# filtration for 100 gal fancy goldfish tank



## Elle (Oct 25, 2010)

Need some filter advice...I'm in the process of sorting out the filtration for my 100 gal planted fancy goldfish tank before the goldfish move in. I'm trying to decide whether to go with a canister filter or an HOB setup. 

Right now tank is running a spare AC70 with a cycled sponge from another tank, and a sponge filter. There's also a 48" bubble curtain for extra aeration. Obviously this is not enough filtration for 10 large fancy goldfish! There are currently 10 white clouds in there and 7 ghost shrimp, but that's it for bioload at the moment. Goldfish aren't moving in for at least another day or two.

I'm debating over:

1) putting on 2 HOB AC 110's
2) buying a brand new canister filter rated for over 120 gallons (overfiltration)
3) combining the AC70 with the Fluval 403 that came with the tank
4) using just the Fluval 403

I prefer to overfilter rather than underfilter, esp. for goldfish. I've never used canisters before, so this is all new to me. Husband is concerned that with a canister, you have the possibility of a flood when something goes wrong, plus the HOB's provide surface aeration. I'm not wild about the idea of the noise from 2-3 HOBs, but am currently totally confused about the best option? 

Everyone seems to have a different idea about this, so help me out here, folks!


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## tony1928 (Apr 22, 2010)

If I recall from way back when I used to keep big goldfish, they were messy fish that ate alot and produced alot of waste. Thus I would be inclined to definitely have a canister that could hold alot of biomedia. I have no problems with HOB's and in fact they turnover the water alot and do a remarkable job in mechanical filtration which also is important in this case. Maybe a couple of AC110's for mechanical with a large canister that focused on bio. Yes, I like to overfilter as well. I'm running 4 FX5's on my lightly stocked (for now) 400g african tank. Not sure where you are keeping your tank but HOB's tend to get a bit splashy sometimes, thus a bit noisier than I personally would like.


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## Elle (Oct 25, 2010)

Yes, goldfish are messy pigs. But I still love them. 

After doing a bunch of research, I'm starting to lean towards a canister plus an AC 110 HOB. A heavily planted tank helps with the bioload as well as long as the plants can keep up with the fish grazing on them.

This tank is going to be a "show" type tank, so I'm hoping to get good enough filtration to keep the water really sparkling clear as well as healthy.


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## josephl (Apr 21, 2010)

Goldfish being so messy, if it were me, I would use an FX 5. Easy to clean and awesome mechanical filteration and your goldfish shouldn't have a problem with the current. I once had a goldfish in a 72 gallon tall tank with and FX 5, 2 aqua clears and 2 airstones and the goldfish had no problem with the currents


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## Elle (Oct 25, 2010)

On a 100gal, would you combine the FX5 with an AC 110, or just use the canister alone?


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## Rastapus (Apr 21, 2010)

Exotic Goldfish dont like a lot of water movement. Fluvals are fine filters, if you want extra filtration, running the AC 110 and Fluval will be fine. Perhaps set up the AC 110 with sponges and carbon to change easily and often and add some sort of prefilter to the Fluval to extend maintenance. You could use media in the Fluval to utilize it as mostly biological and concentrate on the Aquarclear as mechanical and chemical filtration. Dont forget to keep the GH and KH high, your goldfish will thrive in that condition.


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

If you don't mind the noise, I'd personally go with 2x AC110's myself. The added air/water exchange would be good too.

Canister would be great, but I think like Discus, which are messy, there's going to be lots of maintenance, and a HOB is the way to go for quick and easy maintenance. Or if you need quiet.


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## Elle (Oct 25, 2010)

I'd kind of like it quieter than it would be with 2 HOBs....I can cope with one going, but one 110 won't do enough filtration on its own without a canister.

Grant, the gravel I'm using actually has crushed coral mixed in, plus we use the equilibrium stuff to buffer GH/KH. What's ideal KH/GH for the fancy goldfish? I keep their PH around 7.0 -7.2.


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## hp10BII (Apr 23, 2010)

Would this be your only tank? If it is, maintenance and fussing over 1 tank isn't a problem. I'm using 3 canisters right now and have 2 others in storage, 1 for spare parts. I hate servicing my canisters, maybe it has to do with the number of tanks that I have, but hob's are a breeze to service in comparison.

If it were me, I'd use the fluval you have for bio with 2 x AC110's. My concern over a canister is in power outage. Bacterial in an enclosed canister would suffocate and die unless you open it up for oxygen. Backup with sponges and biomedia in one of the AC110's I think would help, the other one can be mechanical. Maybe if you keep the water level up, noise level may be tolerable for the AC110's, but the noise never really bothered me.

If you do use a canister, I'd definitely use a prefilter with messy fish, I clean it with every water change. My discus are messy and it's an eye opener to see the gunk that would have been sucked up and left to rot inside a canister.

I'm not Grant, but for my fancy golfish, I keep GH around 10dH and KH about 5dH, pH around 7.8. I haven't heard my goldfish complain...yet!


