20 gallon disaster – Tank Reset

[JerryO]

I have been out of the aquarium game for 15 years and now my son has fallen in love with a friend’s aquarium so for his second birthday I got him a 20 gallon tank. His grandparents were going to get him a few small fish to start with. To my dismay they showed up with 4 Ryukins and 2 Common Plecos. After some quick googling my suspicions were confirmed this tank is WAY too small for these fish. I have found suitable homes for these guys (no not the toilet) but for the 2 weeks they were in the tank they destroyed it. The filter is covered in slime and there is a horrible bloom of some sort in the tank. Now that it is fishless I was going to take everything out, replace the substrate (more for appearance purposes) and reset.
The question is what do I wash the tank and decorations with to get rid of whatever funk is on them and do a good reset? I know it is generally best to avoid chemicals but I want to kill whatever may be growing on everything.
I plan on adding a heater and some neon tetras and a clown pleco once it has been set back up and cycled.

 

[SHARPiE]

Hey JerryO - welcome -

Best way to physically clean your setup is with a vinegar and water mixture - but ensure you rinse it thouroughly afterwards.

As you may or may not know, all new setups go through an algae bloom stage, but they recover over time. Minimise lighting, minimise nitrates, even add a snail or two to help tackle the algae.

Good luck and keep us posted!

 

[corrado33]

Good for you knowing that those fish would never work out. I agree with the water/vinegar. Lots of people do a 1/1 dilution, or if you can't stand the smell, do more water and less vinegar. I think there is a preferred type of vinegar that people use... Maybe distilled white vinegar? Does that even exist? Someone else will chime in.

Just as a quick hint, it may be good to keep your old filter media as there is probably SOME good bacteria on it, and it would help with cycling when you start again. (As you probably already know, if you've done aquariums before)

Also, if you're rusty on "cycling" a tank, look it up on this site. Lots of great information on "with fish" and "fishless" cycling. Again, I think your old media would help a lot. (As long as it has stayed wet with tank water)

Good luck, and most people get a diatom bloom when they first start any tank (even experienced fish keepers). It's brown, and usually goes away in a couple weeks/months. I just wiped mine off of the sides and I was fine.

 

[mellawson]

+1 on the vinegar yes there is distilled white vinegar (that's what I use) that's probably all you will need just rinse well. What kind of substrate are you going to use? PFS is popular here I won't ramble on but if you have any other question just ask someone here will most likely be able to answer.

Oh and also +1 on the fishless cycle

 

[BigJim]

Use distilled white vinegar. I'm not sure cider vinegar would do a very good job of cleaning.

I'd also recommend the fishless cycling. It's better for the fish and less stress and work for you.

Sand and malaysian trumpet snails are the way to go. The snails keep the sand aerated and prevents the formation of poisonous gases (hydrogen sulfide, I think). Pool filter sand is clean and generally white. Play sand is tan with different colored flecks in it. There are other colors, but they're much more expensive.