Cleaning box and sponge filters

They collect fine from every tank even those recirculating on the central systems.  By having decentralized biofiltration and solids capture on a central system, any tank can be simply isolated by capping the recirc drain, opening the drain to sewer and shutting off the central water.  Sponge filters are more work to clean but are worth it considering how many solids the trap.

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Box filters are much easier to clean, can be filled with aragonite for buffering and/or lava rock for surface area and are considerably cheaper to replace the media which is chemically inert which sponges are not.

Bubble Avatar

Combination sponge/box filter

This is a little filter I came up with a ling time ago when needing to

filter small tanks with killifish. It was made by slitting 1 inch

foam threw the middle to male the sponge. The body is a film canister

(ab endangered species) with holes melted with a 16 penny nail amd a

blow torch. Cut an x in the lid for the lift tube to snuggly fit then

Hot glue to attach the lift tube and the airline. To add surface area

and to sink the filter I filled it with large river gravel.

The "Dr. Seuss" tank

One fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish.

Sandy Bottom

Sandy bottoms are beneficial to goldfish in several ways. As enrichment, they love to dig in looking for food and when bottom feeding the sand give as they go for the food instead of bouncing off the glass.   It acts as ball bearings or a bumper between the fish and the glass.  As they forage, even between feedings they love passing the sand through their gill rackers and digestive track with food where it acts as grit or fiber to keep their gut moving.  A happy healthy moving goldfish gut is the best way to prevent swim bladder issues. 

A little sand goes a long way.  For a 6 foot tank a gallon or less of sand is usually good.  My centralized water flow usually blows areas bare, causing drifts in the lower flow areas where I feed sinking Hikari Lionhead and Saki Goldfish.  I use fine beach sand from the coast of Oregon which is mainly silica/quartz and or Aragamax oolitic aragonite from caribsea. The oolitic aragonite is form or calcium carbonate that dissolve readily increasing your pH, kH and GH.  It starts dissolving below 8.2 and is one of the best buffers available providing both calcium and carbonate freely in the water.

A new toy: 130 watt emperor Aquatics UV

Did a bit of horse trading for this. A pile of tanks and stuff for a
really nice UV. I love green water but it's nice to have clear water
when you want to.

Nematode

Breeding set up: Black Ranchu and Lionchu

Two Females to the left Male to the right.

Fry Tank

20 Gallon Long on central system with box filter, heater and plastic plants so the fry have a place to rest.

Fry floating in petri dishes until they inflate their swim bladder.

Black Ranchu Tail 108 hpf

Black Ranchu Fry 108 hpf

Mutant Black Ranchu Fry Videos

Mutant Black Ranchu Fry

These are 85 hour old black ranchu lethal recessive mutants.

A group of mutants.

Large Yolk.

Ventral Curve.

Dorsal Curve.

Sea Squirt.

Ball of Cells.

Normal Fry 85 hpf

Baby Drain

83 hpf Hatched

83 hpf hatching and hatched

Infertile egg with Saprolegnia hyphae

This is a black Ranchu egg that wa not fertilized. The saprolignia
hyphae can be seen growing from the egg. http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saprolegnia

Melanocyte migration from the neural crest

60 hpf. Black Ranchu

Tail Tuck

60 hpf black Ranchu with characteristic 45 degree tail tuck.
Digiscoped with iPhone and nikon eclipse e2000.

Leave your mark on the world <}}}><

A little natural graffiti I left behind on a camping trip last summer.
Burnt into a fallen log with a magnifying glass.

Ranchu in the Round

36 hour post fertilization (hpf)

You must flush your goldfish when it dies, so it can go to heaven...

Through the Swirly Gate! (Groan)

Shanghai Zoo Goldfish Tanks

Thanks to my friend for the pictures from April 2010.