It used to be cycled... is it still?

[Apri]

I just moved out of my parents house!!! Whoo! but now im broke and don't really want to spend 20$ on a test kit if i dont have to so i have a few Qs.
I took with me an established 10g. I didn't get to move into my apartment as soon as i thought i'd be able to so it sat in my backseat for about a week. When i left, the sand in the tank was moist and fishy and just full of bacteria and fish poop and stuff but the water evaporated, so my question is, did the cycled bacteria stuff die when the water evaporated?

the tank has been running for about 10 days or so now. it had a few small plants. the heaters running. the light is on 8 hours a day. but it's fishless. is it still cycled?

 

[Plague]

Yeah, if the tank dried up and the water evaporated its same to assume you lost your beneficial bacteria. Unless you kept some of your filters or decors in water? You can seed the tank again.

 

[XanAvaloni]

Unless the sand was dried out to utterly middle-of-the-desert no moisture at all there should still be surviving bacteria. If the plants were in there too and they survived that is just about absolute proof. However "cycled" is not a yes-or-no situation. Your tank sounds like it has enough bacteria to support at least a small population now--a few snails, one or two small or sturdy fish. They will produce enough waste to keep the cycle going at that level. I don't know what the population was before the move but you should take your time getting back to that level. Add 1-2 inhabitants at a time and wait a week or two inbetween additions. That way the bacteria have time to build up their populations and prevent an ammonia spike that might come from adding too big a load all at once.

best of luck.

 

[jpappy789]

Get a test kit and find out. Any other response is just a guess anyways...

 

[BettaFishMommy]

i agree, get that test kit. or find a local fish nerd that would be willing to lend you their test kit - at the very least you want to be testing ammonia and nitrites for a while, and doing water changes if you see either test result come back above zero.

slow stocking, as XanAvaloni suggested, is the key here. you don't want to dump a whole bunch of fish in there and end up with an ammonia spike.

 

[spencerguy1]

Sure, unless its sand box dry, its ok.

 

[Kashta]

The only way to find out without guessing is to either buy the test kit or take a water sample to someone who has a test kit and have them test for you. A lot of fish stores will test a water sample for you. Make sure they are using a test kit with liquid drops (not paper test strips) beforehand, though. Otherwise you can't rely on the results they tell you.

Letting everything dry up isn't the only factor here. Your beneficial bacteria also need to be oxygenated.

 

[BettaFishMommy]

the bacteria also require a food source, so if there was no life in the tank (as in no fish or critters producing ammonia), then after a week i would say the bacteria numbers are very small to non existent.

 

[Fishfriend1]

I would just re-cycle the tank to be safe. Best to not lose your stock due to a foolish choice. Been there, done that, not fun.

What were you planning to stock the tank with?