 1" goldfish. A four inch goldfish is equal in body mass to eight 2" goldfish or 64 one inch goldfish. An 8" goldfish is equal to hundreds of 1" goldfish.

This is why 10G per goldfish is not enough water... IMO. I know a lot of people do it and it's all over the internet but it just can't be done long term as it will cause stress, stunting, poor water quality and many other health issues, ultimately leading to an early death of the goldfish. The numbers simply do not work out. Technically, based solely on body mass and size, a single goldfish shouldn't even be in a 55G tank. They are equal to much more than 55 one inch fish so even the fish-killing "one inch rule" excludes them from fitting in a 55G tank but for starting out, a 55G does provide the proper amount of swimming, water volume and growing room to give them a chance at reaching full adult size. By then, you will love your BIG goldfish so much that you won't mind getting a much larger tank. Another reason for giving them adequate water volume is this "old" saying in the fish keeping hobby.... "Dilution is the solution to pollution", meaning that having your goldfish in a larger volume of water will dilute the ammonia and waste they put out to lower the polution percentage levels between PWC's (partial water changes).

FILTER MAINTENANCE AND CLEANING (<-- Click to get to my article on this topic) For Goldfish, I recommend large filter systems like canister filters or HOB/Power Filters that have large reservoirs for holding a lot of filter media. The small filter cartridges on many HOB's simply do not have enough filter media mass to handle the waste level from goldfish. A good HOB/Power Filter brand is the AquaClear by Hagen brand. They come with a large filter media reservoir, a large sponge block, filter floss pad and BioMax which is a good nitrifying bacteria media. Having the BioMax and the large mass of filter media gives you a chance to partially clean some of the filter media (never clean the BioMax) without causing your tank to go into a mini-cycle like what happens when changing a filter cartridge out completely on other brands. PWC's - PARTIAL WATER CHANGES -

Even if kept in a proper sized tank and not overstocked, weekly 25% PWC's should be done or at least strived for. This will be your first defense in keeping the gravel from being too heavily clogged with detritus and will also remove/dilute any DOC's (dissolved organic compounds) that are in the water column. PWC's will also replace the trace elements and minerals that are constantly being utilized by the fish, nitrifying bacteria, any plants, microscopic life forms in the tank, etc.

DISEASE/ILLNESS DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT -

There's no need for me to re-type things that have been documented over and over on several good webpages. Here is one of the first places that I would look for Goldfish issues. It's up to date and that site is generally a good source of information except I disagree with their 10G per goldfish recommendation on their care sheet and we have publicly debated that issue but they refuse to update their care sheet.

http://thegab.org/Articles/DiagnosisChart.html

http://thegab.org/Articles/GoldfishIllness.html

If that page does not help you with your goldfish issue, check out the other good fish disease diagnosis pages that I have listed on my "Disease & Illness Diagnosis And Treatment" page.

(To be continued, but read over the reference links at the bottom of this page for additional information)

GoldLenny


References:

http://www.aquarticles.com/articles/ponds/Wilkinson_1Goldfish.html (THE BEST "article" on goldfish care that I've found on the internet! Recommends 30G to 50G per goldfish)

http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/pfk/pages/show_article.php?article_id=699 (Another VERY GOOD article that was just published in Sept. 2008 in Practical Fishkeeping Magazine which recommends a minimum of 36" long, 20G tank for a single fancy goldfish... but also stating that is only for starting out and that a larger tank will be needed as the fish grows.)

http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=156661 (VERY GOOD forum thread turned into an article recommending at least 20G for the first goldfish and 10G more for each additional goldfish (to start off with) which is still too little water volume for adult sized goldfish but slowly but surely, care sheets are raising their standards.)

http://www.goldfishparadise.com/forum/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=6134 (Temporarily NOT a good link. The site is down now but hopefully will be back up one day. It was a VERY GOOD forum post on goldfish care recommends at least 20G for one goldfish and a 55G for 3-4 goldfish)

http://www.flippersandfins.net/goldfishcaresheet.htm (GOOD, except for 10G recommendation. This care sheet recommends 10G to 30G per goldfish, so not too bad and much of the other information is good)

http://www.fishforums.net/Gold-fish-in-tanks-t43980.html (GOOD, except I disagree with 5 goldfish in a 60G tank... maybe 3 would work with proper tank maintenance for long term success. This care sheet does not differentiate between long-bodied and round-bodied goldfish and long-bodied goldfish need larger tanks due to their size and swimming capabilities.)

http://www.goldfishutopia.com/information.php?pID=12 and http://www.goldfishutopia.com/information.php?pID=30 (GOOD, except for mixed signals on how much water volume per goldfish. One link talks about 7-10G per goldfish and the other page says 10G per goldfish is no where near enough for long term success.)

