Shoutingsteve
Aquarium Advice Newbie
Hi there, All! I'm new to this forum, and am in need of a little help.
Short explanation;
I have an aquarium that everything but a crayfish died in, and I am starting over. How do I sanitize everything, (or should I even?) and what do I do to keep it from happening again?
Long explanation:
I bought (impulsively) a blue lobster (blue crayfish, feshwater) and kept her in a small tank (2.5 gallons) successfully for about three months. I recently moved to a new place and bought a new aquarium (12 gallon). With this I also bought what I think is all the other important elements: I have the proprietary filter that came with the tank, a fluval heater, and a small bubble stone. I filled it with about 10 gallons of spring water (this might have caused a problem). I moved all the lobster's rocks (green marble chunks bought from an aquarium store) and environment into the new tank along with about a gallon of her water, the majority of her gravel, and let it run for a few days. I also stuck her used filter in with the new filter to keep the bacteria in the system (was that a problem?). I transfered her in, no problem.
Then I bought 11 more fish to put in with her, expecting her to eat a few I just got cheap little things. Two weeks go by, and I have pulled out the last of the fish (all but two were completely intact, meaning she didn't kill them). The majority of them died in the past couple days. She is ok, I put her back in her old tank, with new water (tap+conditioner+whatever that other little bottle of environment is) along with the bubble stone and her little hiding cup.
I took everything out of the tank and have started to rinse it off in hot water. Do I need to sanitize it all somehow? If so, how do I do it? And should i use distilled water, adding a little (how much) salt to soften it?
Short explanation;
I have an aquarium that everything but a crayfish died in, and I am starting over. How do I sanitize everything, (or should I even?) and what do I do to keep it from happening again?
Long explanation:
I bought (impulsively) a blue lobster (blue crayfish, feshwater) and kept her in a small tank (2.5 gallons) successfully for about three months. I recently moved to a new place and bought a new aquarium (12 gallon). With this I also bought what I think is all the other important elements: I have the proprietary filter that came with the tank, a fluval heater, and a small bubble stone. I filled it with about 10 gallons of spring water (this might have caused a problem). I moved all the lobster's rocks (green marble chunks bought from an aquarium store) and environment into the new tank along with about a gallon of her water, the majority of her gravel, and let it run for a few days. I also stuck her used filter in with the new filter to keep the bacteria in the system (was that a problem?). I transfered her in, no problem.
Then I bought 11 more fish to put in with her, expecting her to eat a few I just got cheap little things. Two weeks go by, and I have pulled out the last of the fish (all but two were completely intact, meaning she didn't kill them). The majority of them died in the past couple days. She is ok, I put her back in her old tank, with new water (tap+conditioner+whatever that other little bottle of environment is) along with the bubble stone and her little hiding cup.
I took everything out of the tank and have started to rinse it off in hot water. Do I need to sanitize it all somehow? If so, how do I do it? And should i use distilled water, adding a little (how much) salt to soften it?
