restarting fishtank after 6 month period

  • Get the NEW AquariaCentral iOS app --> http://itunes.apple.com/app/id1227181058 // Android version will be out soon!

etspam

AC Members
Feb 11, 2007
81
1
8
Hi all-

I have a 20 gallon tank I used to house freshwater fish and Amano shrimp in, but we moved to a new place, so I gave all the fish and shrimp to my brother-in-law. I new I wouldn't be able to set up the tank and maintain the fish during the whole unpacking/remodeling/repairing at the new home. Unfortunately, all the shrimp died after 5 months due to some catastrophic failure with their tank - I had some of them for at least 5 years too :cry:.

Anyways, I'm finally getting around to setting up the tank again, and had a general question. I emptied the tank of water before the move, as well as swirled the gravel with water to try to clean out the detritus, and it's basically been sitting in the garage for 6 months or so. There's mineral deposits and some algae residue, which I plan to clean off. However, my main concern is the gravel. As it's been sitting the garage, it's been collecting dust and whatnot for 6 months, plus may have started growing mold during the period where it was still wet, though it'll have died out by now. Do I need to clean all this out? If so, do I just rinse it out with water? I know I shouldn't use soap, as that's toxic to fish. The filters have long since dried out (two Aquaclear power filters). Any suggestions on what else I should do are appreciated.
 

FreshyFresh

Global Moderator
Staff member
Jan 11, 2013
5,075
850
144
West Falls NY
Real Name
Joel
Why not just start out with new substrate?

Depending on what you're after, you can get a 50-60lb bag of natural pea gravel for ~$3 at Lowes or Home Depot.
 
zoomed.com
hikariusa.com
aqaimports.com
Store