# Not Sure What to do



## Fishy_Addiction (May 3, 2013)

So I did acquire a 70gal tank but now, after some thinking I'm wondering, when I move out whenever that may be, what's easier for my parents to take care of. I can't really say because i know 10gallons are a pain, but have never worked with a tank over 36 gal. I've put $200-$300 total in my current tank and that was my moms birthday present for putting up with me all these years. Lol.

Would it be easier to keep current fish and use my 70 gal as a fish tank?

Or get rid of the gold fish down grade to a 29 and do the guppies, Angelfish, corries and rehome the angels once they hit a certain size or even just rehome them as well.

Yes we do do fine with the 36 gal now but, my mom never cleans it. I always do, and my dad helps when I'm too sick to lift the buckets. My dad is extremely strong and a complete idiot lol. In the sense he carried a full 10 gal that included gravel fish and decor for the idiot part. And he doesn't listen to me... ever on the fact that you can't remove all the water. He's not scientifically inclined to understand. Lol. However my mom understands that part.

But anyways!

My parents are getting old my mother will be 50 in a couple years and my dads already in his 60's and aging. My mom loves the fish and wanted them to begin with.

What would you guys do? I need opinions. 

Oh also the suggestion for the downgrading would be because of the height and the bow front, a rectangle with height would be much easier. IMO.


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## jobber (May 14, 2010)

Just stock it to what you want to be responsible taking care of now and decide later on what to do. Its always better to have larger water volume. No need to overthink.

Sent from my mobile phone


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## Steve (Mar 27, 2013)

Yeah bigger is generally better and easier to take care of. Aren't you also quite young? I remember you posting not long ago about having good grammar at the age of 9 or so, so you may still be <15? That would probably mean you'll still be at home for quite a while longer to help out


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## Rockman (May 19, 2013)

Before I left for university I upgraded my 29 gallon to a 90. Even after adding a few shoals there was a lot more wiggle room in the maintenance. Water changes could be done monthly rather than weekly; and I could leave the big canister filter for months between cleanings. My dad was looking after the tank and his back isn't great; so I got a long hose for the siphon and stopped using buckets to move water around. The whole setup made life much easier. I'd definitely recommend doing something similar.


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## Fishy_Addiction (May 3, 2013)

@Jobber: I'd take care of a 1000gal if given the opportunity, but this tank is my moms that I take care of and she's never layed a finger on but doesnt not want fish. She loves fish.

How about for a couple of aging people minus me? Going to be 19 in August, and probably will only be here for a year to two. Maybe more but i don't know. My concern is what would be easier and less stressful on them. Because said I know 10gal is crap, but I've not worked with over 36. Its good to know more water the easier it is, but is it when the young daughter is no longer around? s:

@Steve: lol I wish I was 15 wouldn't have as much pressure put on my by my parents for doing things. XD I'm 19. Been a grammar freak for quite a long time. Ever since I got my friends old iPhone 3 years ago its kind of gone bad because of auto correct and the frustrations of typing. Give me a computer and ill be yelling out every mistake. XD

@rockman: I thought it was bad not to do weakly water changes no matter how little amount of fish you have and how big of filtration you have. ><
Other thing is is my parents only want used tank water going down the toilet. It would be gross to stick that in the toilet and use it over and over. XD lol. And outside dumping isn't an option either as there are rules about dumping things like that out side for our complex apparently. But that is a good option if we can figure how to work it out with my parents.


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## jobber (May 14, 2010)

well if you thinking so much, mind as well not start a tank up at all. You can start it and shut them down whether you're 19, 14, 32, 45. You're going to hard to keep fish. Larger water volume means less frequent water changes relative to the amount of fish in the tank. Can get away with less water change or changes to water parameters which means less maintenance for you. For your folks, if you indeed leave home, a big tank with a few fish would be easier to maintain than a small tank with the same number of fish. But this is just my honest and sincere opinion. 

Don't think so much. Just start it up now, enjoy it and then when the time comes, figure it out then.


