New Tank Arrive

[petebuster1]

The new tanks arrived (second hand but excellent condition)now it has the previous owners gravel (stone substrate)still would it be a good idea to use it without washing it or start afresh?

 

[Miles_hot]

what fish are you keeping as some do better on sand....

 

[petebuster1]

what fish are you keeping as some do better on sand....

i'd planned on adding sand and aquarium earth as i was thinking of maybe real plants? not sure on fish exactly but will have to be hard water tolerent,thought the original substrate might good as its been cycled?

 

[Tizer]

Origional substrate wont hold any beneficial bacteria, thats 99% all in the filter. (which might all be lost now if you have let it dry out or have neglected to feed the bacteria in it, in which case you will need to do a full fishless cycle.)

If you wanted a cheap option you could go the cat litter / play sand route like i did dirt cheap too.

 

[fluttermoth]

Unless the previous owner was using an undergravel filter, there will be a negligable amount of good bacteria on the substrate; that lives in the filter, so you might just as well dump it and start afresh with what you want.

If it was being used as a UG, then it might be worth putting a handful of the gravel in your filter to 'seed' it, but it would need feeding, either with ammonia or fish food to keep it alive while you prepare the tank.

 

[petebuster1]

ok what about the filter media ? not been changed and the tank was only emptied a few hours ago, still a little water in the bottom of the tank (cat litter? nice idea, thanks)

 

[fluttermoth]

If it's been kept wet, there's every chance that the bacteria will still be alive.

You need to get it running again (make sure you dechlorinate the new water!) ASAP, or they will start to die back, and, as I said, you will need to feed it; a pinch of fish food every day will keep it 'ticking' over, and then you can run a shortened fishless cycle (or you could try stocking immediately; a small amount of fish and frequent testing; depends how brave you're feeling!)

Make sure you use only the very cheapest, fuller's earth cat litter with no perfumes or deodorisers

 

[Tizer]

if the filter isnt running, in water, the bacteria on the filter media will die from oxygen starvation and lack of food (produced by the fish or added by using pure ammonia or alternatives like rotting fish food)

I suggest you fill it up, at least half way so you can get it going again, then feed the bacteria until you decide what you want to do with the tank.

Very important point made above to dechlorinate new water. Chlorine in water kills bacteria.

Make sure you use only the very cheapest, fuller's earth cat litter with no perfumes or deodorisers

make sure there is little to no water in the tank when you put it in, it clumps up into a solid mass. its also a real ***** to get out if you ever wanted to redo your tank. its basically clay.

 

[petebuster1]

just ran around like a lunie now got it running again water very cloudy,now whats next should i clean the filter a bit? it looks like it needs it

 

[fluttermoth]

If it seems very badly blocked, then you can give the media a very gentle swish in some dechlorinated water, but as you have no fish in, I'd be inclined to eave it for the moment.

 

[petebuster1]

you'll be sick of me by the time i've finished but can i get rid of the stones yet and what about cleaning the tank up? i wasn't expecting the tank till next week so its caught me out a bit luckily the aqua safe came this morning

 

[Miles_hot]

can you get some ammonia in there to help the bacteria stay alive?
I would suggest that you stabalise the bacteria a little, maybe even test to see how they are doing, and then after a few days you can switch off the filter, empty the tank, do a bit of a clean and then fill the tank/start the filter whcih will not suffer any iill effects for a few hours switched off
Miles

 

[petebuster1]

can you get some ammonia in there to help the bacteria stay alive?
I would suggest that you stabalise the bacteria a little, maybe even test to see how they are doing, and then after a few days you can switch off the filter, empty the tank, do a bit of a clean and then fill the tank/start the filter whcih will not suffer any iill effects for a few hours switched off
Miles

like fish food?

 

[petebuster1]

can you get some ammonia in there to help the bacteria stay alive?
I would suggest that you stabalise the bacteria a little, maybe even test to see how they are doing, and then after a few days you can switch off the filter, empty the tank, do a bit of a clean and then fill the tank/start the filter whcih will not suffer any iill effects for a few hours switched off
Miles

like fish food? my test kit should be here tommorow, ive noticed a few live snails and how do you test for bacteria?

 

[fluttermoth]

can you get some ammonia in there to help the bacteria stay alive?
I would suggest that you stabalise the bacteria a little, maybe even test to see how they are doing, and then after a few days you can switch off the filter, empty the tank, do a bit of a clean and then fill the tank/start the filter whcih will not suffer any iill effects for a few hours switched off
Miles

like fish food?

+1 for miles advice; that's what I'd do too. Yes, fish food would do; better than nothing.