http://thegab.org/Articles/GoldfishBasics.html (GOOD, except for 10G recommendation. This care sheet recommends 10G "at least" which is low, IMO, but the rest of the information is very good)

http://www.petlibrary.com/goldfish/setup.htm (FAIR... Mixed between very good and not so good info. The first page has an example of a 55G tank... VERY GOOD... but then some of the links from this page goes off into much smaller tanks but usually not less than a 10G)

http://www.wetwebmedia.com/AqBizSubWebIndex/goldfishho.htm (POOR... Starts off talking about "a bowl or tank" but later says 10G to 20G at full size which is still too little... NOT much "other" good info)

http://www.petco.com/caresheets/fish/Goldfish_Fantail.pdf (POOR... Starts off with a number of 2 gallons per fish inch... which isn't bad if they would have said "expected adult size" since that would have been 16G to 30G... but it didn't, so it's very misleading)

http://nexpet.com/caresheets/Aquatics/Goldfish.pdf (VERY BAD... starts off talking about "a bowl" and then says "2 gallons per goldfish")

http://www.thepetadvantage.com/caresheets/Goldfish.pdf (VERY BAD... actually a copy of the nexpet.com care sheet above)

http://goldlenny.blogspot.com/2007/02/new-rules-guidelines-to-replace-1-per.html (My own article on "NEW Rules/Guidelines To Replace The Fish-Killing 1" Per Gallon Rule")

Heater Failure Experiment On A 10G Aquarium

Following is a thread I started on a forum, which led to my conducting this experiment, which was chronicled back on 11/29/2006 thru 12/01/2006.

I was reading about this on another forum and thought it would be a good thing to talk about here. I am also conducting an experiment on a 10G tank below to see just how fast it will cool down and heat up with a malfunctioning heater or lack of one.

Steve S., who is a very knowledgeable fish keeper and posts often in another forum said this (to someone who had a failing heater):

"... The idea of having two heaters of lesser wattage is to prevent against your current problem. Heaters do fail. It is just a matter of time. If they fail as yours has, then the one would be left to help maintain the water temperature while you go out and get another one. Should the heater fail in a way that would cause it to always be on, then it would not leave you with an overheated tank.

\\ Steve //

This is one of those things that made me go "DUH!!!", so simple, but most of us don't think about the simple things like this. Besides being safer for your fish, smaller 25W or 50W heaters can usually be purchased much cheaper than larger ones. I believe the "rule" is 5W per gallon so this dual-heater system would probably work better with larger tanks. Smaller tanks don't have as much room to hide equipment but they are more susceptible to rapid temperature changes... but it's those bigger tanks that cost so much more money for things and fish if they go wrong. The smaller heaters are easier to hide behind plants or decorations too.

Replies:

MjRyan - Thats how i do it, ever since i had one overheat and raise the temp to 102*. woke of and my colombian's where floating at the top. Now i will only do a 2 heater setup.

Moneygetter1 - AGREED!! I also use two heaters of lesser wattage. It serves 2 purposes-
1} Distributes the heating of the water more evenly (when placed on opposite sides or upper & lower areas along back of the tank.
2} Redundancy acts as safeguard in the event of unit failure & gives you a little more time for corrective action.

Essabee - I always do multiple heaters for the quoted reasons and always advice it to everyone.

Albacore - For a larger tank, about 55 gal, I go for two heaters, to get even distrib. but for smaller tanks it not really important. I once after a PWC, I left the heater unplugged on my tank, FOR A DAY AND 1/2. I noticed it when my temp went down 2 deg. it takes a long time for heat to leave water. Yes it not good but if your heater stopped working you have a good day+ on most small tanks to get a new heater for them before temp changes like .5 deg. BUT it might just be where i live and the conditions around when it happened. temp in tank normal 79, temp in home 67-69. but yes it makes a good back up and would recommend one on anything about 55 gal and up. Just what i think.

GoldLenny - If your temp only went down 2F in a day and a half, then your room temp was only 2F lower than your tank temp. I promise you a 10G tank will assume room temperature within several hours of losing the heater. I have an empty 10G on my kitchen counter so I'll do the science right now and post my results in this thread.

11/29/2006 - ~4:00 p.m. - GoldLenny - I just filled the 10G with cold tap water at 64F. Room Temperature in my kitchen is 75F. It's 3:55pm CST. I'll report back in an hour or two. When it assumes room temperature, then I'll put in a heater, raise it to 80F and see how fast it cools down back to room temp also. This will also show what happens when it gets warm during the day and cooler at night in a home... usually.... to show what happens to a 10G temperature range without a heater. I know physics dictates that a 55G would take a lot longer to change temperature up or down but someone with an empty 55G would have to do that test.

