not partucularily...its best to start a tank the right way then patching it up...obviously the water had some nutrients in it feeding all the bugs and what not..bleach will kill everything off and give u a sterile environment to start again with
Cleaning a very filthy tank
- Thread starter shockwave191
- Start date
not partucularily...its best to start a tank the right way then patching it up...obviously the water had some nutrients in it feeding all the bugs and what not..bleach will kill everything off and give u a sterile environment to start again with
The "bugs" in the tank feed on ODCs(organic dissolved compounds) amoung other things. Water changes will bring those down. It is normal to see some "bugs" in the water, though not in excess. It can also be a sign of insufficient water movement.
i guess what needs to be figured out is how a tank can become so foul without having any fish in it!!!!
and without any fish to worry about cycling will not be too dificult with the addition of the right amount of fish at the right time...it just takes patience
and without any fish to worry about cycling will not be too dificult with the addition of the right amount of fish at the right time...it just takes patience
First, I just want to say thank you to everyone for the quick responses. This site has been a great help. I will try to respond to everyones responses.
As far as the type of fish I will be stocking the tank with:
Danios, guppies (possibly), mollies (possibly), Dwarf frog, or a betta.
No, pictures won't work in this case. Due to the lighting and poor quality of my camera it will not come out good enough to see the bugs. The larva is definite and the amoeba type bugs maybe baby snails from the plant I bought. However, they did not have shells.
The tank is a minibow 2.5 with white epoxy coated gravel. It is about 1" to 1.5" thick. It was slopped upperward in the back. Due to all the water changes and vaccuuming it is not exactly slopped any more.
The tap water has 0 Ammonia and 10ppm of NirAte.
So just before responding I vaccuumed which allowed me a 50% water change. I will check the NitrAte level later.
The questions I have, if the NitrAte is as high as 40-80ppm does this indicate a dirty tank?
Also I know the comment about starting over as been presented. Being all the trouble I have had with this tank, I'm not actually against the idea. However, do I need to take such measures? Can I salvage what I have?
Also I assume at this time I don't need to keep the ammonia level up due to the high nitrAte. Once the Nitrate drops to around 10 to 20 ppm I will dose it again. I'm not sure if I want to add fish yet, or try to clean this tank up first.
Last question. Did I do something wrong in the process? The bug thing is not normal.
Again thanks
As far as the type of fish I will be stocking the tank with:
Danios, guppies (possibly), mollies (possibly), Dwarf frog, or a betta.
No, pictures won't work in this case. Due to the lighting and poor quality of my camera it will not come out good enough to see the bugs. The larva is definite and the amoeba type bugs maybe baby snails from the plant I bought. However, they did not have shells.
The tank is a minibow 2.5 with white epoxy coated gravel. It is about 1" to 1.5" thick. It was slopped upperward in the back. Due to all the water changes and vaccuuming it is not exactly slopped any more.
The tap water has 0 Ammonia and 10ppm of NirAte.
So just before responding I vaccuumed which allowed me a 50% water change. I will check the NitrAte level later.
The questions I have, if the NitrAte is as high as 40-80ppm does this indicate a dirty tank?
Also I know the comment about starting over as been presented. Being all the trouble I have had with this tank, I'm not actually against the idea. However, do I need to take such measures? Can I salvage what I have?
Also I assume at this time I don't need to keep the ammonia level up due to the high nitrAte. Once the Nitrate drops to around 10 to 20 ppm I will dose it again. I'm not sure if I want to add fish yet, or try to clean this tank up first.
Last question. Did I do something wrong in the process? The bug thing is not normal.
Again thanks
Since it's so small, you could set the cycled filter media aside in some tank water, while you give the rest of the tank a good cleaning with a mild bleach solution to get rid of the critters. Rinse really well, add some dechlorinator, replace the cycled filter media and you won't have to start completely over.
Dwarf frogs grow too large. I would not put my dwarf frogs in my 3.5 gal. Danios are too frenetic, and I wouldn't recommend them for even a 10 gal. No mollies.
You can put in Endler's livebearers, Microrasboras, Boras rasboras, Pygmy Everglades Sunfish, Shrimp, snails, dwarf crayfish, and small killifish, among others. Be sparse about your stocking and rigorous with your tank maintenance.
You can put in Endler's livebearers, Microrasboras, Boras rasboras, Pygmy Everglades Sunfish, Shrimp, snails, dwarf crayfish, and small killifish, among others. Be sparse about your stocking and rigorous with your tank maintenance.
DAVIDFBT
Extinct? Since when?
Just add a 10% bleach solution to the water, let stand for about 2 hours. Do 50% water changes every day for 5 days. This will kill everything in the tank, including the bacteria so you will have to cycle it again, but there is no need to remove all the gravel and any other deco you have in the tank. I've done this many times and it works very good.
