Just Got My Tank Delivered And It's Only Just Been Emptied

[marieukxx]

Ok so as people know my tank is second hand bought in the paper. The gy just delivered it and he only emptied it this morning. It's all still wet and there is some old water at the bottom. He said the filter is all matured so that's great.

I'm setting it up now. He has sand in it but I wanted gravel so I scopped most of it out but let a thin layer at the bottom and then added my washed gravel on top and spread it out.

Now do I just add the water and conditioner and switch on to cycle? Then test after a day or so and post the results here? I don't know whether to get amonia now or not.

 

[BIG BAD BARRY]

Fill your tank up with warmed water 26-27c put your dechlorinator in and put your heater and switch it on.
Then put your filter in and switch it on.

Is the filter already cycled?
If it is then you dont need to do it again.

 

[Randi]

Get ammonia, it is the only way to see if the bacteria in the filter are still alive. They should be if they stayed wet. Dose your tank to 2 ppm and check the next day. If your down to 0 you've managed to get a cycled filter.

Edit: you will also need to keep adding ammonia until you're ready for fish, as the bacteria need a food source.

 

[micko]

Fill it up asap. If I were doing it I'd use the de-chlor before putting it into the tank, some people add the water the use the de-chlor. Leave the filter off whilst filling it too.

Your right, test your water after all is settled. How many fish did he have in it?

 

[marieukxx]

Dunno hoe many fish were in it. It's all still wet. So I put in warm water? Add the conditioner before then put the water in. Then switch it all on?

then pop amonia in?

 

[fluttermoth]

Hi marie

Ok, fill the tank up with warm water (put the dechlorinator in first!) and switch on. You then have a few options...

Most importantly; do you have a decent test kit (not the paper strips) so you can test for ammonia? If not, get yourself to your nearest shop and get one! You're going to need it whichever option you take.

You can then either;

1: Run an 'acclerated' fishless cycle by adding ammonia up to 2 or 3ppm and testing to see if it disappears within a few hours; this is what I'd do if I was you.

2: If you can't get ammonia you could drop in some fish food to rot and produce ammonia for you; keep testing over the next few days and see if you get any ammonia readings as the food rots. If you don't get any ammonia after a week or so, you'll be fine to get a few fish.

3: Depending on how brave you are and how truthful you think the seller of your tank was, you could add some fish now (well, once your tank is full, dechlorinated and up to temperature) When I say 'now', I mean within the next two or three days (if the filter is left longer than this, the bacteris will die off due to lack of food; you need to get either 'proper' ammonia, or fish food or fish in the tank fairly soon)
This is the riskiest one, and I wouldn't do it, as if the bacteria has already died off, you'll be in a fish-in cycle with all the risks and hassle associated with that...

Best of luck with whatever you decide

 

[micko]

Yes, get the ammonia. It may well be fully cycled anyway but you'll know for sure if you follow the suggestions.

Good luck with your new tank.

 

[Tizer]

Why did you want gravel? its far harder to clean than sand and far more fish have a preference for sand than gravel

 

[marieukxx]

I'll get the amonia. I bought a testing kit on ebay the one suggested on here. It was cheaper on ebay and does 800 tests. It's not strips. I'll fill it up and put amonia in because I'm not getting the fish for another week or so yet anyway even if the tank is cycled. So I'll need the amonia to keep it going.

I just prefer the look of the gravel tbh. So fill it up use amonia and test. How will I know how much to put in of the amonia? I haven't got my test kit yet as got it on ebay cheaper than the shop

 

[Tizer]

Dont go stocking corydoras then, they will want to stab you in the face! stab stab! ;O

 

[fluttermoth]

If you look right up at the top of your screen, just under the logo, there's a button that says 'calculator'; click that and it'll take you to a page where you input the dimensions of your tank and it'll tell you how much ammonia you need to add