Goldfish Aquarium Setup

In this video you'll join me as I set up an aquarium for my goldfish We'll decorate the aquarium replace the filter and transfer the fish to the new tank I had them in a 280-liter aquarium that was on this rack a long time ago But I had to take it apart because the aquarium above was leaking and already very old I took it apart urgently and used the opportunity to have this new one made which also has a taller structure to make maintenance easier The upper aquarium is completely new and stands 10 cm taller but you'll see that setup in another video Now the record cabinet and this one are aligned giving the fishroom a more aesthetically pleasing look As you can see the previous base rested entirely on the floor causing rust stains I once came across a fish that had jumped a long time ago—there you can just barely make it out The base and the upper aquarium had been secondhand purchases that were already several years old so it was time for a refresh Although she was forced into it as she hadn’t planned to do it soon This aquarium is relatively new and has no issues it’s where I kept my goldfish before And I had to remove it while they were building the new setup I temporarily housed my fish in this container with the filter running They've been here for about a week now It's not much time but it's already the right moment to transfer them to their new aquarium And everything is already ready to begin The lamp I'll be using is a hanging Wick Aqua M900K Pro that I've raised about 20 cm You can purchase it directly from me The advantage of this new setup is that I now have more room to work The aquarium measures 112 cm in length 50 cm in width and 50 cm in height for a total of 280 liters The glass is 6 mm thick with aluminum frames and reinforcing struts A frosted vinyl was added to the back perfect for my goldfish since the previous black one caused them to get a bit lost because most of them are quite dark On the left side the lamp wires are visible but once the aquarium is filled they won't be noticeable Beneath the aquarium of course is a sheet of styrofoam This aquarium is about a year old Having covered the aquarium's features we now begin the decoration As always silica sand 2030 which by the way is currently in short supply due to high demand Anyway in the description I've included some purchase links where I found it available I used a fully filled 20-liter bucket Be sure to rinse it thoroughly as it always comes out quite dirty We're leveling the sand and then moving on to the rocks These are river stones but of the molcajete type People often ask me where they can find them and I bought mine a while ago from a nursery but I haven’t seen them since then Still theoretically that's where you'd be able to buy them—just a matter of finding them This aquarium will be kept as simple as possible because these fish are very messy and the easier the maintenance the better In fact some people have them without a substrate but honestly I don't like that look I'd much rather decorate even if it's something very basic and simple And there it is Once the rocks are in place we can start filling the aquarium This will take a while so in the meantime let's tackle the most time-consuming part Replace the filter The previous aquarium was using this Sony-brand canister filter It's the 1200 model and honestly it's a great value for the price It has ample capacity to hold filter media and allows for good flow although space was extremely tight next to the aquarium It was tricky to remove it for maintenance So I'm going to replace it with this Fluval 407 I bought it for sure during the Hot Sale at a great price It has slightly less capacity than the Sony but more sponges It's a very good filter overall and in fact I have two of these in my discus fish aquarium I won't do a boxing review since I already have one on the channel I'm simply going to show you how to replace the filter cartridge Before installing this cartridge into the new filter You just need to give it a quick rinse with water from the container where the goldfish were That’s only to prevent too many residues from getting into the new filter Here I have a mix of matrix canutillos and pieces of sponge— those last ones are from a sponge filter used for quarantine I simply trimmed them so they'd fit in here They have a high capacity for harboring bacteria so I'll place them in one of the Fluval's baskets Remember that the beneficial bacteria not only reside in the matrix filter floss or any other biological filter material but on any porous surface including aquarium decorations I'll also transfer a bit of matrix and canister media to another basket And finally I'll place this new material I've been testing It's more porous than the matrix and nearly half the price It's flexible and easy to work with I've tested it on several filters with good results If you'd like to purchase a small bag made from this material feel free to send me a message on Instagram You'll also find the direct purchase link in the description of this video And there you have it—now that we've placed all the materials in position— We assembled the filter baskets and sponges filled it with water from the container where the goldfish had been then sealed and installed the filter The aquarium is already full and the filter is installed I filled most of it with fresh water and the rest with the water from the container where the goldfish were kept As I go to plant I'll put my fish in this container They'll just be here for a few minutes Regarding the plants they will be Valisneria caulescens which are the ones with thick leaves They're the only ones who were respected and didn't get eaten However this doesn't guarantee that all goldfish are the same They might just end up eating some of them It's each fish for itself here I'm arranging the plants in various spots Here I'm wedging some between the rocks to protect them even further And there it is everything in place and the plants settled so we start up the filter It has some power and the goldfish are already adjusting She doesn't like strong currents because they're clumsy swimmers So I've already ordered a new flute to replace this mouthpiece seeking a smoother flow The filter is already running and since I used a substantial portion of the Sony's filter media It's ready to receive the fish We can view this entire process as a very large water change And if you've been following along for a while They know that practically all of my setups are like this And it's completely safe Now comes the best part We're going to introduce the fish into their new aquarium It was more practical to do it by hand rather than with the net Due to the limited space it just requires great care The parameters are the same and the temperature is also consistent The pH is at 7.5 and the temperature is kept between 24 and 26 degrees Basically room temperature in the fishroom The fish are in the aquarium Let's give them a moment to settle down and I'll show you how they look the next day And there it was the aquarium as it looked the next day A very simple design but one that perfectly fulfilled its purpose What makes the aquarium stand out are the goldfish In fact they appear more vid with this vinyl than with the black one It also gives the aquarium a sense of depth Added two extra rocks at the back and rearranged the others You know the aquarist always makes sure there's no shortage of greenery in my tanks I also adjusted the lamp's color setting And this is the one that remained Now let's talk a little about the fish This ryukin has been with me for a year already just like this oranda which certainly changed color quite a bit and even looks like it has a helmet You can see there are only four now But there were five before But I lost one of my ryukin I couldn't tell you why one day it just stopped eating and the next morning it didn't wake up This sudden death thing with goldfish has only ever happened to me I'd like to think it's because they're such highly modified fish Some individuals may experience this type of issue which is genetic in nature Typically they live for many years Honestly I try to give them e best care I can get and following advice from people who have experience with them but sometimes even that isn't enough I've already had them for a year and I could tell you that based on my experience they're even more complicated than discs Specifically speaking of goldfish fancy I don't know whether it was genetic or some specific issue with the fish I just don't know what happened But now we only have four left For now I plan to keep the aquarium with just these fish until I find some I really love I'll go with more standard shapes I really like this red-headed one so I'll look for something similar The truth is I no longer care whether they're exotic or the cheapest available—so long as I like them that's all that matters even if they're the ones priced at just 100 pesos As for food I'm currently using these two: Hikari and New Life Spectrum I also mix in a bit of Kentagas to help prevent swim bladder issues Following the boat's instructions I always soak the goldfish food before feeding to prevent any issues These are the only fish I do this with I also feed them vegetables—something I was strongly advised to do And now back to the assembly The major advantage of making this change is that the aquarium is now slightly higher And this will make my life much easier when it comes to maintenance and using the siphon Well that concludes the entire process The truth is these setups usually take many hours especially due to changing the filter adding the fish and so on But I tried to address all the possible questions you later leave in the comments And well I hope you enjoyed this montage They noticed it changed slightly compared to the previous one But personally I prefer this latest version because my fish stand out more And remember if you have any questions you know I’ ll be happy to answer them in the comments section And right there in the video description you'll find the purchase links for the lamp growing medium and various accessories I mentioned in this video Thank you so much for staying until the end Receive a big hug and see you in the next video