Can i put fish back?

[Carnifex]

Ok just dirted my tank and i was wondering if it's ok for me to put my fish back in the water? I used dirt i had previously soaked and dried(repeat x5) from a couple months ago and just put the water rocks etc. back. I won't hurt my fish if i put them back will I? It was around 5 hours ago. Should i wait till the cloud settles? Will i have a chemical spike? Sorry if this is is in the wrong section.

 

[Khuligirl93]

What kind of dirt did you use? Did you put a cap over it? You should test your water for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH before adding fish back in just to make sure everything is normal.

 

[Carnifex]

I used organic potting soil and followed AaronT from apc instructions on mineralizing soil. Has a 1 in gravel cap. Everything tested fine just now....i think i'll just wait until tomorrow and test again just to be safe.

 

[Ozy]

I used organic potting soil as well. great stuff. Initially i had massive phosphate issues arising from the dirt. This basically turned my entire tank into an algae cesspit. Still fighting it off. In another tank did the same however this time i did a dry start for about 8weeks. Have had no issues with algae since filling it with water. As for the fish - would definitely wait a few weeks. The dirt will release ammonia at high levels in that time. You can basically re-cycle the tank with it.

 

[flitabout]

Yeah you should be good to add the fish back in. I didn't wait at all and all of my fish where fine.

 

[Carnifex]

Just tested all my levels. All are perfect. And when i say perfect, i mean better then they were before adding dirt and plants...-_- fml. Anyway ph was a little high but nothing harmful and fish seem to be ok. I'll check again before bedtime.

 

[Ozy]

Just tested all my levels. All are perfect. And when i say perfect, i mean better then they were before adding dirt and plants...-_- fml. Anyway ph was a little high but nothing harmful and fish seem to be ok. I'll check again before bedtime.

Goodluck hope it all works out for you!! PS I would keep a close eye on the parameters. The soil WILL leach ammonia into the water. Fitabout may have had luck in his/her setup, i personally wouldn't take the chance.

 

[Carnifex]

Tanks doing pretty good. Ph is back to normal, don't know how my shrimp are still alive because it dropped from 8.2 to 7.4 overnight. Having a small ammonia spike that i expected but it's not increasing anymore, just sitting at 0.25 ppm. I'll do a small water change tomorrow. Thanks for any advice or support you've given