Used Tank Question

[leighton_87]

First of all Hi - and thank you guys for all the information you've given me. This is my first post but I've spent around 6 months researching my future tank and the information on this site has been vital.

I am off tomorrow morning to pick up my first ever tropical fish tank so very excited.

The tank is second hand and has had fish in until today (which have been rehomed to his friends tank) and the filter will be switched on until tomorrow. Would you recommend using the filter media he is currently using and will that effectively skip the cycling process? Obviously I am very keen to get fish in asap but would rather do it right than rush in and end up harming the fish!

If I am to use his filters and media would you recommend leaving it a week or so without fish and test the water or will this just waste any bacteria that is there?

I have bought a water testing kit but not sure what I should be looking for to see if the tank is ready for fish? I have read a lot about fishless cycling and the readings to expect from there but how will I know if the bacteria from his tank are still functioning and therefore whether it is ready for fish.

Sorry for all the questions - I have spent a lot of time researching all the aspects and don't want to get the very first thing wrong!

 

[techen]

First of all Hi - and thank you guys for all the information you've given me. This is my first post but I've spent around 6 months researching my future tank and the information on this site has been vital.

I am off tomorrow morning to pick up my first ever tropical fish tank so very excited.

The tank is second hand and has had fish in until today (which have been rehomed to his friends tank) and the filter will be switched on until tomorrow. Would you recommend using the filter media he is currently using and will that effectively skip the cycling process? Obviously I am very keen to get fish in asap but would rather do it right than rush in and end up harming the fish!

If I am to use his filters and media would you recommend leaving it a week or so without fish and test the water or will this just waste any bacteria that is there?

I have bought a water testing kit but not sure what I should be looking for to see if the tank is ready for fish? I have read a lot about fishless cycling and the readings to expect from there but how will I know if the bacteria from his tank are still functioning and therefore whether it is ready for fish.

Sorry for all the questions - I have spent a lot of time researching all the aspects and don't want to get the very first thing wrong!

If the filter has been running, you have a good 5-7 days until it all dies off. So in that time you may want to add a small amount of fish to keep the bac alive and kicking really.

 

[Chad]

If you trust the person who had the tank and know they kept pretty good care of it I do recommend using the existing filter media as it should have live bacteria. However, if you aren't sure or if there is reason to believe something may have occurred to kill off the bacteria then I would wait. Either way I recommend not putting in any fish for at least a week and maybe two so that you can be sure things are working right, stable, and do some testing. I'm always skeptical of used tanks so advise caution unless you trust the source.

 

[fluttermoth]

I would buy yourself a bottle of ammonia and test the filter that way.

Switch the filter off, add enough ammonia to give you 1 or 2ppm, last thing at night. Switch the filter back on, and test it next morning.

If there's no ammonia or nitrite, you'd be safe for fish, from a cycling point of view, but I would run it with the ammonia for a fortnight; that should give enough time for most parasites to die off without a host.

 

[leighton_87]

I would buy yourself a bottle of ammonia and test the filter that way.

Switch the filter off, add enough ammonia to give you 1 or 2ppm, last thing at night. Switch the filter back on, and test it next morning.

If there's no ammonia or nitrite, you'd be safe for fish, from a cycling point of view, but I would run it with the ammonia for a fortnight; that should give enough time for most parasites to die off without a host.

Thanks for the advice - can I just buy Ammonia? Where would I get it from?

Would you add ammonia every day to keep the bacteria alive?

In terms of killing off parasites I've heard turning the heater up would help this, is this true? I want to tank around 24 degrees when I have the fish in but could turn it up higher before I put the fish in to kill off any parasites.

Should I add plants at this stage or wait?

Thanks

 

[fluttermoth]

You want a household cleaning ammonia. Tell us roughly where you are and we should be able to help you source some

High temperatures will certainly kill off a lot of parasites, if you put it up to 30°C for four or five days.

If you're not getting plants with the tank, I would leave them until you've cycled. A lot of plants won't like the temperature that high.

 

[leighton_87]

You want a household cleaning ammonia. Tell us roughly where you are and we should be able to help you source some

High temperatures will certainly kill off a lot of parasites, if you put it up to 30°C for four or five days.

If you're not getting plants with the tank, I would leave them until you've cycled. A lot of plants won't like the temperature that high.

I live just South of Leeds.

Approximately how much ammonia will I need to add to a 125 litre tank?

 

[fluttermoth]

Homebase and Robert Dyas usually have it, or you can order it online at Boots and have it delivered (if you have it delivered to your local branch and collect it, you don't have to pay postage).

You'll only need a ml or two to give you 2ppm; you might want to get a small plastic syringe from the chemist to dose more accurately.

 

[leighton_87]

Homebase and Robert Dyas usually have it, or you can order it online at Boots and have it delivered (if you have it delivered to your local branch and collect it, you don't have to pay postage).

You'll only need a ml or two to give you 2ppm; you might want to get a small plastic syringe from the chemist to dose more accurately.

Boots website doesn't have it and neither does Homebase

Can't seem to find it anywhere but I will keep looking - if anyone in the Yorkshire area knows of anywhere please let me know

 

[leighton_87]

I've found this (sorry if links aren't allowed)

http/www.therange.co.uk/pws/ProductDetails.ice?ProductID=69684&redirect=true

Is this the right stuff? Having had a search it looks like the right stuff......