11/29/2006 - ~5:00 p.m. - GoldLenny - I took a temperature reading after one hour and it had already started to rise a little. One thing I thought of is that I do not have a filter running on this tank which will make the temp change more slowly then on a tank with water agitation so this experiment will actually show that an actual tank will change temperature even more quickly due to the water agitation and the constant change of water on the glass surfaces and top surface area that are exposed to the different room temperature. It's kind of how a convection oven cooks a lot faster than a regular oven because of the circulating air keeping constantly HOT air on the surface of the food instead of a slight buffer zone with a slightly lower temperature. My two hour temperature readings will be posted shortly.

11/29/2006 - ~6:00 p.m. - GoldLenny - OK. It's 5:55pm CST, two hours later and the tank has risen from 64F to 66F, two degrees Fahrenheit. From what I remember in science class a long time ago, water will cool faster than it will warm given identical applied temperature variations so if it is warming up by 1F per hour, it would cool down even faster, in the event of a failed heater stuck in the off position.

The reason water cools down faster is because of evaporation when the water is warmer than the air surroundings. When water is warmer than the ambient air, water releases the heat via evaporation. This results in steam or fog when the difference is very large but there is still evaporation even when the difference is very little, which is why you get condensation on the cover glass of your tanks. Ambient air does not "evaporate" into the water, it just slowly changes raises the temperature.

Whew. I can't believe I still remember some of these physics, chemistry and earth science basics.

Reply:

MjRyan - (quoting)"goldlenny (11/29/2006) If your temp only went down 2F in a day and a half, then your room temp was only 2F lower than your tank temp. I promise you a 10G tank will assume room temperature within a couple of hours of losing the heater. I have an empty 10G on my kitchen counter so I'll do the science right now and post my results in this thread."

In the sense you talk about, your right, it isn't really important... I am NOT worried about the temp dropping. but wait until one of your heaters mal's and stays on overnight while your sleeping. Your fish will be at the top floating from the hot tub they didn't enjoy. Using a 1/2 rec. watt heater and that problem is eliminated as it wont have enough power to heat the whole tank.

Good Test Lenny

Back to GoldLenny posts:

11/29/2006 - ~11:00 p.m. - GoldLenny - I had to run out for a few hours but I just checked the temperature at 10:55 p.m., seven hours since setting this experiment up and the temperature was up to 70F, a full SIX degrees Fahrenheit rise in seven hours. The 1F per hour rise is slowing down, as I suspected it would, as it approaches temperature equalization. I'm heading to sleep in a little while so I'll check it again in the morning.

11/30/2006 - ~7:00 a.m. - GoldLenny - Some time in the middle of the night, the tank assumed room temperature of 72F since that is what both were when I woke up this morning. I forgot to post it here first thing though. I'm now putting a 50W heater in the 10G test tank and I'll see how long it takes to raise to 80F.

EDIT - I forgot I had a 10G HOB filter not being used so I just added it to the test tank too so now I'll be able to get more accurate test results on how long to heat up and cool down with a broken heater. As of 10:30 a.m. CST, the tank was 72F still (since I just put the heater in it) and I have the heater turned all the way up to the highest temperature to see how hot it will get and how fast.

11/30/2006 - 11:00 a.m. - GoldLenny - At 11:00 a.m. CST, just 1/2 hour after putting the 50W heater in the 10G tank, the temp has risen from 72F to 74F. That would be considered a huge jump if the tank had fish in it. This just gives you an idea of how fast a heater will heat up a tank. I knew once I added the filter system, things become far more dynamic over a stagnant tank. I'll report back again later in about 2 hours. Wish I would have done this on a weekend where I could monitor things hourly but it still shows just how fast a 10G tank can change temps when a heater fails.

11/30/2006 - 12:00 Noon - GoldLenny - At 12:00 noon CST, just 1.5 hours after putting the heater in the test 10G tank, the temp is up to 77F, 5 degrees F in just 1.5 hours. And the heater is still on so I'll see just how hot it will make the water before it peaks out, then I'll let it cool down again to see how fast it cools down with the filter system now running on the tank.

11/30/2006 - 4:00 p.m. - GoldLenny - 4:00 p.m. CST, it's up to 82F. That's a 10F increase in 5.5 hours with the heater "stuck" on the ON position (since I have the thermostat all the way up). I'm not sure how much higher it will go but I'll check in again in a couple of hours and then turn the heater off to see how fast it cools back down to room temp.