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## Fishy_Addiction (May 3, 2013)

Either I can't start it up yet I don't have the filter or the stand yet xD and i won't be able to for a while now. Because I'm sick I missed my opportunity for a great stand. :-( not the sellers fault at all though. Didn't want to spread the hellish cold. 

Well of course but if I'm not around to help, that is a different story. One thing to live in same town but i may be leaving province if things go as planned.

But can you really safely just do monthly water changes? I thought I read somewhere you should never not do a weakly water change no matter the stock. s:

I didn't actually mean all the current fish in a 29 but rather the corries, guppies, pleco, and danio.
I'm guilty as charged foe being over stocked at the moment. But I do do the water changes. And I'm selling 4 of my fish, and giving my two remaning rosy red minnows away.

But anyways xD

How often would water changes need to be made if there were to be 50tetras and 2 gouramis in the 70? XD lol. Oh and of course the clean up crews. :3


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## Steve (Mar 27, 2013)

The amount you "need" to water changes is really subjective in my opinion. Some people actually do YEARLY water changes. It all depends on your stocking levels, filtration levels, and whether or not you have equipment that can remove nitrAtes. I've watched some videos with people who have fully grown planted discus tanks with refugiums who do a water change every 6 months. I believe they have a 72 gal bowfront discus tank with 10ish full sized discus + tetras + corys with a 40-50 gal refugium underneath that apparently gets rid of the nitrates. Now assuming you won't be doing that and will do water changes somewhat frequently like most fish owners, it really depends on how many nitrates you feel like subjecting the fish to and how hardy they are. I do bidaily water changes to try and keep my nitrates below 20 in my discus tank, but I only do weekly or even less than weekly changes in my african tank and have found that they are actually healthier than my discus. My girlfriend has a 10 gallon tank with a blue ram and 5 rasboras and she does monthly water changes and hasn't had a fish die in a long time. She even had some cardinal tetras that lasted 4 years. So in the end, it's really up to the owner and the stock you keep. Some fish are pretty delicate and others are not. I would have to say that corries, guppies, plecos, and danios are all *very* hardy fish and you could easily get away with monthly water changes but that's just my opinion. Again, as people previously mentioned, you may be over thinking this. 2 years is a loooooooooooooooong time. Get whatever tank you want, enjoy it, and if the time comes where your parents decide they can't take care of it, sell it. There will always be people wanting to buy fish tanks. After all, some of the members here have 20+ tanks xD


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## Fishy_Addiction (May 3, 2013)

Whoa. o.o

As little as possible really... lol, it is what is best for them after all. XD

Are the cixhlids healthier because they have more of their original good bacterial filled water longer? Or...?

Oh wow, that's pretty good.

I'd more say its getting the information now. Lol. I get information before I actually need so when I do I have it. xD my mother hates that about me.

But now I'm wondering... get rid of all the current fish minus guppies and corries get a 55 and have a bunch of tetras, and use the 70 gal for a hogg island boa. xD just something that came to mind. Haha. I don't know. I'm sleepy so things aren't coming out as good as i expect. .-. So blah. May have to really go over this post I'm typing up now in the morning. Brain wandering. XD


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## SeaHorse_Fanatic (Apr 22, 2010)

As mentioned, a lot of aquarist's practices are subjective. What works for some, may not work for others.


For myself, this is what I would do & have done in the past:

For a very low maintenance tank, I overfilter to the 9th degree. I once had a very heavily stocked 4' 65g fully planted tropical fish tank with at least a Eheim2 canister, XP3 canister, and 3 big HOB filters. Cleaning the HOB filters is way easier than doing a big water change for older people. If its not overstocked, then even small water changes every month or two and cleaning the canister every few months would be plenty. With overfiltered fw tanks, I have gone over 6 months between water changes without any problems. Fish were always fat & sassy, lots of plants to suck up nutrients. Mainly did weekly top ups since the tank had glass lids. Each filter alone was rated for that size tank, so I basically had 5x the minimum necessary filtration.

However, I've been keeping my own fish tanks since '76 so what works for me may not work for everyone else or is outside their comfort zone.

