bought a used tank...

[360º]

so i just bought a used tank from a friend. its been running with fish for about a year or so.

he just drained it and washed the inside of it and brough it over.

would have any of the bacteria survived or does the cycle need to start all over again?

 

[mfdrookie516]

as far as bacteria, that all depends on whether you kept the substrate and filter(s)... if so, did you keep them wet?

As far as '' washing '' did he just rinse, or actually use detergents?

 

[CA_BroncoFan]

as far as bacteria, that all depends on whether you kept the substrate and filter(s)... if so, did you keep them wet?

As far as '' washing '' did he just rinse, or actually use detergents?

+1

Did you keep any of the decor and if so did you keep it wet, during transport. The bacteria will only stay alive if its wet.

 

[360º]

the tank was just rinsed. but the stuff inside the tank wasnt wet. it's been dry for about 4 hours

 

[Crepe]

Most of it would be dead, but some of it would still be there. You should cycle just in case.

 

[maxima423]

yea, recycle just to be safe

 

[Big Dog]

Recycle your aquarium always.

 

[taylorodw]

Like the others said. If you add 4 ppm ammonia, and within 24 hours you have 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, and some nitrates, then repeat the test for a couple days. If your tank processes 4 ppm ammonia in 24 hours, and turns it into nitrate, then you're good! Otherwise, you have already started cycling by testing in this way.

 

[The_Desacrator]

Does petsmart or walmart sell ammonia? lol i only have fish flakes +/

 

[meegosh]

Ace hardware sells surfactant free ammonia. Someone just posted a link to their website. I'll see if I can find it.

Go to their site (for some reason the search option is not on their main page so linked is a category):
http://www.aceistheplace.net/store/shopdisplaycategories.asp?id=1&cat=PAINT+%26+CLEANING+SUPPLIES

Search for:
ammonia

It is the second one on the list.

Ammonia Quart Ace

"ACE" AMMONIA *10% ammonia hydroxide *Janitor strength *Discovery CON, NBR, SUP, HWU *Qt.

SKU: 10183