11/30/2006 - 7:00 p.m. - GoldLenny - At 7:00 p.m., the temp was up to 84F and that is probably as high as it will get since I think that is what the 50W heater will do to a 10G tank, if I'm not mistaken. I'm going to wait until 8 p.m. to see if it goes up any higher and then turn off the heater to see how fast it cools off.

The key here is that a malfunctioning heater or thermostat stuck in the ON position will heat up your tank from 72F to 84F, 12 degrees F, in just 8 hours. That's probably enough to seriously stress out most fish.

11/30/2006 - 8:00 p.m. - GoldLenny - 8:00 p.m. - The temp was still at 84F, which I think is the max temp from this 50W heater in a 10G tank, so I unplugged the heater. I'll check temp every hour till I go to sleep tonight.

HEATER UNPLUGGED SIMULATING HEATER FAILURE

11/30/2006 - 10:00 p.m. - GoldLenny - 10:00 p.m. CST - Temp is down to 82F, so it's dropping at 1F per hour in the first two hours.

11/30/2006 - Midnight - GoldLenny - Midnight CST - Temp is down to 80F so it has been steadily dropping 1F per hour with the heater off.

This means if you have a heater failure and it got stuck in the ON position, your tank would get very warm, very fast at 1.5F per hour. If the heater failed in the OFF position, your tank would cool down at the rate of 1F per hour.

Either of these scenarios would be very stressful, if not catastrophic to a 10G tank. I guess I'll be looking at getting a couple of 25W heaters in the near future for my 10G tank.

The larger the tank, the less volatile the temperature variation (at least according to basic laws of physics) but the value of stock in a larger tank is a lot more money so it is even more important to keep them stable as well.

12/01/2006 - 8:00 a.m. - GoldLenny - 12 hours after turning off the heater -
Temp was down to 72F, 14F degrees lower than it was when the heater was turned up all the way, in just 12 hours.

CONCLUSION - A malfunctioning 50W heater on a 10G tank could be catastrophic whether it fails in the ON or OFF position. Either event leaves your tank rapidly changing the temperature by 1F or more per hour, until it reaches room temperature or the maximum temperature that the heater can attain, either of which are very stressful to most fish. This type of event could lead to an Ick outbreak, a faltering immune system (causing many other health issues) and/or DEATH.

Thanks for reading.

GoldLenny

Mozy.com - FREE, secure, encrypted and automatic online backup of your documents and files. Check out how simple and secure it can be to use the Mozy backup system. It will back up your most important files, photos and folders... or your entire hard drive, every day/night (you set the schedule) while you aren't using your computer... and did I mention... it's FREE. I have been using this product/service since it was in Beta Testing and have been 100% satisfied with the final product!!!

Saturday, March 3, 2007

Non-Native or Non-Indigenous Species websites

From a post I made in a forum on 01/30/2007 (SEE UPDATED AND BETTER INFO OCTOBER 26, 2008 BELOW):

I was looking for a profile on a fish this morning and found this site... http://nis.gsmfc.org/ which is the Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission website for Non-Native Aquatic Species in the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic Regions which is set up to track non-native fish... many of which were released into the wild by errant fish keepers but many were also accidentally released from fish farms due to flood waters caused by hurricanes, etc.

It seems that Convict Cichlid's are becoming a problem in some areas of Florida and because of their aggressiveness during breeding, they are killing off the local fish.

I found a link to this page which has national and international sites for other areas that are tracking these non-native species in your local waterways.

http://www.nisbase.org/nisbase/index.jsp

Here is the list of non-native fish affecting my home State of Louisiana...

http://www.nisbase.org/nisbase/getResults.jsp?Group=&State=LA&Genus=&Species=&ComName=&Size=50&GSMFC-NIS=on and I see Goldfish, Pleco's and Cichlid's on the list of 32 non-native species in Louisiana waterways.

UPDATED AND BETTER INFO OCTOBER 26, 2008:
Just an update.
After looking around some more on a more extensive listing of Non-Indigenous / Non-Native fish, I also found this "Search" page where you can look at your State, drainage area region, etc. http://nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/ (You can click on your state which then brings up a page with three fields - Group (choose fish), State (choose your State), Sort (Common, Scientific, Taxonomic). Contact the webmaster for the site if you know of updates that are needed. Just for the record, Louisiana has 40 NI/NN fish listed and Florida has 182 (many more Marine fish though). Damn... LA near the bottom of another list... but at least the bottom is good for a change! LOL
I guess I have to thank Dora for asking four times or I might never have done more digging on links from my original posted link. LOL
Lenny Vasbinder
Fish Blog -
http://GoldLenny.blogspot.com (Links to articles referenced above listed on the right side under Archives - Year, Month and under Labels)

