Help with a full make over (46 Gallon Bow)

[Broke EF]

Well some of you may already know about my sudden crash in my tank. If not, let me bring you all up to speed on my ordeal. A few months ago my wife and I decided to get a fish tank. I had had some when I was younger (had no idea what I was doing), and she had one growing up. So we go out and pick up a 46 gallon bow front, and all of the stuff to get it started up. I did a fishless cycle using the ACE Hardware ammonia, and tested with the API Freshwater test kit. Everything was going great! I started adding fish, and watched the water like a hawk to make sure everything was good. Eventually I got to a stock of,

8 x Lemon Tetra
8 x Diamond Tetra
7 x Panda Cory

I did have a couple of deaths here and there, mostly the pandas. I had some fish that didn't look all that healthy when I put them in, and died quickly. Others were in the tank a while and slowly passed away. Point is, I usually could figure out why they died. Every time I had a fish die I would test the water to check for anything out of the ordinary and never saw anything.

I changed equipment a little here and there, and added some stuff. The current equipment list is.

Aqueon 46 Gallon Bow Front
Aqueon glass lid, and standard light
Fluval 306 canister filter
Aqueon 55/75 filter (still running just to seed my Fluval)
Two Aqueon Pro 200 watt heater's
Rena 400 air pump with two 10" bubble wands on the sides

I am using sand as my substraight and fake plants with a piece of driftwood. And the stock (before the crash) was.

8 x Lemon Tetra
8 x Diamond Tetra
7 x Panda Cory
1 Starlight Pleco (L183)

And now were are up to speed on what I am working with. I had added two panda's on Tuesday to replace two that had died. Thursday I added in the pleco which I was on the fence about since the tank had been cloudy for a week or two. Friday morning I woke up to a dead Lemon tetra, and one more that looked like it was about to go. I got home from work, and had two more dead lemons. I tested the water and it was perfect, but I did a 50% water change anyway. Saturday morning the wife found 3 more dead lemon tetras. Later in the day a panda died. Today we lost a Diamond, and one Lemon probably wont make it.

So as you can tell, on the fish front, its been a bad weekend. Now I am in the recovery, planning stages for stage 2. Unfortunately there is no way for me to get a second tank quickly to move the fish out. For now I will have to let do whatever its going to do, and try my best to keep the water good.

Eventually I am going to borrow a friends 29 gallon tank to store the fish temporarily. This starts the first set of questions for the quarantine

1. I have a spare Aqueon QuietFlow 50 (uses the same filter pads as the 55/75 that's on the tank), should I use a new filter, or move one over?
2. Because of the Pleco should I move the piece of driftwood over?
3. Should I fill the 29 gallon with partial tank water, or all new water?
4. Do I need to acclimate the fish from tank to tank?

Most of those questions are also applicable to a quarantine tank that I plan on having in the future. I don't have the space to have one set up all of the time, so I will probably only have one set up and running when needed.

On to the bigger set of questions in reference to the main tank.

1. Should I pull out all of the decorations and sterilize them (and how)
2. Should I also do the same with the sand?
3. Since I am "starting new" should I leave the same amount of sand in the tank, or remove some? Its about 1-1/2 to 2 inches deep now.
4. I want to make a better environment for the fish and give them hiding places, which is better rocks or plants?
5. Should I add a spray bar to the Fluval, or is it not needed?

That is really all I can think of right now. I am just burnt out from this weekend. Any and all help is greatly appreciated. I am not ready to give up yet (I'm close) but I want everything to be perfect the next time around.


Thanks,
Sean

 

[Broke EF]

AH, I remember a BIG one! Should I go with RO water from the start on the "new" set up? I have been fighting cloudy water for weeks, and its always been a bit of a problem to be honest. I know with RO I will have to add stuff back into the water, and I am OK with that. Whatever will get me the best water for the fish.

Thanks,
Sean

 

[blackmolly]

that sucks!!! good luck!

