danielles

I had to set up a tank in a hurry to accept fish from a friend who was moving last minute and taking her tank with her. I learned quickly about the aquarium cycle after a bit of stress on the fish but every one made it WHEW!
So we introduced a new Pleco to the tank without quarentine and Lost the whole tank. Such a Sad Sad day. The last two that I had hope for went this morning. apparently I mis diagnosed ICH when looking into it now it looked more like the Velvety Bacteria problem. If only I was more perseptive.

So my question is... now that I have paid for all of this equipment, is it recommended to start the entire tank over, sterilize and cycle again to get rid of all disease, or can I use the tank as set up and just clean it and filter it then make sure the cycle is balanced?

Thanks for Your Help

Danielle

Dozey

Wow, really sorry to hear that you lost all your fish especially after all you did to help save them.

I can think of 3 options for you. The least recommended (IMO) would be to medicate the tank. But as you not absolutely sure what killed off your stock you might get the wrong medicine.

You could also strip the tank down sterilize everything and start over. A bit time consuming and a lot of work but likely your safest bet.

Or could use pure ammonia (it must be pure ammonia). You can raise the ammonia level in the tank to 10ppm for about 48 hours. This will kill anything living in the tank. This unfortunately also will kill most of the cycle. But after 48 hours you can simply wait until the cycle recovers. I use this method after using my q-tank.

For future reference a common pleco is not at all suited for a 20 gallon tank. Common pleco can reach 18”. And I guess you already know the importance of having a q-tank.

Lucy

Hi Danielle
Wow, what a quick course in what not to do. I'm really sorry for the loss of your fish.

I'm glad you're not discouraged and armed with more info your next try should be successful.
I'm overly cautious and would probably use bleach rather than ammonia.

Afterwards you might want to look into Tetra SafeStart. Several members have had good luck using this to cycle a tank. Be wary of anything else that claims to jump start the cycle.

Good luck, I know you'll be up and running in no time.

I agree with Dozey, I think I'd sterilize the whole thing and start a fish less cycle.

Dozey

I think Lucy might have misread my post. If you tear the tank down then yes use bleach. I was referring to using ammonia in a running tank without tearing it down. Just want to be sure you don’t decide to try this method using bleach.

CHoffman

Dozey and Lucy both gave you good advice..
It's good to see you haven't given up..Keep us posted.

CWO4GUNNER

Wow that's a tough brake and a hard clean up. Praise the good Lord I haven't had any diseases pop up, I think partly because I bought my fish from good stores. 35 years ago I cant remember ever scrubbing out a tank due to disease, scrub outs back then were done with soap during spring cleaning while the fish waited in a galvanized wash basin as I diden't know any better back then. But I suppose back then it served the same purpose killing whatever ailed the fish. Although I did have my battles with ich I always managed to clear it up with Methylene Blue and raising the temperature to 82 degrees. I suppose today with a 60g tank so large I would just run a spoon of chlorine for a day and then empty clean and refill with water treatment, rescue a couple feeder fish and recruit them for operation cycle.

Oh one other thing, God willing if my fish make it through cycle and I zero out on ammonia and nitrite, I plan to run the sterilizer 24/7 to stop all waterborne pathogens, algae and fungi. I researched that once cycle is complete and good bacteria has colonized surfaces, it only does good to keep all waterborne bacteria good and bad under control. At least that what the experts say. Far be it from me to allude to any advice.

Lucy

Thanks Dozey, yes, I misread.

Please don't cycle with fish. It exposes them to toxic levels of ammonia and nitrites. It creates work for you in the way of daily water changes and breaks down the fish's immune system making them more susceptible to disease.

If you decide to sterlize use 19 parts water to 1 part bleach. Let it set for a while. Rinse until you can no longer smell bleach. Then fill the tank again OD'ing it with dechlorinator and let that sit for a while. You should be good to go.

Tavel

My

I prefer hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) over bleach because it just turns into water after short while in the open.

Hydrogen Peroxide is my first choice, but it can get expensive in volume. a cheaper option is hydrochloric acid (aka: "muriatic acid" as sold in pool supply stores). then neutralize it with sodium bicarbonate (baking soda). Tap water also contains a lot of bicarbonates, so simply rinsing in tap water will also neutralize the acid.

It produce CO2 and NaCl (salt), which is safe enough. But the acid itself is quite dangerous until it's diluted.


I think both are preferable to bleach, just because it's easier to to neutralize hydrogen peroxide (let it sit) and muriatic acid (add baking soda).


ACID SAFETY:
1. wear splash goggles; safety glasses will not protect from splashing liquids. I love these "Visorgogs". Stupid name? yes. But they are awesome, they fit over glasses, never fog up, and never glare because of the angled lens. I use them for all my eye protection needs in the shop.

2. Do like you outta, add acid to water! Adding water to acid can boil and splash, not fun.

3. wear rubber gloves; hydrochloric acid will burn you, and you'll probably spill a little just because it will burn you. (tempting fate)

prairielilly

Hi danielles, sorry to hear about your troubles. I lost all my fish in a disease outbreak too, and when the tank was empty I sterilized it with ammonia without tearing it down. It worked well for me although it did go through a mini-cycle. Now it's up and running again, stable for a few weeks already and full of healthy, active, disease-free fish. I'd highly recommend this method.

danielles

This is the best site ever thanks for the quick advice to all. I am not sure I am ready to buy new fish yet so I am leaving the tank running as is for a couple days until I decide how to start over. I have a 60 gallon fishtank who's current inhabitants need a new home. I will definately start small and move up with better education.

Danielle

Tavel

actually, larger tanks are easier to take care of because the larger volume buffers against all kinds of mallodies, like environmental fluctuations, disease and even user error. So the key is to start BIG, and go small when you feel confident