You want to get your hands on a liquid kit. Strips tend to be very unreliable, and a liquid kit shouldn't cost you more than $30. If you are paying more, it is too high.
Help! I inherited a mess!
- Thread starter Sirius
- Start date
Good advice from everyone. I agree to change the water gradually to prevent "old tank syndrome", the fish need to get used to good water gradually. Five percent is really safe, and ten might be OK, but be very careful with the vacuuming.
Gently vacuum a portion of the gravel, say 1/3 of the bottom. Keep up the daily water changes, but I wouldn't do a vigorous vacuum each time you do the water change, not yet.
With tons of gunk down in that gravel, too vigorous vacuuming will stir up so much decaying matter that the ammonia will go through the roof, and then the nitrite.
I had this happen to me when I was a noob.
I would do the daily water changes, but would gently vacuum 1/3 of the gravel every couple of days until you've done the whole bottom of the tank, and then after that keep doing 1/3 each time you do a water change.
Prime is an excellent water conditioner because it not only removes chlorine and chloramines, it detoxifies the ammonia and nitrite for appx. twenty-four hours giving you time to do the daily water changes every day.
As you do daily testing, should you find you have detectable levels of ammonia and/or nitrites you can dose the tank with the emergency dose, which is 5 times the regular dose. This takes care of the spike for about twenty-four hours. This gives you breathing room so you don't have to go into desperation mode with an emergency water change. You still have to remove the ammonia and nitrite within twenty-four hours, though.
As recommended you really need to get a liquid test kit, such as API Master. This will help you have accurate readings on the parameters.
A nitrate reading of 200 doesn't mean certain death, but it can cause brown blood disease, which is a result of nitrate converting to nitrite in the body of the fish. Nitrite binds with the hemoglobin in the blood preventing the uptake of oxygen causing the fish to suffocate. A safe reading is around 20 ppm or less. Plants will help with nitrate, once you get things under control by water changes you might add some plants.
Don't add chemicals to adjust the ph. Just allow things to gradually improve with the water changes. Get a glass of water from the tap and let it sit for twenty-four hous, then test it. This will give you an accurate reading of the ph of your water out of the tap. GH and KH reading would be helpful, though the API Master test kit doesn't have the material to test GH and KH, you have to buy that separately.
Feed very lightly so you don't add to the ammonia problems. I wouldn't remove the decor yet. Wait until you have had the filter on the tank for a couple of weeks at least. The beneficial bacteria that exist in the gravel and on the decor will help to seed the new filter media in the filter.
Once you are getting readings of 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites, and nitrates of 20 ppm or so, then you could start to replace some of the decor.
When I bleach rocks I rinse, rinse rinse, and then I let them sit in water with a dechlorinator in it and keep sniffing it until I can't smell bleach anymore. I, personally, would use the regular old bleach with the chlorine smell.... so you can be sure you don't smell that anymore after you've soaked the rocks in dechlorinator.
It's wonderful that you have taken this on, and are going to make the lives of those fish so much better. Good on you for working hard for those little guys.
Gently vacuum a portion of the gravel, say 1/3 of the bottom. Keep up the daily water changes, but I wouldn't do a vigorous vacuum each time you do the water change, not yet.
With tons of gunk down in that gravel, too vigorous vacuuming will stir up so much decaying matter that the ammonia will go through the roof, and then the nitrite.
I had this happen to me when I was a noob.
I would do the daily water changes, but would gently vacuum 1/3 of the gravel every couple of days until you've done the whole bottom of the tank, and then after that keep doing 1/3 each time you do a water change.
Prime is an excellent water conditioner because it not only removes chlorine and chloramines, it detoxifies the ammonia and nitrite for appx. twenty-four hours giving you time to do the daily water changes every day.
As you do daily testing, should you find you have detectable levels of ammonia and/or nitrites you can dose the tank with the emergency dose, which is 5 times the regular dose. This takes care of the spike for about twenty-four hours. This gives you breathing room so you don't have to go into desperation mode with an emergency water change. You still have to remove the ammonia and nitrite within twenty-four hours, though.
As recommended you really need to get a liquid test kit, such as API Master. This will help you have accurate readings on the parameters.
A nitrate reading of 200 doesn't mean certain death, but it can cause brown blood disease, which is a result of nitrate converting to nitrite in the body of the fish. Nitrite binds with the hemoglobin in the blood preventing the uptake of oxygen causing the fish to suffocate. A safe reading is around 20 ppm or less. Plants will help with nitrate, once you get things under control by water changes you might add some plants.
Don't add chemicals to adjust the ph. Just allow things to gradually improve with the water changes. Get a glass of water from the tap and let it sit for twenty-four hous, then test it. This will give you an accurate reading of the ph of your water out of the tap. GH and KH reading would be helpful, though the API Master test kit doesn't have the material to test GH and KH, you have to buy that separately.