Anthony


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## Fishy_Addiction (May 3, 2013)

I know.  

Wow that's a lot of filters! XD by not bad getting away with a water change every six months!  
Something like that would be so efficient to do. The parents probably wouldn't want to deal with the electricity usage though. XD which is a shame really.


My mom had a guppy sometime in the 70's... but it died the next day. >.<


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## Durogity (Jun 10, 2013)

SeaHorse_Fanatic said:


> However, I've been keeping my own fish tanks since '76...
> 
> Anthony


I commend you on your stick-to-it-ness


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## jbyoung00008 (May 16, 2011)

I'm in the same situation with my mom. She loves fish and really wanted a nice tank. I visit her atleast once a month we both live in the lower mainland. I set her up with a 10g with an aquaclear. She did the water changes. Dug up all plants and overstocked the tank. After 6 months the tank looked like crap. Im a fish nut and eventually said there is no way my mom should have a crappy tank like that so I took over and switched everything. I upgraded to a 26g bow front. Overfiltered the tank by adding a fluval 204 stuffed to the max with 1/2 new bio media and 1/2 out of my 3 year old tank. I upgraded to a larger aquaclear. I go over there once a month a preform a 50% water change. I clean both filters. The sponges all get cleaned very well under the tap. My bio media washed in water out of the tank. The key to the success was not letting her stock it. I picked out a pair of Angel fish. A school of white clouds and a group of 4 cories and 1 bristle nose Pleco. I wont let her add anymore fish. The bio load is perfect. Its a well rounded tank. The only way something can go wrong is if she starts over feeding. Make sure if you setup a tank for your mom she fully understands how little to feed. My dad has a tank. He wont listen to me. He over feeds and always has hair algea and a dirty tank.


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## Rockman (May 19, 2013)

I'm not sure if I see the point of overfiltering in terms of water changes; it can't really impact things like nitrate buildup, buffer depletion, etc. Although having a big filter means it gets clogged less frequently (which is significant if you have a pain in the *** filter like the one on my 90). 

The trick with low maintenance tanks (IMO) is to have a lightly stocked, well planted tank. I use a lot of floating plants in my setups as they grow quickly without needing high lighting or CO2; which works well for sucking up nutrients/pollutants and competing with algae.


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## Fishy_Addiction (May 3, 2013)

XD 10gal suck. Probably only good for shrimps, bettas, or axies. Dirtiest way too easily.

Doesn't running the filter pad under tap water kill the bacteria?

She does what i tell her. However I think we both may be over feeding on the tropical flake.

@rockman: this may also be a good option for me too as I'm thinking of just doing a bunch of tetras and one or two gouramis. Maybe 4 dwarfs.

I had little float plants before just a huge pain they get under the flow of the filter pushed in the water then get stuck on the wand of the filter and rot. However I am more than likely going to get a canister filter. So that would eliminate that problem. I really do like the float plants. XD


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## Elle (Oct 25, 2010)

Putting a prefilter sponge over the filter intake can help with the filter/plant mess. You can just cut a hole in an Aquaclear sponge or use one of the sponge filter covers that King Ed Pets sells. That way you can just rinse the prefilter and go longer between filter cleanings.


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## Fishy_Addiction (May 3, 2013)

Oh OK cool that's a good idea thanks.


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## AWW (Apr 22, 2010)

Here is my 2 cents....

I would look at a low light plant set up with a few larger schooling fish. Most large cichlids have a huge bio load, but if you look at some mid - sized fish like rainbows, larger barbs, and even larger tetras, maintenance goes down. 

get LOTS of algae eaters. Japonica shrimp keep plants alive by eating algae! Bristle-nose plecos and ottos will help with algae on the glass. Other catfish, like corries, will also help if your worried about over feeding. 

Most aquarium maintenance companies offer maintenance once a month, If you can get your parents to do that then you will be good  buy a python water hose and water changes can be done by anybody.


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## Fishy_Addiction (May 3, 2013)

But then I'd need aco2 setup wouldn't I?


