Update On Bill the Fish

[Machu10]

Hi everyone!

Just wanted to update everyone on how Bill the fish is doing in his new home,

I set up the Marineland C360 canister and it seems to be doing an excellent job, I swapped of the plastic bio-balls for Seachem Matrix, and put in a small mesh pouch of gravel the fish store owner gave me, I rinsed out the other media (coarse sponges, Ceramic tubes, and charcoal bags) with tap water, then rinsed it again with tanks water treated with Seachem prime and Tetra Safestart plus, The water is absolutely crystal clear! except for a few times the filter spit out some micro bubbles, I was told that will happen a couple times during the first couple days of use, I am gonna keep the Penguin 200 HOB running for a couple weeks till the canister is more established.

I've been testing the water twice a day and the levels are looking okay, Ammonia is next to zero(not at zero, but not at 0.025ppm either), Nitrite is at 0.25ppm, and Nitrate is at 10ppm, I am using the API liquid master test kit.
I was now told to keep an eye on the Nitite level, and keep up with the water changes, and maybe even think about adding some salt?

Bill Seems happy and is swimming all over the tank, and does his usual "feed me" dance at the top front of tank whenever I walk up to the tank, I did find out that Bill is a Windsor Shubunkin (never really knew what he was, since we got him at Walmart we just called him a WallyWorld fish),

And I got another surprise, took a measuring tape to Bills new tank and found out its actually a 46Gal and not 36gal, its 36in wide x 16.5 deep x 22 tall, so I guess I misunderstood when they said 36 tank? So we should have room to get Bill a Tankmate?

As always thanks to everybody who took the time to answer my questions and give me advice, and again, any suggestions are appreciated!

[Compass]

Well that is quite the update. You are certainly on the right track. I would not add salt to the aquarium, it is not necessary. As for adding another tank mate, I'll defer to someone else who knows goldfish. I'm not sure how big that one will get.

[Slaphppy7]

Any amount of nitrite is deadly to fish, a large WC is in order

That fish can grow up to 18 inches, more suited for a pond

[Machu10]

I was wondering how big he will get? I've had him 3 years already and his body length is only about 5 inches now? how long does it take for a shubunkin to reach his full size?

[Compass]

I was wondering how big he will get? I've had him 3 years already and his body length is only about 5 inches now? how long does it take for a shubunkin to reach his full size?

Ten inches by this list.

http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/aquariumforum/showthread.php?t=47133

Not sure how long it will take him to get there though.

[Compass]

Ten inches by this list.

http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/aquariumforum/showthread.php?t=47133

Not sure how long it will take him to get there though.

And according to this: http://goldfish2care4.com/buy-goldfish-tanks.html
You can keep two. Though I would pick one of the smaller varieties from the first list.

[mermaidwannabe]

Since it's a new filter, you didn't have any established beneficial bacteria to lose when you rinsed the media in tap water this time. In the future, never rinse your filter media in tap water, unless you have a private well that you KNOW contains no chlorine or chloramines. Always rinse it in tank water from now on. And don't rinse it at all until it's well established and your cycle is completed. Once that happens, nitrates can build up in a filter and it will need to be cleaned about once a month.

I wouldn't add anymore goldies to this tank. Maybe a few snails, but no more goldfish. Eventually, he will need to be re-homed in a large pond.

You do need to continue frequent water changes until the cycle completes. Ammonia and nitrite should be at zero. If it isn't, your tank is still cycling. The seeded gravel will help speed this up, but it will still take awhile.

[Machu10]

Thanks for the advice, ya the only reason I rinsed the filter media in tap water first was because it was new, after I rinsed in tap water I let it soak in a bucket with tank water treated with Seachem prime and Tetra Safestart plus. and I been doing about 25% water changes daily, is that too much/not enough?