New Tank.. Kinda

[fyrefaerye]

So I have a 10 gal tank that about 8 months ago had several varieties of tetras. For whatever reason (I wasn't particularly concerned at the time) almost all of those fish died. The one surviving fish got moved to another tank and is doing just fine. Then the tank sat empty for several months. Recently my wife and I decided that we could no longer stand for the tank to sit empty. So I did a water change, added water conditioner, and (on the advice of the lady at the pet store) added fish. Obviously that was a bad idea. Within 4 hours the 2 dalmation mollies and rainbow shark I purchased were dead. After some reading on here I have realized I went about this all wrong. So I emptied the tank completely, scrubbed and rinsed away the mold (?) that seemed to be growing everywhere. I bought new rocks, rinsed thoroughly and added them to the tank. I bought a new filter (Aqua-tech filter with activated carbon) and rinsed the biofilter based on instructions with the tank.The tank has been refilled and conditioned again, and I added Jungle Start Zyme and correct pH. That was two days ago. Today my tank is extremely cloudy. The lady at the pet store said once the tank was set up with all the aforementioned chemicals to wait 24 hours and I would be okay to add a few hearty fish. I seriously doubt this. I don't have the testing kit yet. I'm actually about to run up to the pet store to get the API master kit. Is there something I'm missing? Some something I need to add that I haven't? I've had tanks before but I wasn't truly concerned about the goings on in the tank unless a fish was dead. Now I know better and I would really appreciate any tips or advice. 

 

[fluttermoth]

Your problem will have been that your tank (well, technically the stuff inside your filter) wasn't what we call 'cycled'.
 
A cycled filter will have a population of helpful bacteria that eat the fish's toxic wastes (ammonia and nitrite) for you, reducing them to less toxic nitrate, which you remove with regular, weekly water changes,
 
The best thing you can do is a proper 'fishless cycle'; that involves adding household cleaning ammonia to the tank so you can grow a colony of those good bacteria before you add any fish.
 
If you have a tank that is already running, you can add some of the filter media (that's the stuff that's in the filter; sponges or ceramic rings probably) from that into the filter of your new tank to 'seed' it with some of the good bacteria.
 
Experienced fishkeepers often add mature media and fish at more or less the same time, but if you're fairly new to the hobby, you'd be well recommended to do a fishless cycle after adding the media.
 
You'll need a bottle of ammonia (Homebase or Robert Dyas usually have it, or you can get it online) and some test kits; the API master test kit is a good choice; it's what most of us here use.
 
There are some useful articles on cycling in out beginner's resource centre; the link for that is in my sig.
 
Welcome to the forum, and feel free to ask any more questions if you're confused or unsure; we have loads of very knowledgeable fishkeepers here who will be more than happy to help you

 

[This Old Spouse]

Welcome here and glad you're taking the first important step to starting up this tank: Research! fluttermoth gives great advice. The only thing I would add is to be careful of the ammonia you get; make sure it doesn't have any surfactant in it (detergent) which will kill any bacteria or fish.
 
Good luck, and keep us posted!