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## Rockman (May 19, 2013)

CO2 isn't necessary with low light setups. It's something you need if you keep more demanding plants in a high light setup (which can be work to maintain in and of itself). Easy plants like Java fern, Anubias, vallisneria, hygrophila, etc will do fine without CO2. They don't grow as fast though; which is why I like the floating plants as a nutrient sponge.


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## jbyoung00008 (May 16, 2011)

Fishy_Addiction said:


> XD 10gal suck. Probably only good for shrimps, bettas, or axies. Dirtiest way too easily.
> 
> Doesn't running the filter pad under tap water kill the bacteria?
> 
> ...


Yes running the filter pad under tap water kills the bacteria but I don't use my spnges as bio media. I have proper bio media for the bacteria to grow on. To me the sponges collect all the debris and poop in the tank so I clean them all the time otherwise you are just putting something dirty back in the tank. Flake food is commonly overfed. I made my mom feed only pellets for that reason. Flake food just gets blown all over the tank and doesn't get eaten by the fish. Pellets are a way better choice.

The reason I say over filter is because I like having lots of bio media. The more filters I have, the more space I have to use bio media. This helps with the nitrogen cycle. If you cant look after the tank as often as you'd like, than having as much bio logical media you can is a better way to keep a fish tank IMO not under filtering or just enough filtration. That creates more work for you/ your mom. The filter will need to be cleaned more often. With multiple filters the debris is split between both so they shouldnt need to be cleaned as often. Also as mentioned by others having live plants that will grow under your light is also key to the tanks success.


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## Fishy_Addiction (May 3, 2013)

Oh, OK. If you mentioned that I obviously missed that. Lol. My bad.

That makes sense.  
So would it help to set up lets say a 20gal filter and put in those Bio things for my current tank till I can get the stuff for my other one?


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## jbyoung00008 (May 16, 2011)

Fishy_Addiction said:


> Oh, Lol. My bad.
> 
> That makes sense.
> So would it help to set up lets say a 20gal filter and put in those Bio things for my current tank till I can get the stuff for my other one?


Don't appologize. Im just voicing my opinion. Learn from everyone you can. Enjoy the process. I figured I'd share my experiences since your situation was so similiar to mine.

A 20gal filter is huge. A filter that size would be a sump and we wont go there. Yes, if you want to start a new tank its always better to start it with bio media from an established tank. Google cycling a fish tank and aquarium nitrogen cycle. This is key to a nice fish tank. Keep to the basics.


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## Fishy_Addiction (May 3, 2013)

OK. XD

What do you mean it would be a sump? I'm confused. Wait are we on the same page I meant an hob.
Oh and i was thinking of using it on my current tank.


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## jbyoung00008 (May 16, 2011)

You said a 20gal filter. There is no such thing as that. Filters arnt refered to in gallons. A sump is a form of filtration that people would say how many gallons it is. We were both confused :S

A hob filter is good. There are many different brands. Some better than others. I prefer the aquaclear because it has a large basket so you can put lots of bio media in it aswell as a sponge and filter floss if you want to polish your water. Aquaclear/Hagen makes bio media specifically for each filter aswell. I prefer buying a different brand. Sticking the bio media in a filter sock. Which aquaclear sells. Hob filters can get dirty quiclky thats why I run a hob and a canister filter on almost all my tanks. The 2 together make a great combo for filtration. I use this setup on my moms tank and so far its worked like a charm. Shes happy so Im happy.


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## Fishy_Addiction (May 3, 2013)

Its easier to say 20gal filter. XD I mean it as a filter for a 20gal.

Oh I have an aqua clear so instead of getting an other filter I could just stuff the back up?
I don't have the money at the moment to be buying an other one. So if that can be done to help with keeping the water clean then I will. :3

What do you mean by polish the water? Im rally stupid. XD


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## Fishy_Addiction (May 3, 2013)

Wait no I have an aqueon. But it does have quite a bit of room in the back. >.<


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## jobber (May 14, 2010)

Water polishing:

Water filter - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


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## Fishy_Addiction (May 3, 2013)

I had a feeling thats what it meant but wasn't 100% thanks! XD


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