Feed very lightly so you don't add to the ammonia problems. I wouldn't remove the decor yet. Wait until you have had the filter on the tank for a couple of weeks at least. The beneficial bacteria that exist in the gravel and on the decor will help to seed the new filter media in the filter.
Once you are getting readings of 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites, and nitrates of 20 ppm or so, then you could start to replace some of the decor.
When I bleach rocks I rinse, rinse rinse, and then I let them sit in water with a dechlorinator in it and keep sniffing it until I can't smell bleach anymore. I, personally, would use the regular old bleach with the chlorine smell.... so you can be sure you don't smell that anymore after you've soaked the rocks in dechlorinator.
It's wonderful that you have taken this on, and are going to make the lives of those fish so much better. Good on you for working hard for those little guys.
I have to mention this...
Instead of trying to clean whats IN the tank, try removing the items to clean it...
So scoop up a portion of the gravel or take out the rock...
Instead of trying to clean whats IN the tank, try removing the items to clean it...
So scoop up a portion of the gravel or take out the rock...
Do not scoop up the gravel, vacuum it in small amounts. Chances are good that there h2so4 in the gravel. by scooping it up it will be released into the water = dead fish. After you have vacuumed the gravel several times and no junk or gas bubbles or rotten egg smell THEN it is okto remove gravel if you wish to change it. If you like what it looks like then you can just leave it in the tank.
Okay I am getting the gravel vacuum today and also a water testing kit.
Thanks for all this great advice guys!
Just to make sure...what temperature do I want the water at?
How do you guys make sure that the water you are adding is the same temperature as the water in the tank? Do you just get it as close as you can by feeling it? Are fish very sensative to minor changes in water temperature?
You guys are making this much easier on me : )
Thanks for all this great advice guys!
Just to make sure...what temperature do I want the water at?
How do you guys make sure that the water you are adding is the same temperature as the water in the tank? Do you just get it as close as you can by feeling it? Are fish very sensative to minor changes in water temperature?
You guys are making this much easier on me : )
I didn't think that would be there due to it being gravel...but good point..
If you have any activated carbon, find a nylon sock or media bag..and place it in the filter. That will help remove excess nasty stuff in the water column and not shock the fish..
Fish are very sensitive to the water temperature. You want to have the replacement water match the water in the tank. I've read that a difference of 2 degrees or less won't be too big of a shock, but I always try to get it closer than that.
Please forgive the lengthy description of the process that I use doing my 10 gallon, but I do like to go into detail. Sorry, lol.
I have a couple of digital thermometers, but you can get one of those glass floating types. I've used those before, but they can break easily. The digital gives read-outs pretty quickly, too. I've found the digital ones at the best price. Petsmart has one for a good bit more money. I think I paid around $8 at Walmart.
I get a reading of the temperature of the tank water. For my 10 gallon I do the bucket method of refilling the tank.
I like to prepare the replacement water before I start to remove any water, that way I can replace the water quickly after I have removed it. It takes too long to get the temp right and I wouldn't want my 10 gallon sitting there, partially drained, with the heater and filter off, waiting for replacement water. (It starts to cool down pretty fast in my house)
To get the replacement water just right I hang the other digital thermometer in a glass measuring cup I use to put under the running water coming out of the faucet. Make sure it is clean of any soap residue, and if you use a plastic container to do this, make sure it has never had soap in it ever. (don't let the thermometer drape or fall into the sink because of any soap or chemical residue which may be in your sink)
I keep the water running and keep tweaking the faucet handle until the thermometer reads the same as the one in the tank. (With a small vessel like this under the running water you get quicker responses to the temperature changes after tweaking the faucet)
Once I get the reading on the digital thermometer stable at the desired temperature, then I keep the water running and put the bucket in the sink and fill it to about 3 inches from the top of the bucket. (so I can carry it without spilling it)
Don't turn the water off for trips to and from the tank as you refill the bucket if you can help it. (tweaking the handle to get the temp just right is a pain and once it's right I don't want to mess with it again)
I use a Python siphon system for my 40 gallon tank and basically do the same thing, with some differences, but since you have a 10 gallon I would just stick to the siphon and vacuum/bucket refill method.
There are several "easy self starting" siphon/gravel vacs out there. I bought one at Walmart that has a squeeze bulb that gets the suction going and it works great for the smaller tanks.
Put a plate on the bottom of the tank so when you pour the water in it won't stir up a lot of debris.
I have a 3 gallon bucket I got at Walmart that has markings on the inside showing the volume by quarts. I use this bucket for my 10 gallon.
Once I've siphoned out the water from the tank, I refill the correct volume. Don't forget to add the dechlorinator to the bucket before you dump the bucket into the tank. Prime, by Seachem, is great!
Doing 5 or 10% water changes should be pretty easy, but later, once your fish have gotten adjusted to clean water, you can increase the volume.
