I need help please~

[cactuslilly]

Hi everyone!
I'm Lilly and I have no idea what I'm doing.

Backstory:

My grandfather passed away at the end of last year and it was a shock to all of us. It was very sudden and there were no preparations, so somehow I ended up being the only one willing to take on his fish tank. He adored his fish and would show me every time I came over. He had gone into a coma and no one took care of the fish so it has been a nightmare.

According to my friend (who sorta knows fish) the tank is about 70 gallons.
It came with a LOT of out-dated stuff. There were conch shells and about two or three dead fish in each. There were also two huggggeeee plecos, about 5 neon tetras (i think), one molly, one corey catfish and a loach. We have rehomed the two plecos since moving it. We removed the gravel and added sand instead.

My issue now is the filter ugh

It came with an Eheim Canister filter but it makes this horrible noise and definitely doesn't work anymore. I need to figure out what to do filter-wise.

I am just a shift at Starbucks I don't make a lot of money BUT these fish were so important to my grandpa and I don't want to give up on them. If you could please give me advice for where to find a new filter or which model to go with it would help me a lot T^T

I have practically no experience with fish so this is all soooo overwhelming.

 

[SherLar]

Local Fish Stores will often have used equipment/aquariums for sale, or will have a bulletin board where people can post their stuff for sale. Alternately, you can look on craigslist pets for your area. Often fish stuff is listed there.
Canister filters are nice, but you could also get by with a hang-on-the-back filter, which are much less expensive, if you keep your stocking levels fairly low.
Talk to friends and acquaintances who keep fish. I probably have enough extra equipment and tanks in storage to start up a few systems. I would think that the fish keepers you know will have extra stuff laying around.
Once you get your tank back up to spec, I would add 5-5 more corys as they prefer groups. I would also add a couple neons.
What species of loach do you have? Some, like kuhli loaches, prefer groups also.

 

[UntimelyLord]

You also might want to read up on the nitrogen cycle if you haven't already. You'll need to take some of the media from the old filter and put it in the new one to keep the good bacteria population going. http://www.aquariumadvice.com/i-jus...ve GloFish tetras, not neon tetras.[emoji106]

 

[Barliman]

Hi everyone!
I'm Lilly and I have no idea what I'm doing.

Hi Lilly!

First off, my sympathies over your Grand-dad's passing. It sounds like you two were close. It says good things about you that you're willing to take care of his pets, now that he's gone.

Second, don't panic: We're here to help.

UntimelyLord and Sherlar already gave you good advice. What I would add is that, from what you described, you need to make sure the water quality is good. Regarding the shells, did you make sure all the dead fish were out? Decaying fish create ammonia, which is bad for the survivors.

I know you said money is tight (ain't that the truth ), but I recommend you buy three things:

1. A small bottle of Seachem Prime. You'll eventually be doing water changes, and Prime is a very popular product that neutralizes chlorine and chloramines in tap water.
2. Some water test strips made by Tetra. There's a box for strips that test only ammonia, and another for other tests. Find the small size of each and buy one. As you're "repairing" the water quality in the tank, you'll need to test every so often to see how things are going. (A lot of folks, including me, like the liquid test kit offered by API, but it can be fairly expensive. The strips are accurate and fast.)
3. An Aquaclear 70 or 110 hang on the back filter to replace the failing Eheim. Great filters, easy to maintain. And do take the suggestion to add some of the media from an established filter (the fish store or a friend could give you some) to jump start the cycle in the tank.

BTW, have you had someone look at the motor on the Eheim? It may be that a simple cleaning will fix things. Those are great filters, real workhorses.

This site also has a good article here about getting started with freshwater fish: Guide to Starting a Freshwater Aquarium - Aquarium Advice

Good luck, and don't be afraid to ask questions. We were all rank beginners at one time.

 

[TheSmallFish]

Ya what these people said is really good advice. I couldn't do it like them! Good luck!