Help, parasites attacked my tank.

[jabrock]

I have a 50 gal tank and have recently had a case of parasites (ich I thought) Anyway, long story short, I have no more fish. What do I need to do to start over. I was told that I can keep the water that I have in the tank now and let it set for a week or so and then start adding fish again. I don't want to take any chances of this getting to my new fish. Can I do this or should I empty the tank and if I empty it what are your recommendations for cleaning and starting over.

 

[squeekness]

I don't know as much as the rest of the guys here, but if you have no fish, I would say drain the entire tank and wash both it and the gravel with a strong solution of non iodized salt. Then I would let the tank sit dry for a week before even thinking of using it again. Maybe they could offer you better advice, but that's what I would do, just to be safe.

Or possibly you could treat the water with a strong dose of Pimafin and raise the temp up real high for a week or so. I thought someone here said ick won't survive over 85 degrees -- that is, if you are sure it was ick.

Other than that I am curious myself what the others here might suggest.

 

[Zagz]

The problem with letting the water sit is that you will lose all the bacterial cycle. So whether you drain the tank or let the water sit, you will have to cycle all over again. That being said I would drain the tank, clean with a 10% bleach solution, rinse well and dechlorinate. Fill the tank and do a fishless cycle and then restock. Sorry to say, you are in for a bit of a long haul until you will safely be able to add fish again. You could turn the temps up and let the tank sit but you will still lose the bacterial cycle without an ammonia source.

Your other option would be to turn up the heat to 87F and add ammonia in small doses to keep the bacterial cycle going. I would do 2 weeks not 1.