Huuuge Mess!

[thisguyek]

My son... in his three years of infinite wisdom... thought it would be a FANTASTIC idea to dump two whole cans of food into my 10gal tank. I was at work when it happened... so I'm not exactly sure WHEN it happened... but it must have been somewhere around 8:00 pm. I just got home not too long ago (now 3:00 am)

In a feverish panic... I vacuumed the gravel several times. I must have done (4) 50% consecutive water changes. please save the lectures... i know its not a great idea, but like i said i came home in a panic. by the last vacuum, the gravel seemed to be mostly clear of the food.

The water looks disgusting... all of my poor fish are bloated... I sucked up a couple of my ghost shrimp... This is most certainly the note i want to go to bed on!

I did give a healthy dose of 'stability' and of course stress coat+ for a dechlorinator....


What else should I do? what else CAN i do? I'm prepared to find dead fish when i wake up.... if there are any survivors... should i house them in a bucket for a while until the tank settles down? Once I'm done with the initial cleanup, I'm worried about the secondary side effects.... worms, disease, etc

I'll be up in a few hours... and i want a million replies when i come back!!! lol jk any comments/help is much appreciated as always!

 

[Hermithall]

If the tank is still in a really bad state, put the fish in the largest container you have with dechlorinated water at the same temperature as your tank, WITH the filter running from your 10g tank.
Do a massive 90% water change on the 10g after stirring all the crap out of the substrate. Refill, dechlorinate and return the fish and the filter - which should still have it's preserved colony of good bacteria.

 

[golfzzin]

Theres nothing wrong with lots of water changes, as long as your adding conditioner

You may want to give the filter media a quick clean in old tank water, as im guessing it will be full of uneaten food

Other than that i would have done the same.

 

[Tizer]

Dont feed them for a week

 

[KittyKat]

Theres nothing wrong with lots of water changes, as long as your adding conditioner

..and temperature matching (assuming pH and KH are similar between old and new water).

Since you have already done 4*50% water change, a 90% should be fine and will do more good than harm. You shouldn't need to remove the fish, especially as you're vacuuming, not stirring up substrate.

 

[Hermithall]

A 90% water change in a highly polluted 10g tank might require that you stick your fish and filter in a bucket of dechlorinated water. This small tank has had 2 whole cans of fish food dumped into it! With the fish removed, I think you should agitate and stir the gravel as much as possible to get the food into the water column, then perform your massive 90-100% water change. Refill, dechlorinate, match the temparature and re-add the fish and filter. Best of luck, I hope your fish recover.

 

[KittyKat]

A 90% water change in a highly polluted 10g tank might require that you stick your fish and filter in a bucket of dechlorinated water. This small tank has had 2 whole cans of fish food dumped into it! With the fish removed, I think you should agitate and stir the gravel as much as possible to get the food into the water column, then perform your massive 90-100% water change.

If the other person is vacuuming the gravel with the syphon, what is the benefit of stirring the food into the water column (of which not all the water is being removed) compared to draining to food in the gravel straight out of the tank without giving it access to the water column?

Stirring up the food into the water column is more likely to cause an ammonia problem as otherwise it would be "prevented" from entering the water column by the gravel.

 

[Hermithall]

By removing 90-100% of the water, you are effectively replacing the water column - I'm only trying to suggest the best way to evacuate the 2 cans of fish food.

 

[KittyKat]

By removing 90-100% of the water, you are effectively replacing the water column - I'm only trying to suggest the best way to evacuate the 2 cans of fish food.

It's not the water change I'm objecting to, it is the stirring up of the food into the water column. The vacuum works by removing #105### from the substrate, not the water column (as much).

 

[Hermithall]

I understand the principles behind a gravel vacumner, but I don't understand why you care about a water column that's to be thrown out?

 

[andyjw1]

With the debris in the gravel, it is already in the water column. As it decays it pollutes whether its stirred or not.
Vacuum the gravel, stir the gravel, whatever it takes to get it out. Vacuum is less stressful if the fish are still in, if they are out then go for stirring, just get the debris out as much as possible.

 

[KittyKat]

I understand the principles behind a gravel vacumner, but I don't understand why you care about a water column that's to be thrown out?

My point is that the food will affect the water quality less if it is inside the gravel, rather than on top, while it is being cleaned out over a number of days.

 

[Hermithall]

The food must not remain inside the gravel, it needs to come out. This must now be terribly confusing to the OP. I'm going to clarify and supplement my advice:

1. Place the fish and filter in dechlorinated water at the same temperature as the tank.

2. Empty all the water out of the tank and discard it.

3. Wash all the food out of the substrate.

4. Refill, match temperature, dechlorinate, return fish and filter.

 

[Inchworm]

The food must not remain inside the gravel, it needs to come out. This must now be terribly confusing to the OP. I'm going to clarify and supplement my advice:

1. Place the fish and filter in dechlorinated water at the same temperature as the tank.

2. Empty all the water out of the tank and discard it.

3. Wash all the food out of the substrate.

4. Refill, match temperature, dechlorinate, return fish and filter.

This is the best advice I've seen on this thread. Since it's only a 10 gallon tank, the fix will be quick and easy.

 

[thisguyek]

internet was down this morning when i woke up so i havent had a chance to update you all on the state of the tank until now.

I appreciate all of the quick responses... even though most of it was arguing. lets focus on the task at hand, shall we? I see where hermithall and kittykat are coming from. Each of the water changes i did last night i vacuumed the gravel. To me vacuuming makes the most sense as i feel it removes more of the food quicker.

I did another 50% water change when i woke up, vacuuming once again. For the most part it seems like i got most of the debris out of the gravel. the water is still murky. All of my fish are still alive but they seem lethargic. I'm sure it will take a while for things go back to normal...

Tizer: That's exactly what i was thinking! If i ate that much in a night id be good for a week myself!


My plans are to do water changes once a day (probably vacuuming gravel each time) until things clear up nicely. Should i use a water clarifier, or isnt it necessary?

Any other suggestions???