-----Original Message-----
From: Lenny V. aka GoldLenny [
mailto:goldlenny@gmail.com]
Sent: Sunday, October 26, 2008 2:30 PM
To: 'AquaticLife@yahoogroups.com'
Subject: RE: [AquaticLife] Non-Native Fish (was: Missing fish)

Actually, I didn't have to Google to find a much more extensive list of non-native fish.
On the "About" page for the partial list I first posted, there were other links in the paragraph "Programs And Partners" and one of them, "Non-Indigenous Aquatic Species"
http://nas.er.usgs.gov/, led to this page on just "Fishes" http://nas.er.usgs.gov/taxgroup/fish/default.asp and then the "Species List of Non-indigenous Fish" link http://nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/SpeciesList.asp?Group=Fishes led to a much longer list and just looking at the "Jump to" list of page numbers on the bottom of that page, it's 15 pages of fish with 50 fish on each page.

WOW... really nice pictures of the fish on each page too. Might be another good source of profile info on fish since I'm sure nearly every common tropical fish is on this list. Here's the page on the "Green Swordtail" (aka Red Swordtail or just Swordtail - Xiphophorus hellerii) http://nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/FactSheet.asp?speciesID=869
And Dora... here's the page on the Zebra Danio from this bigger list. If you couldn't find it on that short list, you'll never find it on this list. LOL http://nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/FactSheet.asp?speciesID=505
Looking through some of the other links on the top of these pages led to this link on just Florida and more particularly South Florida. http://sofia.usgs.gov/sfrsf/rooms/species/invasive/focus/ It shows it was last updated in June 2007 but the Snakefish was not listed on the page as well as a few other NI species that I've read are prolific in Florida, so maybe someone needs to contact the webmaster listed at the bottom of that page and give them a more current list of NI fish in Florida.
Unfortunately, it's a government website funded by our tax-dollars-at-waste so I doubt it will ever be accurate. One of my political statements that I invented a long time ago, is "Name one thing that government does effectively and efficiently? The resounding answer is always NOTHING!... which is why I'm always amazed at why people want government running everything in their lives" (Disclaimer: This is a non-partisan statement). LOL Considering this list exists, it makes one wonder why there needed to be another government funded website for just the Gulf States that was woefully inadequate and bloated. All they had to do was make a list and link to the profiles on this more extensive list.. but I guess that would be too simple for a government program.
\\Steve//, this list does have four Gambusia species listed on page 7. I know you mentioned that species as being one of the fish not on the Gulf States page. This better list does include both FW and Marine species but the majority of the fish seem to be FW fish.
Lenny Vasbinder
Fish Blog -
http://GoldLenny.blogspot.com (Links to articles referenced above listed on the right side under Archives - Year, Month and under Labels)


-----Original Message-----
From: Lenny V. aka GoldLenny [
mailto:goldlenny@gmail.com]
Sent: Sunday, October 26, 2008 1:25 PM
To: 'AquaticLife@yahoogroups.com'
Subject: RE: [AquaticLife] Missing fish

Dora... the first sentence in my post was "Do a Google search". Why should I have to point you to sites when you can find them on your own? This is your fourth time asking about the Zebra Danio on that page and I clearly pointed it out in my first reply. Read it again!
Lenny Vasbinder
Fish Blog -
http://GoldLenny.blogspot.com (Links to articles referenced above listed on the right side under Archives - Year, Month and under Labels)

-----Original Message-----
From: AquaticLife@yahoogroups.com [
mailto:AquaticLife@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Dora Smith
Sent: Sunday, October 26, 2008 2:06 PM
To: AquaticLife@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [AquaticLife] Missing fish

Yes, Steve, I saw where he said that, and what good was posting a site that doesn't have the ifno. I'm working at a part time job two hours from home, trying to find a job, and working at a temporary full time job later this week, and still recovering from a hard drive failure, and I do not have time to research this.
Assuming Lenny knows what he's talking about (think it was Lenny), it is not too much for him to point us to a couple of sites with the actual information.
If not I'm going to not even worry abaout it. Got better things to worry about at the moment.
Yours,
Dora Smith
Austin, TX

tiggernut24@yahoo.com <
mailto:tiggernut24%40yahoo.com>

---- Original Message -----
From: "Steve Szabo" mailto:steve%40familyszabo.com> >
To: mailto:AquaticLife%40yahoogroups.com> >
Sent: Sunday, October 26, 2008 11:40 AM
Subject: RE: [AquaticLife] Missing fish

