# Airstones?



## DollyGirl08

I've got my tank. 
Ordered my pump. 

What are airstones, and do i need one? I've seen lots of little blue ones of different shapes for sale.

Also, is my pump, a filter? Is it the same thing? 

Lol there are so many things i'm getting comfused with what is what.


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## magpie

If you want an airstone then you need an air pump to go with it. The pump essentially just blows out air, which is what creates the bubbles when you attach the pump to an airstone (via an airline). You don't have to have an airstone & pump if you don't want to.

Filters are entirely different and are essential in any tank. They contain sponges and sometimes other media like ceramic rings, and this is where your good bacteria grows.

Hope that makes sense!


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## DollyGirl08

Thanks. 

It's a filter i've ordered, not a pump lol. 
These fish tanks are more complicated than i thought! Sure once i get the hang of it i will be fine.


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## magpie

Yeah, it's all a bit confusing to begin with! I remember when I inherited my first goldfish 4 years ago... it was a steep learning curve!


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## DollyGirl08

Lol i also inherited mine, my sister was going to flush it down the loo as she didn't want it 
I got another 2 fish but 1 died a few weeks later. 
Also it was in a 15l tank when i got it, then i got a 30l biorb, and now i've just got a Juwel 180 for them. Costing me a bomb! 
Very nice to watch though.


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## magpie

Ha, similar story here! I got mine from my brother, who had been given them as a Christmas present the year before. They were originally in a 20L tank, then I moved them to a 90L, then a 200L, and now they're in a 500L! 

It's very addictive, this fishkeeping lark!


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## DollyGirl08

Gosh where on earth do you find room for such a massive tank!!! 
What fish do you keep? 
I'd love a tropical as the neons and guppies are lovely, and a marine reef would be amazing!


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## magpie

The 500L is in the kitchen, it's a little under 5 foot long so does take up a lot of room!  Currently only has 2 goldfish in there (as I haven't had it long), but going to get some more soon hopefully 

Also have a 70L tropical tank, home to a shoal of harlequin rasboras. I love the look of marine tanks too, but keeping marines sounds too complicated for me!

The goldfish


And the tropical


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## DollyGirl08

Wow they are lovely...are they real plants too? 

I have a fantail and a comet goldie, the one that died was another fantail too. 

Saw an amazing marine in a pet shop, with live corals and clownfish and colourful shrimps. Was so nice!


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## magpie

Yep, all the plants are real  I'm not very good with plants, but these seem to be doing okay at the moment, which is nice!

Have you set up your new tank yet?


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## DollyGirl08

Just fake plants for me lol.

Nope not set up yet, waiting for my api test kit and filter to be delivered.


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## magpie

Make sure you post some pics once you do get it all set up 

You should give live plants a try, even though the goldies will probably end up ripping them to shreds! I don't do anything special with mine; a bit of fertilizer and some liquid carbon every now & again, and the fish seem to enjoy chomping on them


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## DollyGirl08

I will do  I'll hopefully have it set up with the fish in it in the next 2-3 weeks tops.


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## Tropical Fish Delivered

Hi, an air pump will aerate you water giving your fish oxygen, circulating the water and helping diffuse gasses such as Carbon Dioxide from the water. Your filter cleans your tank water both mechanically (removes solid particles from the water) and Biologically ( removing Ammonia and Nitrite from the water). Hope this is of some help.


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## nickmcmechan

If you don't have fish in the tank you should perform a 'fishless cycle' (google it).

You will need a dechlorinator that removes chlorine and chloramine.

You will need kit to do water changes as well


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## DollyGirl08

thank you that explained the difference in pumps and filters. I've got a filter for up to 400l and my tank is 180l so it's a good strong filter, and it also pumps water through the tank and back to the filter...it's an external one. 

I've dechlorinated the water now, and am waiting for my API kit to come this week so i can test it all. 

I'm excited....it's all ready with the gravel and filter....now i just need the fish in it


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## NaomiM

Just one more essential item you need - do you have a bottle of liquid ammonia to cycle the tank before you put fish in?


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## DollyGirl08

no? 
Where can i get it/what brand?


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## nickmcmechan

DollyGirl08 said:


> no?
> Where can i get it/what brand?


Home base used to sell it. Need pure ammonia, without surfactants


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## Peapet

You don't need to do a fishless cycle when you've already got a tank with fish in. Put the sponge out of your biorb in your new filter or if you can't, squeeze muck into your new tank for the filter to pick up. Also I'd put existing water into new tank. If you've got the ceramic media in your orb you can put this in the tank aswell, even if its just until the tank has matured (usually 6-8 weeks). 
You can buy products that are supposed to help mature a tank faster but no real evidence that they work eg Tetra Safestart, Hagen Cycle and others I can't think of!


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## DollyGirl08

thanks. 

Yes i heard about putting my old filter sponges in my new filter, also the ceramic ornament and the gravel. 
And i haven't filled the new tank all the way so that i can add the old water too. 

I'm just waiting for my API kit to come so i can test the old tank, and then start testing the new tank with the pebbles and ornament in etc. 

Can you please remind me of what i want my API readings to be? 
And how do i do it, it's a liquid test isn't it?


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## Peapet

Yea all instructions are in the box. It's a bit complicated until you get used to doing them. Obviously testing the new tank is just going to give you your tap water readings until you put the fish in. Ammonia and nitrite should always be 0, if you get any readings on these you need to do a water change. Ph will vary depending on your water supply, ideally goldfish prefer slightly alkaline. Nitrate should be below 40ppm but some people will say 20ppm. You will have nitrate in your tap water, this is the least harmful and end result of the nitrogen cycle. 
Goldfish are messy. You need regular water changes using a gravel cleaner.


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## NaomiM

Yes it's true that you can just move everything over, but sometimes you can still get a mini-cycle with the new tank even if you do that, so personally to be on the safe side I'd still go for a fishless cycle on the new tank. Seeded with a little bit of the old media it should be really quick. It's up to you - I'm not contradicting peapet, it may well be fine moving it all over, but if the levels are all fine in the old tank and you have room to run both for a couple of weeks, I still say better safe than sorry.

Oh and Homebase have changed the formula of their own brand ammonia and it's no longer suitable. Jeyes Kleenoff is a good brand, you can get it online or in most independent hardware stores.


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## DollyGirl08

thank you both. 

I'll see what the readings come out as in the tank they are in now and go from there.


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## magpie

It's confusing when people have different opinions on these things, isn't it!? 
Personally, I'm another one that wouldn't bother with a fishless cycle.

- If your current tank is already cycled then all you are doing is moving your cycled filter media and putting it into a larger body of water. This is what I did when I upgraded my goldfish tank.

- If your current tank is NOT already cycled, then it will be MUCH better for the fish to put them straight into the bigger tank, rather than leave them in a small uncycled tank for 6+ weeks while you fishlessly cycle the other one.

It's all down to personal preference though


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## Peapet

Any updates? Did you get your test kit and move fish?


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## DollyGirl08

Hi, thanks for asking. 

My kit came in the post, but i missed the postman, so i had to go and collect it from the post office yesterday. 

Been reading the instructios today, so i can test their tank tomorrow. Then i can move over the pebbles/plants and squeeze the filter into the new tank, let it go for a few hours, then test the new tank. 

So i might be around with questions tomorrow depending on the test results lol.


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