Everyone died, time to start over

[megsmelody]

So all of my fish died. I had an ammonia problem that I just couldn't kick.

I guess I should cycle my tank before getting new fish?
I dumped out the water, but do I want to do more than just add new water and put in Prime ammonia and water conditioner?

What would be a proper stocking plan for a ten gallon? I like Gouramis and I would like to have some sort of Algae eating fish. Any suggestions?

Thanks

 

[Nubster]

Yeah...cycling would be a good idea.

Water, conditioner, and ammonia is all you need to cycle. Just make sure it is pure ammonia without the surfactant.

 

[picture_117]

Here's a great article used by many here, credit to who's it is: The (almost) Complete Guide and FAQ to Fishless Cycling

Add water, prime, and ammonia.

As far as stocking you could do a type of Dwarf Gourami. There really is no algae eater that can go in a 10 gallon, I might be mistaken though.

 

[librarygirl]

Read the guide linked above, it'll walk you through the cycling process. You'll also need a good test kit, liquid is best (API Master kit), if you don't have one already. Sorry about your fish. A lot of us learn the hard way about needing to cycle a tank properly before adding fish.

In the meantime you could research the types of fish you want. You shouldn't need an algae eater per se if there is no algae in the tank, and in a new tank there won't be for a while. And true algae eaters are too large for a 10 gal.

For that size tank you could do a dwarf gourami and a group of some small nano fish, like mosquito rasbora or ember tetra, or guppies, and some shrimp maybe. Or a betta instead of the gourami.

 

[steez]

You have a decent variety in a 10g. I'd recommend just looking around the forums, there's plenty of posts about stocking 10g tanks.

Would you rather have a small schooling fish or a centerpiece fish?

Make sure you cycle your tank, be patient. You have to have the liquid test kits, it will tell you how your cycle is coming.

GL

 

[megsmelody]

Also, should I get new filter media?

 

[librarygirl]

Also, should I get new filter media?

Nope. Any beneficial bacteria that was starting to grow on those filters is good, you don't want to discard that. Generally filter media doesn't need to be changed unless it's literally falling apart which can take years in some cases. A good swish in old tank water (never pure tap water) now and then can loosen any gunk that builds up, but you don't want to get rid of the media entirely.

 

[redsea]

Sorry for your losses.

 

[megsmelody]

So put in the old filter and do the whole cycle again? Like the month long version?

 

[pdw1731]

The media you have should already have some good stuff on it. Start with that and it shouldn't take as long to cycle this time around.

 

[picture_117]

So put in the old filter and do the whole cycle again? Like the month long version?

Yes! Did you let the filter dry out? There might have been some bacteria starting to grow if it was about a month with fish but I'm not certain.
In any case, setting up the tank like you normally would and starting the cycle again is your best bet.

 

[steez]

If you're looking to speed up your cycle, ask a LFS if they have any established filter media that you can have. Or if you have any friends with tanks, ask them.

You can take the filter media from the established tank, shake it in your new tanks water and then put the established filter media inside your filter with the new filter media to essentially 'seed' the new media with bacteria.

 

[librarygirl]

So put in the old filter and do the whole cycle again? Like the month long version?

Yep. Did the filter dry out from when the fish were in the tank or has it remained wet? If it's still wet that's good, any bacteria starting to grow on the filters will still be there and it should have at least some bacteria on there if fish were in the tank for a while, so the cycle shouldn't take that long. Just add an ammonia source to keep the bacteria fed and test the water daily (the link in my signature, new empty tank, will walk you through it).

If the media has dried out the bacteria probably is dead but you can still do a fishless cycle. If you can get some filter media or substrate or even filter squeezings from another tank and add it to your filter it'll help speed things up.

 

[Kuhli Loach]

Here's a great article used by many here, credit to who's it is: The (almost) Complete Guide and FAQ to Fishless Cycling

Add water, prime, and ammonia.

As far as stocking you could do a type of Dwarf Gourami. There really is no algae eater that can go in a 10 gallon, I might be mistaken though.

Some Kuhli loaches might work maybe 3-5. Since gouramis hang at the top of the tank and kuhlis at the bottom. I have a opaline gourami and soon to be a dwarf too and it gets alone fine with my loachs! Hope this helps, and maybe some Cory catfish.