Re-establishing aquarium after move & problems

[Rhondak]

I have a 12 gallon Eclipse tank. I had one blue dwarf gourami, two zebra danios, a swordtail, and five platys. They all did fine for several months, but then I started having problems with algae and low ph. I tried adding ph up, water changes, etc and nothing seemed to help. To make a long story short, all of my fish died one by one except for my swordtail and one platy. I have moved and just set up the aquarium again. I took my two remaining fish out of their temporary home in a small 2g tank, and back into the aquarium last night, and I feel so much better watching them happily swim around.

Sooo.. Here is my question. I REALLY want to go buy a couple more fish today. Maybe a couple Danios or Platys. Since I have the Eclipse aquarium, I have the 'biowheel' thing that should keep my beneficial bacteria going from before the move. I really miss having more fish, and the two mystery snails that I had a while back. Is this a really bad idea? Do I need to wait longer? I don't want to be a bad "fish mom" and kill my new or existing fish due to my impatience. Thanks.

 

[beglely]

Personally I feel your tank was a little crowded to begin with. Did you perform regular water changes and did you have a test kit? If I had to take a guess I would say that your pH plummeted and the algae appeared because of excess nitrates due to lack of water changes and overstocking. You then added pH up which raised your pH again, only to have it plummet again. The rapid changes and stale water killed off your fish. Do you have any test kits for your water? How often did you perform water changes? You need to figure out why your pH fell. There are several good articles here and online explaining water chemistry and how it works. In a nutshell your alkalinity in your aquarium prevents pH swings if it is high enough. Without this buffering capacity (as alkalinity is often known for), you pH will fluctuate dangerously. Also, have you kept your biowheel wet during this time? If it dried out and you put it back in the aquarium then your bacteria is most likely dead and your going to experience another cycle. Hold off on getting fish until you know for sure your water is safe.

 

[kaiofcanada]

I would set up the water and test the water to be sure the bacteria on your wheel survived. If they died you will need to cycle the tank again.

Also, I think your old tank was severely overstocked, which may have accounted for their deaths, and possibly have caused the shifts in pH.

I would start slow. Make sure your tank has cycled fully before adding any other fish. I am not sure it was even a good idea that you added your other fish without testing the water.

I would first test your water in the 12 gallon. I would leave your fish in the 2 gallon until you know the bigger tank has cycled.

Since your 2 gallon has been up and running and at least has some beneficial bacteria that are alive, I would use the filter cartridge on your 12 gallon if possible until you know your ammonia nitrites and nitrates are all in a healthy range and your tank isn't cycling again. If you have gravel in the 2 gallon, you can use it to help reestablish the 12 gallon bacterial colony.

Once the tank has completed its cycle, or at least that you know it is safe for your fish (if it already has), you can transfer your little guys over. When you do buy new fish I would use the established 2 gallon as a quarantine tank (QT) before adding anything to your 12 gallon. Maybe this time consider fewer fish. I think the dannios and platys would be a nice addition. I would not keep a dwarf Gourami in a 10 gallon with so many other fish though.

 

[Rhondak]

Personally I feel your tank was a little crowded to begin with. Did you perform regular water changes and did you have a test kit?

Yes, I agree it was over crowded. I did perform water changes, but honestly, probably not as often as I should have. I do have a water test kit. My GH was usualy high and showed 120-180, my KH was always high, and was often at 240. PH was around 6, Nitrites 0, I had a harder time with Nitrates and they fluctuated. About a month and a half ago I bought a nitrate filter material, and that brought me down to zero.

 

[Rhondak]

Make sure your tank has cycled fully before adding any other fish. I am not sure it was even a good idea that you added your other fish without testing the water.

I would not keep a dwarf Gourami in a 10 gallon with so many other fish though.

What is a normal cycle timeframe? For what it is worth - I did test the new take water, and all the levels were perfect. I was really concerned about the water in the two gallon - it was the same water I had the ph, algae issues with and with the lack of filtration, I was worried I was going to lose more fish.

I also agree about the dwarf Gourami. I loved them back when I had a twenty gallon tall aquarium several years ago. After I bought him, I could tell that he wasn't the best fit for the size I purchased.

 

[beglely]

Were you using strips or liquid reagent tests? for a pH of 6 your KH is strangely high. Do you know what your water tests at out of the tap? Nitrates do not need to be 0 and will fluctuate--you use water changes to remove nitrates.

 

[Aquarium1]

usually 4-6 weeks, sometimes more, sometimes less

 

[beglely]

When you tested the new water all the levels were going to be perfect anyway because it was fresh water. Ammonia comes from the fish waste so new water will not show on your test kits. A normal cycle takes from 3-8 weeks. The shortest time I have completed a cycle without seeding the tank first is 4 weeks, but it varys according to tank

 

[Rhondak]

I am using test strips. I am guessing you recommending the liquid ones? I did not test the tap water at my old place - that didn't occur to me until later. I started using two gallons of distilled water during my changes to help any tap water issues. My new water tested ph 7-7.5, KH 120 and GH 180.

 

[Rhondak]

Oh, I was also wondering how you know when the cycle is complete.

 

[beglely]

Liquid tests are promoted heavily here, as they tend to be more accurate. I would recommend you take a glass of your tap water, let it sit for 24 hours, and then test it again, as sometimes there are gasses in the water that affect the pH. Your tap looks fine. Do you use driftwood in your aquarium at all? Driftwood could have accounted for a low pH. However im still going to bet your low pH came from either excess fish waste due to overstocking or outside chemicals. Right now your biggest concern is whether or not your tank is cycled. A tank usually goes through stages during a cycle. The beginning stages show high ammonia levels. After a few weeks nitrites will begin to appear and both compounds will remain high for awhile. Overtime you ammonia begins to fall, and shortly thereafter so does the nitrite while your nitrate begins to rise. A finished cycle usually reads 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites, and nitrates to a varying extent. There is a good sticky article in the Freshwater & Brackish-Getting Started section of the forum regarding cycling.

 

[Aquarium1]

when ammonia and nitrites are 0 and nitrates are rising

 

[Rhondak]

Great, thank you all so much. I think you are right - the ph was probably due to overcrowding. I didn't realize that could cause ph issues, but now that you mention it, that makes sense. I will read the article on cycling to become more educated. And, I will also wait to add more fish - I will be patient.

 

[beglely]

I will be patient.

Hardest part of the whole hobby. Ive been messing around with my 55 for over 2 months and have just begun adding fish these last couple weeks. If you look up patience in the dictionary it would probably read "also see: aquarium enthusiast"