new 170 gal tank for gold fish

[nitrox1971]

hi setting up new tank for goldfish.
what filters will best suit a tank this size.
been looking at ugf or canisters ehiem, fluval, otto not sure wether to use two filters or one large one or how to set up inlets and out lets.to give best results.any help setting up tank will be most helpfull rather do it once and get it right.

[imported_beer]

Some questions.

1. What sort of aquarium do you plan to have, planted or fake?

2. How many goldfish do you plan to have. Ae you going to get a bunch and keep weeding them out, or are you just going to get 8 and leave them in there to grow?

Given the rather poopy nature of goldfish, a combination of filters designed for an aquarium your size would work. My friend has a much smaller aquarium and combines a power with gravel each for an aquarium her size and that keeps her water doing great. If you can answer the above, then I could give you her recommendations.

[AngelMom]

You're definitely going to need a canister as a power filter (HOB) will be pretty much usless for that size tank ..... I suppose you could put 4 or 5 of them on, but a canister would be less expensive than that option! Depending on the canister size, you might want to put 2 in.

A UGF is really more of a personal preference than a necessity. I run them (with an HOB) in my 55 and 60 gallons using powerheads run in reverse ....... I like the reverse flow on the powerheads as it helps keep the poop near the top of the gravel so its easier to vacuum.

Unfortunately, I know very little about canisters, but you might ry checking out the manufacturers sites. Here are a couple of links (all have manuals):
http://www.marineland.com/products/prod_consumer.asp
http://www.hagen.com/usa/aquatic/index.html
http://www.eheim.com/

[nitrox1971]

GOING TO TRY PLANTED NEVER HAD MUCH LUCK WITH PLANTS WILL TRY AGAIN. AS FOR FISH SAY 15 TEND TO ROTATE SOME BACK TO OUT SIDE PONDS KEEPING BEST FOR VIEWING OR NEW BABYS FROM PONDS TO WATCH THEM GROW.CURRENT TANK 50 GAL WITH 6 GOLD FISH 5 BLACK WIDOWS WITH UGF ONLY PLASTIC PLANTS.

[oscarbartoni]

Gole fish are fish that will eat live plants so you might want to make sure that if you put plants in with them you do not mind if they get eaten. You might want to try some duck weed or other fast growing plants that other people think are trouble by growing too fast. I am having a running battle with duckweed, I just keep skimming it out of the tank on a nearly daily basis. I have very little algae and not plant eating fish to get rid of the duckweed.