Ich question

[PorshaF]

My mom said she has a tank I can have, all her guppies died of ich last month. But I was wondering how long I should leave the tank empty before i could start cycling it? Could i start a fish less cycle even if there is ich present? She's had the tank full of water and filter on since the fish died. Should I buy a new cartridge or could the old one be used after a certain quarantine length?

I looked or tried to, online. I found several different answers, 48 hours, 2 weeks, 76 days, my lfs told me 5 days? Any help is appreciated, it's a 20gallon tall, filter is tetra whisper ex30. She used api super ich cure 3 days before the fish were lost. Gravel and silk plants

 

[OliveFish05]

My mom said she has a tank I can have, all her guppies died of ich last month. But I was wondering how long I should leave the tank empty before i could start cycling it? Could i start a fish less cycle even if there is ich present? She's had the tank full of water and filter on since the fish died. Should I buy a new cartridge or could the old one be used after a certain quarantine length?

I looked or tried to, online. I found several different answers, 48 hours, 2 weeks, 76 days, my lfs told me 5 days? Any help is appreciated, it's a 20gallon tall, filter is tetra whisper ex30. She used api super ich cure 3 days before the fish were lost. Gravel and silk plants

Hi there! I too recently lost all my guppies to ich, I wasn’t able to see it properly because of the poor quality of my lighting, until I upgraded my light and it was too late.

Does the tank have a heater? Keeping the tank at a constant 86 degrees (or 30 in Celsius) will speed up the life cycle of any ich present. Without fish in the tank, the ich will eventually die and speeding up their lifecycle will cause them to die at a faster rate. I would give the tank 3 days with the temp at 86, then do a large (75%) water change and gravel vacuum before adding any fish. Make sure to dechlorinate any water before adding it to the tank!

What kind of filter media is it? Depending on the material, it may be holding the ich medication it which could potentially cause problems for your future fish

 

[Naughts]

Without a host (fish) the ich will have already died off. You can start cycling the tank.

 

[Sgooosh]

let it dry out and re-cycle (not recycle, cycle again) LOL

 

[Abaddon]

Leaving the tank bone-dry (and I mean bone-dry, no hidden puddles or moist patches anywhere) for several days should kill off any remaining ich parasites, including the tomonts, which are the "dormant" stage you should be most worried about. I'd change the media and start the cycle from scratch if I were you. If you want to be extra cautious you can also raise the temperature to 86F for 2 weeks before adding fish.

 

[itiwhetu]

As you are waiting just have the tank set up at around 86 F that will kill the last of them off, plus there are no host fish around. All will be fine.

 

[PorshaF]

I'll do the heater 86F tomorrow for a few days and then dry it out all the way, change the media(carbon currently) and start a new cycle. Thank you all for your help!?

 

[Kolykaf]

Why start anew? If there are no fish or live plants just crank the temp to over 86 for a week and dose ich x or something similar. You don’t have to wait 4-6 weeks for a new cycle.

 

[Sgooosh]

Why start anew? If there are no fish or live plants just crank the temp to over 86 for a week and dose ich x or something similar. You don’t have to wait 4-6 weeks for a new cycle.

i think either you or me read it wrong, i think it says the fish already died??

 

[Kolykaf]

i think either you or me read it wrong, i think it says the fish already died??

Right, but the filter has been running ever since. There’s a probability that most of the beneficial bacteria hasn’t died.

 

[Colin_T]

I would just wash it all out with the hose on the lawn and then set it up. Chances are if there are any white spot parasites left, they will be washed out onto the lawn. Then just run the tank for a week and move some old filter media and fish into it.

There are reports of some strains of white spot that can go dormant when the fish are removed from the tank. The parasites become active again when fish are added. This is rare and the way to make sure there is none left in the tank is to add a couple of litres of tank water (from an aquarium with fish in), to the new tank every day for a week. There are chemicals in the water from the fish and these activate the parasites. The parasites come out of dormancy and look for a host but die after a few days because there isn't one.

 

[PorshaF]

I would just wash it all out with the hose on the lawn and then set it up. Chances are if there are any white spot parasites left, they will be washed out onto the lawn. Then just run the tank for a week and move some old filter media and fish into it.

There are reports of some strains of white spot that can go dormant when the fish are removed from the tank. The parasites become active again when fish are added. This is rare and the way to make sure there is none left in the tank is to add a couple of litres of tank water (from an aquarium with fish in), to the new tank every day for a week. There are chemicals in the water from the fish and these activate the parasites. The parasites come out of dormancy and look for a host but die after a few days because there isn't one.

Wow, I didn't know that. Thank you! I'll definitely do that

 

[PorshaF]

I tested the water, nitrate 0, nitrite 1.0 and ammonia .5
But a good friend has offered me not only fish water but also media to start a new cycle from their 7yo aquarium.

Thank you everyone for helping me out! Once the tank is established and stocked in the future-I'll be sure to start a thread ??

 

[Essjay]

The water won't do much since the bacteria live attached to surfaces, but the media will help. It won't instantly cycle the tank but it should give it a kick start.

 

[Sgooosh]

Right, but the filter has been running ever since. There’s a probability that most of the beneficial bacteria hasn’t died.

o ya. i read it wrong.
dismantle the filter and let it dry completely (shells take shorter but just switch the inside as you are restarting)