As has already been discussed, the list that was posted is woefully inadequate in representing invasive species that are present in the US.
\\Steve//
-----Original Message-----
From: AquaticLife@yahoogroups.com <
mailto:AquaticLife%40yahoogroups.com> [mailto:AquaticLife@yahoogroups.com <mailto:AquaticLife%40yahoogroups.com> ] On Behalf Of Dora Smith
Sent: Sunday, October 26, 2008 2:38 PM
To: AquaticLife@yahoogroups.com <
mailto:AquaticLife%40yahoogroups.com>
Subject: Re: [AquaticLife] Missing fish

Danios aren't listed either.
Yours,
Dora Smith
Austin, TX
tiggernut24@yahoo.com <
mailto:tiggernut24%40yahoo.com>

----- Original Message -----
From: "Steve Szabo" mailto:steve%40familyszabo.com> >
To: mailto:AquaticLife%40yahoogroups.com> >
Sent: Saturday, October 25, 2008 12:22 PM
Subject: RE: [AquaticLife] Missing fish

That looks like an incomplete listing of invasive species. Not a single Gambusia species. is listed, which was introduced in many areas as mosquito control, nor is Channa spp. which is found in the Potomac River area, particularly the southern reaches. While there are mollies that are native to Florida, there are others in the wild that are not. I have also seen Oscars in the wild in Florida in several areas.
\\Steve//
-----Original Message-----
From: AquaticLife@yahoogroups.com <
mailto:AquaticLife%40yahoogroups.com> [mailto:AquaticLife@yahoogroups.com <mailto:AquaticLife%40yahoogroups.com> ] On Behalf Of Lenny V. aka GoldLenny
Sent: Saturday, October 25, 2008 1:24 PM
To: AquaticLife@yahoogroups.com <
mailto:AquaticLife%40yahoogroups.com>
Subject: RE: [AquaticLife] Missing fish

Do a search for non-native and/or non-indigenous invasive species for your area to see if they are.... or which other fish may be found in your area.
You'll see (some of) them listed on this page... http://nis.gsmfc.org/nis_alphabetic_list.php <http://nis.gsmfc.org/nis_alphabetic_list.php>
Here's the starting page for that "official" site. http://nis.gsmfc.org/ <http://nis.gsmfc.org/>
This page explains what an "Invasive Species" http://nis.gsmfc.org/What_is.shtm <http://nis.gsmfc.org/What_is.shtm> is and how some are much worse than others but we should still strive to NOT have any non-native species in our waterways. Like the old Parkay commercial, "It's not nice to fool with Mother Nature!"
Since Zebra Danio's are cool/cold water fish, they will easily live in the southern-most States in the USA. They've definitely been found in Florida, according to the information on the profile in the above link, likely released from breeding ponds from one of the hurricane related floods, but I'm not sure how often those profile pages are updated. I'm sure ZD's have been found in other local waters in southern States.

Lenny Vasbinder
Fish Blog -
http://GoldLenny.blogspot.com <http://GoldLenny.blogspot.com> (Links to articles referenced above listed on the right side under Archives
- Year, Month and under Labels)

-----Original Message-----
From: AquaticLife@yahoogroups.com <
mailto:AquaticLife%40yahoogroups.com> [mailto:AquaticLife@yahoogroups.com <mailto:AquaticLife%40yahoogroups.com> ] On Behalf Of Dora Smith
Sent: Saturday, October 25, 2008 8:46 AM
To: AquaticLife@yahoogroups.com <
mailto:AquaticLife%40yahoogroups.com>
Subject: Re: [AquaticLife] Missing fish

Where have zebra danios become a nuisance invasive species? It's the first I've heard of this. If anythign could successfully stand up to mosquito fish you'd think it would be danios, but they aren't actually aggressvie fish, and they're so small. Also, how well do they do in places where there's frost in winter and places wehre teh creeks periodically dry up?
That doesn't bother mosquito fish. Don't know if they burrow or what.

Yours,
Dora Smith
Austin, TX
tiggernut24@yahoo.com <
mailto:tiggernut24%40yahoo.com>

----- Original Message -----
From: "Lenny V. aka GoldLenny" mailto:GoldLenny%40gmail.com> <mailto:GoldLenny%40gmail.com> >
To: mailto:AquaticLife%40yahoogroups.com> <mailto:AquaticLife%40yahoogroups.com>
>
Sent: Friday, October 24, 2008 3:43 PM
Subject: RE: [AquaticLife] Missing fish

They are actually genetically enhanced zebra danios and my major opposition to them is that zebra danios are one of the nuisance non-native invasive species, likely due to some releases by hobbyists and also due to floods affecting fish farms. If the glofish start getting released into the wild, it might make fishing a little harder for anglers since the glofish would compete with our day-glo painted lures. ;-)
Lenny Vasbinder
GoldLenny

********************************

And now some comments in the thread:

I agree 100%. I've said the same thing over and over to people, never let your pets go out in the wild. Either they'll die a cruel death or they'll be a problem on the habitat. Never ever ever dump your aquarium into a lake or stream. I think there are several states with goldfish problems in many of their local lakes. Some states have had to take measure such as stocking Tiger Muskies (Muskie x Northern Pike, sterile hybrid) to eat the fish out of these lakes. Drastic measures for a .97 feeder fish someone got tired of. I think the only thing more destructive to an aquatic habitat than goldfish are bullfrogs in areas where they are not native.