 

[Reygan2]

I just recently experienced something similar when I introduced panda cories without qting. Did your fish show any outward symptoms at all? One of my angels had cotton looking stuff growing on it, and it was the first to go. I assumed it was columnaris, and I scrambled for whatever meds I could find, it was after hours and I was freaking out. I dosed melafix and some cheap parasite killing tablets that I found at Walmart..(I don't live near a lfs)..but I still lost some more fish. I considered breaking down my tank and sterilizing everything, however I never got around to it. Mainly because I was so frustrated I felt like just giving everything away. Believe me, I know the frustration and disappointment you're feeling. Well, about a week and a half went by and I still had survivors, so I changed my mind about breaking it down and I followed LyndaB's advice. I scrubbed the sides of my tank and did a large pwc. I waited a week to see if the survivors developed any symptoms, and they didn't. So I've added more panda's and a Bolivian Ram, and everyone is happy and healthy.

I don't know what's going on in your tank, but IMO whatever it is your best bet might be to treat with antibiotics or try what I did. Moving anything over into the 29 will simply transfer the bacteria along with it.

Just hang in there. I sincerely hope you get everything worked out and can get back to enjoying a healthy tank.

 

[NYgiantsRP]

1)Your filtration is good dont worry about that.
2)Yes, plecos always love there DW.
3)You dont need any of the water from the old tank, just run the most used filter you have for the most benifical bacteria.
4)Yes, just put them in a bag of the water you have and slowly adf new water to it, maybe a cup at a time every 10 minutes for about an hour.

1)No need to sterilize unless it will make you feel better.
2)Same sand is fine
3)same amount it fine
4) Spray bar is not needed if you have bubblers going.

This is what I would do if I were you. I would keep everything you have as is. I wouldnt change anything. If Your water is good, cloudy water dosent mean its bad, that just what happens sometimes in the begining. I would try a different fish store to buy from and I would get some hardy fish like a molly, platty, or swordtails. 1 fish a week for a month and see what happens. Maybe your just getting some bad fish, or too many at once. Still keep up on weekly water changes, and testing.

GOOD LUCK!

 

[Broke EF]

So for the imdeiate fix, pull the carbon out of the fluval and add some meds. I have to assume its a parasite of some sort. They act strange, but don't really show much in the way of outward symptoms (like you would see on ick or something). Any recommendations on meds?

I also want to work on the main tank anyway, clean the sand really well, move things around and so on. Would it be less stress to fill a tank with tank water and move the fish over for the few hours, or leave them in the main tank and be careful? The tetras are very curious, and brave, they don't really seem too bothered when I'm doing stuff in the tank. The pandas always seem freaked out though.

I will keep all of that information in mind for the quarantine tank since I will be using one going forward. I already have a old filter from the aqueon HOB in the fluval, ill just leave it in there and when i need it I can pull it out and use it in the quarantine tank.

Any input on RO water from anyone? Thanks for advice so far guys, keep it comming.


Sean

 

[Broke EF]

Something I thought about/noticed this morning. We had recently gotten a plug in air freshener as a gift, and of course the wife plugged it in. Well I had read about things like that causing problems for the tank, so Friday when I started having the die off, I unplugged it. Friday night my wife plugged it back in because she didn't know why I removed it. Sunday when I got home I unplugged it again, and explained why. We had one fish die after that Sunday night, but none since. A couple looked like they wouldn't make it, but they are still going as of this morning. I would think if it was a parasite that came from the new Panda's that it would have killed more than just the 1 panda. Also if it came in with the Pleco, then why is that doing just fine? Lets hear what you guys have to say.


Thanks,
Sean

 

[Broke EF]

Here is a quick pic I took of my new Pleco today! I love this fish, so I had to throw it up

Sean

 

[Autumnsky]

i didn't notice what kind of food you are using.

I try and use all Hikari foods - don't cloud the water.

I got some awesome food from a lady when I bought her tank a new fresh container of Spectrum, it has garlic in it the fish go crazy for it, LOVE it.

So I started using it as half of my regular feedings, after only about two weeks, maybe less, I noticed two of my tanks clouding up, stopped regular feedings of the Spectrum, (all the tank readings were fine when the water was cloudy). I now use the Spectrum very sparingly, maybe 1 or 2 feedings per week. Within two days I had crystal clear water again!!!

I try and use many different food varieties to give my fish a better diet, Hikari has so many kinds, blood worms, bottom feeder tablets, microbites, good for Neons and small Tetras. Amazing variety, no problems.

Also I am a recovering over feeder, so it can make a huge difference.