I have a 10 gal tank?

Question

It has a whisper 20-40 filter system on it and an undergravel filter system. Do I need both for a goldfish? I'm new to aquariums.

Answer 1

sounds great, you can't really have too much filtration (unless of course it's disturbing the fish or sucking them in). however, a 10gallon is only big enough for 1 young fancy goldfish and when it gets older it should be moved to a 20gallon. 10 gallons are better suited for a small tropical community.

Answer 2

First, regardless of what anyone else says, undergravel filters are the best bacterial filtration system you can have if you use it properly. To make it work properly, you need very small, tight fitting gravel. The standard gravel that they sell in the petstores is too big. It doesn't properly trap the beneficial bacteria and it allows the gunk to fall through underneath and clog the filter. If you use the tiny gravel, at about 3 inches in depth, your undergravel will work great. Then just siphon the top 1/2" of gravel. To better enhance the undergravel filter, you can put a powerhead on the end of the output tube which will further enhance the water flow. When you are buying filters for goldfish you do not consider what size of tank the box says it's good for because that is based on the 1 inch of fish per 1 gallon of water rule. For goldfish, who require 10 gallons of water minimum per fish, you need to look at how many gallons per hour it pumps. The rule for filtration with goldfish is that the filter should pump water 10X the size of the tank. So, if you have a 10 gallon tank, you must have a filter that pumps 100 gallons per hour or "gph." This is what you need to go by. The filter you described, a Whisper Advance 20-40 is rated at 200 gallons per hour, so you have a very good filter for this small tank, in fact, it would work for a 20 gallon. Which brings me to the next comment. As everyone else mentioned, you cannot have more than one fancy goldfish in a 10 gallon aquarium. I say fancy goldfish, because if you get one of the slim bodied goldfish, commons, comets or shubunkins, you need a minimum of 20 gallons of water per fish. You said, "a" goldfish, so if you are only looking at one, this is good. Just as a comment, goldies love friends and get very lonely and, sometimes, very depressed if they are in a tank alone. So, can you return your 10 gallon for a 20 gallon? Then you will still have a good filter, but will be able to have two goldies who will be friends. Don't forget to cycle your water before you get the fish, learn how to test your water, learn how to do water changes, learn about diseases and how to identify them and treat them, etc. A knowledgeable fishkeeper is a happy fishkeeper (and so, definitely, are the fish!). Good luck and have a lot of fun! Goldies are great!

Answer 3

Undergravel filters, I hate to say are almost worthless. We wont even sell them anymore at the aquarium store I work at. But the whisper 20-40 is a good filter and should be enough to sustain you on a 10 gallon tank by itself. If you are wanting to keep more than one goldfish I would just suggest you either leave both filter systems in place or just monitor your filter cartridges and change them regularly on your Whisper. Filter cartridges need to be changed about every 2 weeks for gold fish. Gold fish are the most dirty fish around by nature, so even though I would never tell anyone that :"just" an undergravel filter would be ok. I think the combo of the 2 will be just fine. I wouldn't keep anymore than 2 goldfish in a tank that size though. Over feeding will dirty your water too, very fast. All a fish really needs is 1 flake per fish per day. I know all the fish food containers say different. But they just want you to come buy more food faster, and buy bigger filters because most of the compaines that make the food also make the filters and other aquarium asscessories,. Since you are new to aquariums, I think you are making a good choice going with goldfish, they are very hardy and can handle water quality changes better than tropical fish, they are great to learn off of till you can begin to fully understand what all it takes to keeping an aquarium functioning properly. I know I probably gave you more info than you wanted, but about 5 years ago I was new to fish keeping also, and wanted all the advise I could get. Good luck with your new aquarium and I hope you enjoy your new hobbie. I hoped this helped.

Answer 4

Goldfish tend to be very dirty. The undergravel filter will perform biological filtration and the Whisper will take care of mechanical/chemical filtration. The undergravel is more important but it will be best to keep both. Change the whisper filter once a month and do monthly water changes of 25-50% using a gravel vacuum to keep the gravel clean and water flowing through it. Don't overfeed and everything should be great! Good luck!

Answer 5

Goldfish won't live long at all in a 10 gallon, even if you have too much filtration. Undergravel filters are a lot of trouble and cause unstable water conditions, the wisper filter isn't very strong for a 10 gallon either.

Answer 6

To start with, DONT PUT GOLDFISH IN ANY THING LESS THEN A 55 GALLON TANK!!!!! Now that I have said that, let me tell you why. Goldfish grow to be quite large, and pollute the water easily, so unless you plant to upgrade to a 55 gallon tank soon, please dont put goldfish in there, even with all the filteration. Instead buy a 10 gallon heater, and get ropical fish. Trust me, they will be MUCH happier then cramped goldfish. You could put quite a variety of fish in there, here are some suggestions with their sizes. Remember, 1" of fish per gallon rule, though if you have both filters, you might be able to do 1 1/2" per gallon I have heard, but I wouldnt recommend it. Anyways, here are some good tropical community fish:
#1. neon tetras (1") keep in groups of 3 or more
#2. cardinal tetras (1") keep in groups of 3 or more
#3. guppies (1")
#4. corydoras catfish (2-3") dont like AQUARIUM salt in water
#5. otoclunis (1.5")
#6. platies (2")
#7. mollies (3") keep in 1 male to 2 female ratio, or all females, prefer 1 tbsp of aqaurium salt per gallon
#8. swordtails (4") keep in 1 male to 2 female ratio, or all females, prefer 1 tbsp AQUARIUM salt per gallon of water too
#9. tiger barbs and cherry barbs(2.5") best keep in tank byself, DONT put with guppies or long finned fish, fin nippers
#10. danios (1-3") keep in groups of 3 or more
#11. female betta tank (2") keep 3 or more female bettas together
#12. male betta tank (3") keep BY SELF in tank, maybe with cories or ottos
#13. ghost shrimp (1") if smal enough betta might eat them

Most of these fish can be kept together, except for barbs, male bettas w/ female bettas, mollies or swordtails w/ neon tetras.


For the filter problem, sorry I didnt answer it sooner, I would just use the box filter.

Good Luck!!!!!!!!!! =)

Answer 7

Goldfishh tend to be dirty. that is plenty for one goldfish! you have a filter that is for a tank 10-30 gallons bigger on top of an underground filter that should most definatley be fine!

Answer 8

Id get rid of the ugf there just ugly i have a 70 gallon with two big red devils and just a waterfall filter and a fluval easily hide both and gives the water a small current which the fish love and it helps keep algae down.

Answer 9

No you do not one or the other will work goldfish are an easy fish to take care of you dont even need a heater

Answer 10

Its best to have them both but you don't have to . Goldfish are very dirty and they would probably love both . GOOD LUCK !!!!