I did everything wrong ... now what?

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LudicrouSpeed

Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Joined
Mar 12, 2014
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43
Location
Northern Virginia
I now know that I did everything wrong, so before you tell me how I should've done it in the first place, just trust that I know that already.

About 3 weeks ago I got 10 gallon tank someone gave away on Craigslist with 12" Pleco inside (too big for the tank). The previous owner was getting rid of it and claimed to have just been waiting for the pleco to swim to fish heaven, but since it wouldn't die he wanted to find it a new home.

What I didn't know then is that the tank was neglected and poorly maintained, and probably full of decaying dead fish matter. I'd hoped getting an established tank would make things easier, but it didn't. Anyway, moved the tank home, plugged in the heater, popped in a new bio filter (mistake), filled it with new water, popped in an algae tablet for the pleco, and watched him lay around, swimming very little. I think he was dead by morning; shock of the move / water change.

I didn't discover he was dead until the next day when I came home with some mollies and a panda platy. I said a few words and threw out the pleco and popped in the new fish, who seemed pretty content. Snails appear everywhere. Didn't test the water.

A few weeks go by, some guppies are introduced, we find some babies and put them in a breeder net. The fish seemed happy. Then I begin cleaning out the old nasty gravel, which kicks up a bunch of large gross black flakes which I assume are decaying fish matter. The snails eat some of it, I scoop out some... there is an endless supply. I lay in some new gravel, only replacing a quarter of it to preserve the bacteria (although I suspect the tank is cycling now anyway).

I finally take some water into the LFS to get it tested and the clerk (bearer of questionable knowledge) tells me it's highly toxic, unhealthy, and she's surprised to hear anything is alive in there. Recommends I dump the tank and start over. But what about my fish, I say? She shrugs.

Convinced that the nasty old gravel is part of the problem I replace another quarter of it, pick out some snails (heard they might be bad?), and replaced the biofilter again (mistake). I also get some sensors for the tank to confirm that the pH and Ammonia levels are way too high. Noticed that my fish seem really stressed.

I did some more research and start to finally understand cycling (as a newbie, research into basic tank maintenance doesn't cover that at all). I realize now that replacing the biofilter without keeping the existing media is a backwards step and that I was most definitely over-feeding the fish.

So, now what? I need to get the tank to cycle, and I need to bring the ammonia down so my fish don't die.

My current plan involves continuing to replace sections of the gravel and vaccuum up the old gunk in there (since I think it's decaying fish matter / years of uneaten food / years of uncleaned waste, spiking the ammonia). Along with weekly water changes with stress coat. I've also treated the water with 5ml of an ammonia reducer, to give the fish some relief.

Should I use ammo chips in the filter, or will that not help the cycling process? Should I put in some additives to help the fish live through the cycle? I heard that buying bacteria at an LFS is a waste, so how do I find someone willing to lend me established media or gravel?

Any help / advice for future maintenance would be great. Thanks for reading all that.
 
Get some Prime water dechlorinator and keep up the water changes. There is a link under fresh water getting started for fish-in cycling. Its how I started my 5 gallon. I've had no issues. Good luck!

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Its a good one! That's why I love this forum, newbies rule! Or at least we will ;)

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Don't feel too bad, your ammonia would be spiking even if it was a brand new tank. That's my situation. I did everything wrong at first too. I second the reco for using Prime as your water conditioner. It converts the ammonia (highly toxic) to ammonium (not so toxic) for 24-48 hours. A little goes a long way too. Just keep doing 40-50% water changes as often as you can and keep dosing with Prime. And be patient. And don't add anymore fish. You probably have too many as it is.

And maybe someone else can chime in regarding stirring up the gravel. I'm inclined to say stop agitating it until your cycle gets going.
 
I feel better now. Thank you.

As for the gravel, I also had some sand I wanted to put in to make it more plant friendly. Is a snad / gravel mixture a bizarre notion, and are there implications on the cycling I should consider?
 
Not sure. I don't think it would end up working very well because the sand would eventually work it's way down and the rocks would be on top. If I had my way, I'd switch to all sand but as it is, my 7 year old daughter is "co-owner" of the tank and she likes our blue gravel.
:)
 
If you have small diameter gravel like 1 to 3 mm it works well mixed with gravel. I've done this before in a 50/50 mix and it works well.

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Water changes. Water changes. Water changes. Water changes. Water changes.

Did I mention 50% water changes? That is the safest and most effective way to reduce ammonia. Using prime or any other ammonia locking product helps buy enough time to change enough water to get the ammonia down, but that's it. Don't bother with ammo chips, just change your water.

Go to lowe's or home depot. Purchase (3) 5 gallon buckets, that way you can do a 90% water change (which I would recommend doing if you have a lot of ammonia) Stop stirring up/replacing the gravel. Vacuum it with your siphon and leave it alone until your cycle finishes. If the waste has been there for years it has already finished rotting most likely.

I have 3 goldfish in a 10 gallon (temporarily) and I am doing 90% water changes daily- the fish are fine and my ammonia level is less than .25 ppm on an uncycled tank. Water changes, water changes water changes.

I feel like this guy after this post:
Steve Ballmer in Techno Developers! - YouTube
 
Thanks, Energizer. As a newbie looking into maintenance I felt like I was being told too many water changes was a bad thing. I have now learned better.
 
Thanks, Energizer. As a newbie looking into maintenance I felt like I was being told too many water changes was a bad thing. I have now learned better.

The biggest thing is maintaining a consistent water chemistry. So when you do you changes, make sure the temperature of the water is pretty close, like within 5 degrees. If you have a big PH difference between tap and tank you may have to account for that.

There is no such thing as to many water changes, as long as your water stays consistent.

Since you are now cycling, you want a little bit of ammonia, but not too much. No more than 0.5 ppm, and ideally around 0.25ppm. The tank was established before, so it shouldn't take as long as starting from scratch, but it could be lengthy.

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If you have fish in the tank do not add any ammonia. You only use it when doing a fishless cycle. Fish will create ammonia.
 
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