How many goldies can I put in a 10gal tank and supporting growbeds?

[poohbear]

I've got a 10gal tank here. I'm working with what I have so please don't tell me to buy a new tank as I don't have coinage for that right now. Well more the space then the coinage.

I read somewhere before that 1 short body goldie can work in a 10gal as the absolute bare minumum tank size and it was something like 20gal for one goldie I read before. Given I'm doing AP here I'll have a larger biofilter probably 10times the filtering of the tank so I was thinking probably short body fancy small goldies in a 10gal and filter everything out to the growbeds and such. Any ideas and recommends on this?

Also how many growbeds in liters can I support on one goldie? Thanks.

[Ravnis]

I house 7 goldies in a 55 gallon aquarium. 2 would probably all you would want in your 10 gallon. Of course this counts growing room. There is a big difference on how many 1/2" goldfish your 10 gal will support versus 3-4" goldfish. They grow pretty fast too.

1 to 2 growbeds would probably be all your system would support. This would depend on size really and what kind of flow you setup such as continous vs flood and drain. Flood and drain in a 10 gallon without a sump was my first setup I ever tried. It will work, just not well.

[poohbear]

Rav,

How large a grow bed will that be if I can support 2 short body goldfish (SBG)? By short body I'm also trying to factor in when they are larger. I'm sure I can pack 4 in a 10gal but not for too long before spacing is an issue and I have to upgrade or give the fish away.

I wish there was a dwarf goldfish that would grow no more then 2" max yet still contain the bioload the goldies are famous for. Works better for us small tank people. Anyone up for gen-making a dwarf goldie in their lab class? :)

How many litiers is that per grow bed when you mentionmed I can support 2 grow beds? Also how deep should the grow bed be?

I'm in Toronto, Canada and I was check out www.bustan.com and I think their tray (expensive as hell) are ~12" deep.

[Ravnis]

my first bed was a sterlite box I bought at walmart. I believe it was 2 ft x 1 ft x 5" deep. It would make a good starter growbed with a price of 8-10 dollars. A drawback is the clear sides did allow some algae growth. I started with perlite because it was recommended on another site. That was a big mistake, go with clay balls or lava rock if you can find it. Expanded shale may be available in your area and it is good too I hear(haven't tried it myself). Be careful of gravel as some are limestone based and that will drive your ph up initially.

You can make the siphon from a simple 1/2 inch pvc connectors a male and female threaded works ok , a little silicone sealant for good luck. Make sure it is aquarium grade. A powerhead can work as your pump if you keep the setup compact.

I know some will tell you that a depth of 12" is mandatory. I works good, don't get me wrong, but the 5 inch depth worked for growing herbs and lettuce. You can test the theory and learn fairly cheap and in a small space. I use a 1 liter coke bottle for the bell with a upside down v cut in the bottom. No tubes and works great.

I would advise against tilapia in that small of a tank, simply because they will not have room to swim in it when they grow.

Good luck and if I made things clear as mud, ask away,

[mmchupp]

I know some will tell you that a depth of 12" is mandatory. I works good, don't get me wrong, but the 5 inch depth worked for growing herbs and lettuce. You can test the theory and learn fairly cheap and in a small space. I use a 1 liter coke bottle for the bell with a upside down v cut in the bottom. No tubes and works great.
Good luck and if I made things clear as mud, ask away,
Ravnis,

Could you elaborate on the design of the coke-bottle bell-siphon? I have folks asking me to do a small system for them, and this is very intriguing. Where is the V-Cut? in the bottom of the Coke liter, which is now the "top" of the siphon? or the bottom of the siphon, near the neck of the Coke liter? I'm picturing this in my head, and I can't see how the air-lock is formed to start the siphoning.

Thanks,
-mark

[Ravnis]

see if this pic will upload


I currenly use this with 1/2 pvc standpipe. Easy, cheap, and hey it's recycled :D

[poohbear]

If you chould show pics (step by step helps better) as I am a very visual person. I get very lost easily with text instructions.