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## hp10BII (Apr 23, 2010)

Let us know what you decide to go with. I plan on setting up a 100g tank for fancys down the road, probably with just 2 x AC110's.


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## Rastapus (Apr 21, 2010)

Elle said:


> I'd kind of like it quieter than it would be with 2 HOBs....I can cope with one going, but one 110 won't do enough filtration on its own without a canister.
> 
> Grant, the gravel I'm using actually has crushed coral mixed in, plus we use the equilibrium stuff to buffer GH/KH. What's ideal KH/GH for the fancy goldfish? I keep their PH around 7.0 -7.2.


Exotics prefer GH and KH both around 10, that is what they tend to be kept in overseas where they breed most of them. The coral wont really do anything for hardness. Good luck with the plants with those guys! They should stay away from Java ferns and other toxic plants.


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## Elle (Oct 25, 2010)

Well, it's my only BIG tank...my other 2 tanks are a Fluval Chi with a betta, ghost shrimp and 2 ADFs and another 3 gallon picotope with a betta and 3 shrimp. However, this isn't counting Djamm's 55gal rainbow tank, 10 gallon shrimp tank, and Fluval Edge guppy tank....

I think the prefilter on the canister plus one AC 110 might work as a compromise on noise. The simple sponge filter in the tank also helps keep things clear. I can cope with some messing around as long as it's not hours and hours of filter maintenance every week. I'm used to big water changes and maintenance 1-2x weekly on the 30 gallon, so the 100 gallon should at least be more stable.

RE the plants: Right now it's mostly crypts and anubias. Anything that isn't tied to the driftwood is weighted down with big mofo river rocks so they can't dig it up! I'm hoping that:

a) there are enough plants in there that even if they do snack on some, they won't concentrate on just one, thus giving the snack-ees a chance to grow back while the fish are decimating another plant.

b) if I feed them enough veggies and duckweed, it will keep them off the plants. This has worked OK (sort of) in the current goldfish tank.


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

You can mod the AC110 so that the water doesn't cascade down by attaching a piece of acrylic. There are many examples of this on the web. I personally like silent tanks and even the venturi from the powerheads I have now are driving me crazy.


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## kelly528 (Apr 21, 2010)

The rule of thumb with fancies is 100gph or up of filtration for every 10g. 

As for the plants, my goldfish wlll eat anything (they even started to snack on moss) so I like to attach various anubias and java fern species to driftwood. Makes for easier cleaning too.


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## bluecrasher96 (Nov 29, 2010)

I have 3 fancy goldfish in a 30gallon rimless tank with a canister filter (Fluval 305). Apparently this tank-filter combo with the fancy goldfish is the minimum filtration they should have because they are super messy. I was using 2 HOB filters before the canister and the fish seem to be a lot more comfortable and happy with the new setup. IMHO I highly recommend using a canister filter instead of an HOB filter, and one that is meant for a much larger tank than you will be using it with.



hp10BII said:


> I'm not Grant, but for my fancy golfish, I keep GH around 10dH and KH about 5dH, pH around 7.8. I haven't heard my goldfish complain...yet!


I also keep my fancy goldies very close to these parameters and they seem to be very happy & active "little" guys


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## Elle (Oct 25, 2010)

Yeah, they need a lot of filtration. 

I've decided that I'm going to go with a big canister filter (like a Fluval fx5) plus at least one AC110, which would give me the 100gph per 10g ratio. Plus the sponge (for extra bio/aeration), and I'm going to also leave the cycled AC70 on there for a while as well while the biomedia gets established in the other filters.


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## TCR (Jul 13, 2010)

well.. im planning to set up a 108 gal tank with goldfish too.. i was thinking 2 canister filters myself.. but i dont have a lot of expeiriance with gold fish


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## Rastapus (Apr 21, 2010)

Elle said:


> Yeah, they need a lot of filtration.
> 
> I've decided that I'm going to go with a big canister filter (like a Fluval fx5) plus at least one AC110, which would give me the 100gph per 10g ratio. Plus the sponge (for extra bio/aeration), and I'm going to also leave the cycled AC70 on there for a while as well while the biomedia gets established in the other filters.


Keep in mind that the best ratio for biological activity is 2 to 3 times the volume per hour. Too high a turnover will lead to higher mechanical filtration and less efficient biological filtration. After all, it is not a swimming pool. Goldfish do not like a lot of heavy water movement.


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## Elle (Oct 25, 2010)

> After all, it is not a swimming pool.


OK, I just flashed on an image of my goldfish all lounging on a beach in swimsuits. 

You owe me a new keyboard....mine just got coffee spat all over it. 

For what it's worth, I'll be taking off the AC70 once the biofilter is established in the other media. If the current is too much (like if I see my goldfish breaking out the surfboards) I can always turn the filters down for a while.


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## bluecrasher96 (Nov 29, 2010)

I keep the filter's outflow nozzle turned up slightly so there's some surface agitation, but not enough to require surfboards


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

There's lots of ways to deal with current. Use a spraybar with enlarged holes. Lots of flow, but low current. I modded my 2213 to use in a 15 gallon this way.


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