TurtleLover
I love turtles!!!!

*******************************

LOL... I also see the red-eared slider turtle listed for Louisiana. If you've ever been down to N'Awlins and the burbs, you may have noticed that we have a system of canals and pumping stations that are used for drainage to pump the excess rain waters over the levees into Lake Pontchartrain or the Mississippi River. There are so many red-ear's in those canals that I always figured they were indigenous to the area. I also see the soft shell turtles... I think that's what they are called.. the tannish colored turtles with the pointy snout? Between red-ears and the soft shells, every rock and log in our canals are covered in them when they are sunning. I did a quick Google and I see they are actually indigenous to North America so I guess they weren't all released from aquariums.

GoldLenny

Mozy.com - FREE, secure, encrypted and automatic online backup of your documents and files. Check out how simple and secure it can be to use the Mozy backup system. It will back up your most important files, photos and folders... or your entire hard drive, every day/night (you set the schedule) while you aren't using your computer... and did I mention... it's FREE. I have been using this product/service since it was in Beta Testing and have been 100% satisfied with the final product!!!

COMMENTS *******************************

True some of those species listed are indigenous to N. America, but not necessarily to that area of the continent. I know white sucker fish are native to the eastern side of the continent, but they are a non native pest in the western state. They are pushing out and killing native suckers and smaller fish. That's why it's so important that fish are not released in to waters they are not from. Just cuz they're native in Georgia doesn't mean they're meant to live in Colorado.

TurtleLover
I love turtles!!!!

Friday, March 2, 2007

Pond Maintenance - Q & A about an Algae Bloom and How-To make an inexpensive Filter system

Following is a post to a Yahoo Group forum that I belong to, and my reply to their questions/problems.

Date: Sun, 15 May 2005 14:15:29 EDT

From: cfit421@
Subject: gross water

Hi,

A friend of mine has a small pond. I'd say it's about 200 gallons. It is stocked with 12 (I think) Wal-mart goldfish, there's only a trickle of water falling from a rock to aerate the water, and the filter and pump are at the bottom of the pond.

The water is disgusting. It's FULL of stringy and blanket type algae and there's a rusty color to the water. She said she got a hold on it just a few weeks ago, then it rains, and it gets all gross again.

She said if there's any expense involved in making it right, it won't be able to happen. So, is there anything she can do to fix the water, even if it involves a LITTLE work and a LITTLE money?

Thanks!

AND NOW MY REPLY:

The algae bloom is usually caused by several factors. Too high of Nitrates and Phosphates in the water and too much Sunlight are the main two reasons for algae. The high nitrates are caused by over-feeding and poor water and filter maintenance. The biggest cause of all of these problems is TOO MANY goldfish. A 200G pond might be OK for 12 baby goldfish but as the grow, they simply create too much waste for that small of a pond. Long-bodied goldfish need at least 50G per goldfish so that pond is 300% overstocked.

Too much sunlight is a little tougher to handle but can be helped a little by water lilies and hyacinths in a wide open pond. You should let them grow till they cover over 50% of your pond. I don't know what the layout of the pond is and if there are any trees providing shade, etc.

Test the water for Ammonia, Nitrites and Nitrates and also pH if a test kit is available. The Ammonia and Nitrites are usually more of a worry when a pond is new or too much of a bio-filter change has been done. Some people "clean" their ponds and disrupt the bio-filtration too much when they do this.

The high Nitrates can be lowered by PWC's (partial water changes) (if Mother Nature does not provide sufficient rainfall)... no more than 25% at a time unless it's an emergency such as an illness (or contamination)... just pump some of the pond water into the gardens and replace it with properly conditioned tap water but be careful about using the garden hose unless the hose has been running for a while to get any plastifiers out of it first. I just read about this recently after someone had a pond fish kill. I have a 30 gallon clean garbage can that I only use for the pond water. Then I add the conditioner and then pour the water into the pond. Set up the garbage can near the edge of the pond first so after it is full and conditioned, you can just slowly pour it into the pond.

