Restarted Tank

[leviethan]

ok, so had a sulphur oxide outbreak, had to strip tank back and take 98% of the substrate out. managed to move fish to other tanks mostly but had no where to move betta or the 3 glowlights. so the water is all new RO water, i did not clean the filters as i hoped this would help them, can anyone tell me what to expect for this unlikely 4 over the next few days? what should i do? any help will be appreciated. oh forgot, the tank is 50L

 

[KittyKat]

Did you mix some of the RO back with the leftovers? 100% RO water isn't that great as it will leach minerals from the fish. The large water change shouldn't affect the filter unless the pH changed much, so I wouldn't expect anything out of the ordinary.

What you should do is figure out what caused the problem and find a way to prevent it from happening again.

 

[leviethan]

thanks for stopping me worrying, i can add minerals if that helps.

 

[leviethan]

so when can i start to put my fish back?

 

[CrazyCichlaMomma]

test your water daily for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. when the ammonia and nitrite readings reach zero and the nitrate level is something other than zero you can put your fish back in the tank gradually (2 or 3 every few days as long as the ammonia and nitrite readings remain zero). then do 25% minimum water changes weekly.

 

[KittyKat]

thanks for stopping me worrying, i can add minerals if that helps.

Have fun with figuring out how much of what they need.

so when can i start to put my fish back?

Right away, or the filter bacteria will start dying off.

 

[leviethan]

am sure can figure it out. Instructions are on bottle lol.

 

[KittyKat]

am sure can figure it out. Instructions are on bottle lol.

Next question, which species of fish have you got and which additives are you buying? All of the ones I know of are for Malawis, which are unsuitable for generic communities.. it would be interesting to know if there are products for softwater and neutral water aquaria..?

 

[leviethan]

i have a betta and 6 glowlights. i'd move him but have betta in my 2nd tank, and my 1st has nippy fish. i use replenish water minerals, but am also using water from other tanks so not just RO.

 

[KittyKat]

I had a look and noticed some products like Kent Marine "R/O Right" and Seachem "Repenish" can be used to increase GH of the water, but most of these products will still not buffer the water (increase KH). So you might want to keep an eye on the pH as it is quite likely to crash.. but if you mix it with other, non-RO water, it should be fine.

Anyway, good luck with getting the tank sorted