If you go to a bigger tank, you might want to get a Python Clean and Fill, but that's for another thread at a later date.
I hope this helps and is not too confusing.
Please forgive the lengthy description of the process that I use doing my 10 gallon, but I do like to go into detail. Sorry, lol.
I have a couple of digital thermometers, but you can get one of those glass floating types. I've used those before, but they can break easily. The digital gives read-outs pretty quickly, too. I've found the digital ones at the best price. Petsmart has one for a good bit more money. I think I paid around $8 at Walmart.
I get a reading of the temperature of the tank water. For my 10 gallon I do the bucket method of refilling the tank.
I like to prepare the replacement water before I start to remove any water, that way I can replace the water quickly after I have removed it. It takes too long to get the temp right and I wouldn't want my 10 gallon sitting there, partially drained, with the heater and filter off, waiting for replacement water. (It starts to cool down pretty fast in my house)
To get the replacement water just right I hang the other digital thermometer in a glass measuring cup I use to put under the running water coming out of the faucet. Make sure it is clean of any soap residue, and if you use a plastic container to do this, make sure it has never had soap in it ever. (don't let the thermometer drape or fall into the sink because of any soap or chemical residue which may be in your sink)
I keep the water running and keep tweaking the faucet handle until the thermometer reads the same as the one in the tank. (With a small vessel like this under the running water you get quicker responses to the temperature changes after tweaking the faucet)
Once I get the reading on the digital thermometer stable at the desired temperature, then I keep the water running and put the bucket in the sink and fill it to about 3 inches from the top of the bucket. (so I can carry it without spilling it)
Don't turn the water off for trips to and from the tank as you refill the bucket if you can help it. (tweaking the handle to get the temp just right is a pain and once it's right I don't want to mess with it again)
I use a Python siphon system for my 40 gallon tank and basically do the same thing, with some differences, but since you have a 10 gallon I would just stick to the siphon and vacuum/bucket refill method.
There are several "easy self starting" siphon/gravel vacs out there. I bought one at Walmart that has a squeeze bulb that gets the suction going and it works great for the smaller tanks.
Put a plate on the bottom of the tank so when you pour the water in it won't stir up a lot of debris.
I have a 3 gallon bucket I got at Walmart that has markings on the inside showing the volume by quarts. I use this bucket for my 10 gallon.
Once I've siphoned out the water from the tank, I refill the correct volume. Don't forget to add the dechlorinator to the bucket before you dump the bucket into the tank. Prime, by Seachem, is great!
Doing 5 or 10% water changes should be pretty easy, but later, once your fish have gotten adjusted to clean water, you can increase the volume.
If you go to a bigger tank, you might want to get a Python Clean and Fill, but that's for another thread at a later date.
I hope this helps and is not too confusing.
A 10 gal. is limited on the fish you can have. Some of your fish might need to be rehomed as they will get to big for your tank. If you want to change the gravel later you might want to consider sand. I have pool filter sand in my 55 gal. tank. It's courser and not as fine as play sand and is cheat at 50lbs for $12.99. It takes awhile to clean but is worth the look you get. All my other smaller tanks. 3 gal, 2.5 gal, 6 gal, 10 gal. all have black sand in it. I payed about $5.99 for a 5lb bag. I will never go back to gravel again. I have a black background and live plants and the live plants and some of the colorful fish look better with a black background and black sand. The neon tetras, glow0light tetras, harleqen rasboras look great against the black. I will try to post picture of my tanks. It is also a good idea to keep some of the gravel and put that in a panty hose and put that in the tank with the new gravel to seed the new gravel or sand with the good bacteria. I used Cycle to start a new tank and use that once a week to maintain the water qty in my tanks.
I forgot to add.... I have dedicated 5 gallon buckets that I siphon off the water into when I do the siphoning. I don't want to use a bucket that has had any soap or chemicals in it at all, even though I'm using it for the old water that is siphoned off.
There are several reasons:
My siphon hose gets in it, and, in fact, I store the siphon in it, and if I've had soap or anything else in it then my siphon could be contaminated.
I can safely rinse the bio-filter media; sponges, floss, bioballs, etc., in the bucket of old tank water and not worry that there is some kind of contaminant in the bucket that could harm the beneficial bacteria in the bio-filter media.
You never clean your biological filter media too thoroughly, you want to gently swish in tank water.
There are several reasons:
My siphon hose gets in it, and, in fact, I store the siphon in it, and if I've had soap or anything else in it then my siphon could be contaminated.
I can safely rinse the bio-filter media; sponges, floss, bioballs, etc., in the bucket of old tank water and not worry that there is some kind of contaminant in the bucket that could harm the beneficial bacteria in the bio-filter media.
You never clean your biological filter media too thoroughly, you want to gently swish in tank water.
