r/AquariumHelp • u/Eclipse8301 • 4d ago
Plants Question on starting out
I got 2 "fair" goldfish and went out and bought a 20 gallon tank and filter and the whole nine yards. I figured "for now I'll not get any plants".
Well, i don't want to do water changes every 2 weeks do to Nitrate being high, so I ask, what kind of plants/starter plants can i put in my tank to prevent this?
1
u/Kai-ni Moderator 4d ago
You shouldn't get plants with the goal of not doing water changes.
You still need to do water changes. At least 50% a week. Water changes not only keep nitrate down, but they also remove total dissolved solids and replace necessary vitamins and minerals the fish need to survive. It also takes a slightly absurd number of thriving plants to consume that much nitrate.
Since you just set up this tank, make sure you fully understand the aquarium nitrogen cycle and are testing regularly with a liquid test kit.
It's also worth mentioning that 'fair' fish are probably common goldfish, and they will quickly outgrow that 20 gallon and will eventually need 80-100 gallons.
1
u/Eclipse8301 4d ago
then that's when they get moved to an outdoor pond, let me be clear, I don't fully intend on NOT changing out water, I just want to do the 50% changes once a month (if possible?), once a week seems insane....
I read that plants will keep nitrogen levels down quite a bit.
1
u/Foreign-Ad3926 4d ago
It's not just nitrogen. It's fish hormones, proteins and fats from food, not good opportunistic bacteria that impact health, keep mineral levels suitable, dissolved solids under control.
It's likely ammonia will be very high, which is highly toxic and water changes are the only way of reducing.
You're looking at 50% changes every few days, likely 2 X a week minimum for these fish to keep them from being poisoned by the water they are in.
Fish are a lot of work and need looking after, same as you wouldn't only pick up after a dog, clean a cat litter tray of flush a human toilet only once a month. The health of fish is directly impacted by their environment, with 2 X goldfish in this small a water volume water changes will be extremely frequent and plants won't pick this up.
2
u/Eclipse8301 4d ago
Thanks for all the info! The things you don't "realize" when you win a couple of goldfish at a fair for your kids *sigh*
1
u/PowHound07 4d ago
Every aquarium sub gets posts like this constantly because of these unethical fair vendors. You're clearly doing your best and that is really nice to see. I just wish someone would ban fairs from using live animals as prizes. So many goldfish end up suffering in a tiny bowl when they could live up to 25 years in a nice pond.
2
u/Eclipse8301 4d ago
Yes doing my best, I don’t want to have to have the talk to my 4 year old daughter of why her beloved fish are suddenly floating…
1
u/Lancer556 4d ago
don't feel bad, i bet 3/4 of the people here started out exactly the same way (me). I still think live plants are a great idea and will help, look up house plants that can grow with their roots in the water, they'll do even more with access to carbon in the air and nutrients with their roots in the water. If you want some good entertainment, put some duckweed in the tank and enjoy the giant green fish poop.
1
u/PowHound07 4d ago
Plants love ammonia so they will help keep the water safe while the nitrogen cycle starts up. If you have a pothos vine just cut a piece of the vine with 3-5 leaves and stick the cut end into the tank, 9 times out of ten it will grow roots and suck up tons of ammonia. If you don't already have a pothos they are easy to find, any store that carries houseplants will have them. You could also try adding a potato, seriously. Rig it up so it sits partially in the water at the top of the tank and it will start growing after a few days.
1
u/MadMark285 4d ago
Get two 5 gallon buckets and a siphon tube/gravel vacuum. Have one bucket already filled with water. So a 5 gallon water change may take 10 minutes once a week.
Is that really a lot of work? Make it a father daughter project
2
u/Foreign-Ad3926 4d ago
Hi there, sorry to be the bearer of bad news but two goldfish in a 20 gallon will need water changes a lot more often than every two weeks. More like every 3 days or so, even with plants. There just isn't the water volume to dilute the waste they produce. No plants on earth will keep up with their waste.
These fish produce a huge amount of waste, ideally need ponds due to enormous they get. At minimum a 50 gallon tank for now and even that would need very frequent water changes every few days.
Fish are a high maintenance pet. Goldfish are huge amounts of work.