The other reason for high Nitrates is OVER-FEEDING of the Goldfish. Goldfish are great actors and act like they are starving all of the time. Any time you walk near the pond, they will come to the surface and beg for food. Resist the temptation and ONLY feed them once or twice a day per the instructions on the food. Some times, it is good to skip a day just to let them scavenge around for any food that sank to the bottom and to give the bio-filter a chance to catch up with the goldfish waste. Many website articles recommend this. Some even say you can leave for a 3-day weekend without worrying about the Goldfish eating. They eat just about anything and if they are really "starving", they would munch on the greens in the pond but they won't really be starving... just acting! I take this back in advance if you come home from your 3-day weekend and all of your pond plants have disappeared. At least the Goldfish ate well! :P

Neither of the above items cost you anything.

Now, another low-cost or free long term solution.

I'll assume they have a pump that is pumping the water up to the rock and presuming that the pump is OK, then the pump and/or lines are just clogged up with algae growth. Take the tubing off from the Pump to the Rock and clean it out. I used the garden hose to force water through it. Take the tubing all the way out of the pond when you do this and let the junk and water that comes out of the tubing flow into a garden. It will be great for that purpose. Prepare to get a little messy during this job.

Next, make a pre-filter for the pump (assuming it's a small 3-4 inch cube type) to keep all of the junk out of it and the lines. I can't find the link now but I found a diagram on a website years ago where you take a 12" plastic basket, like the kind used for pond plants (get it at the local home improvement or pond store). Buy some "natural" filter material (it was a blue color and used for furnaces and was inorganic and will not harm the water and lasts forever). Buy enough so that you can cut it up to fit all four sides, the bottom and top of the plastic basket between the four side pieces. Put the bottom piece in and then put the four sides in. Put some pea gravel in as weight and for the pump to sit on top of. Then put the top piece on after cutting small slits for the tubing and electrical wiring. All of the pieces should be cut to fit snuggly inside of the basket and the top piece should fit snuggly on top. Optional - put a few bunches of weighted anacharis plants on top of the basket to finish off the system or you can tuck the ends of individual strands between the seams of the blue filter material.

Here is a link to a website http://www.mvwgs.org/filter.htm that shows a similar, but larger DIY pre-filter so depending on the size of your pond, you could use the one I describe with 12" plant basket or the larger one using a milk crate.

EDIT added 07/27/05 - Someone recently found the original website for my pre-filter in the wayback web archives... at this link, but the last time I checked, it was not working - http://web.archive.org/web/20001210043100/theplantplace.com/ourfilter.htm

Now you have a pre-filter for the pump and a GREAT bio-filter as well. Around $10.00... and maybe even free if you have these materials around your home already. The Blue filter material will turn greenish soon, as it filters out the junk and will blend in with the bottom of the pond or you can put it behind a plant or something which is probably where the pump was at in the first place. I also saw someone do this with a plastic milk crate but it required more of the filter material which most people do not have handy. Do not use Fiberglass filter material. I wish I could find the website that explained the exact material but it was the only Blue filter material that you could buy at Home Depot. It is about 1" thick and sturdy... like the material in a kitchen or floor scrub pad... but inexpensive and came in a 24" x 36" piece in one package. It was enough for one filter kit.

The gravel and filter material will become a phenomenal bio-filter after a couple of weeks. When cleaning, if necessary, never clean more than one or two pieces of the filter material at a time and never clean the gravel or bottom piece. When you take the assembly out of the pond, put it in a tub of pond water so you do not kill the good bacteria in the bio-filter. The best thing to do if the filter material is getting clogged up is to just swish it around in the tub of pond water to remove the big debris without removing all of the bio-filter bacteria. Put the piece of filter material back into the basket and use that water in the tub for watering your plants or garden. It's packed with nutrients!

Run this new pre-filter assembly for a week and then do another 25% water change and clean two of the pre-filter panels and repeat until your pond is crystal clear.

When you do maintenance on your pre-filter, always unplug the pump first and any other electrical items in the pond and then put a larger bucket in the pond and put the pre-filter in the bucket (with water) so the pre-filter stays submerged when you remove it and do your filter and pump maintenance.Continue this until the pond is crystal clear... which will happen as long as the over-feeding is cut out and partial water changes are made. Eventually, the partial water changes can be cut back on once the natural bio-filter is doing its job and the algae does not have all of the extra food/nitrates to feed on.

For even more GREAT information, check out these two articles.
http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/ClearPond.html
http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/PondAlgae.html

Hope this helps.

GoldLenny

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Comments:

Jim Prior said...

Hi Lenny, thats a very good description of working a pre-filter and bio-filter setup. I too have created my own setup incorporating a Skippy style fish pond bio-filter and aeration venturi to make my pond water much cleaner. It has plenty of photos for building such a filter. I hope this will be useful to you and your visitors.

Best wishes Jim.

Friday, September 30, 2005 9:23:00 AM
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