# Fish Tank EMERGENCY



## epsilonvaz (Jan 15, 2009)

A few years ago, I moved to Greece from the UK, I left my 4ft tank in the hands of my father.

Now, I have returned.

What do I see? A COMPLETE wreck... Algae everywhere, water level is HALF. 2 fish left alive. The lid has started rotting, and there is some strange dark green grass growing on the gravel.

The filter (external Penn Plax Cascade 700L (or 1000L I don't remember), had never been cleaned ONCE.

It is tragic.

It needs a complete overhaul. Any advice?


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## Amphitrite (Sep 8, 2006)

Ouch... I'm sorry to hear that. Have you performed any partial water changes yet and what are the fish you have left?


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## onefish2fish (Jul 22, 2008)

welcome to the forum, sorry to hear the news

well to start, remove the dead fish if any are still in there. as mentioned i would then perform partial water changes. try removing 5-10 gallons and adding 20-25 gallons as you said the tank is half full (make sure to use dechlorinator first) your going to want to gravel vac small parts of the substrate every week, scrape the algae from the glass and clean one basket of the filter every 2 weeks by swishing it in old tank water that you removed from a water change. this is so you dont endure another cycle by killing off too much beneficial bacteria. just take your time and before you know it your tank will be back to its glory.


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## epsilonvaz (Jan 15, 2009)

Thanks for the advice so far, here are some photos of the mess and the fish (as I don't remember the names, I have been away from fishkeeping for some time).


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## taylorg (Dec 8, 2008)

the big one on the bottom is a pleco


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## Mikaila31 (Dec 18, 2008)

Top is a zebra daino.

If you have access to another tank that has a canister filter, I would suggest completely cleaning out the tank, then cloning the filter with mature media. To do this you would need to get used filter media from a different tank, I would ask a LPS for some. This will contain bacteria to reboot your tank. I would take the fish out, put them in a bucket. Then completely clean and drain the tank and filter. Don't throw your old filter media way, just clean it best you can and add the new stuff. Then refill the tank and slowly reintroduce the fish. Keep an eye on water quality after you do this!


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## Blaxicanlatino (Jan 28, 2008)

This is probably already been mentioned but the "grass" stuff growing in the tank is beard algae. I dont know to much about it so im sorry i cant really help


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## epsilonvaz (Jan 15, 2009)

Blaxicanlatino said:


> This is probably already been mentioned but the "grass" stuff growing in the tank is beard algae. I dont know to much about it so im sorry i cant really help


Thanks for the algae identification , I appreciate the help!


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## 1077 (Apr 16, 2008)

Actually, the tank does not look that bad to me. As mentioned, you don't want to try and clean everything at once or beneficial bacteria will be destroyed and tank will have to go through nitrogen cycle all over. Cleaning the glass one week and maybe vaccuming a small area of the tank. Vaccum a small area of the gravel as has been mentioned ,once a week. Swish the filter material around in old aquarium water you take out with WEEKLY water changes and stick it back in. Plenty of time to clean things gradually and then you can replace filters one at a time when you are through. I would not use any soaps to clean anything. I have seen MANY tanks in much worse shape.


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## epsilonvaz (Jan 15, 2009)

Ok, so tomorrow I will begin the revival process. I have been readind this forum for hours and hours :shock:. Old memories are coming to life!

I understand I need to be very careful with the filter media, however, I do wish to completely replace the substrate with a different type (and alot less than the thick layer I have at the moment). This means cycling the tank again. I also wish to have a planted tank.

I will set up a quarantine tank for the veteran pleco and daino using a small amount of gravel from the current tank and the same water. How long after the overhaul is a good idea to reintroduce the two survivors?

I understand that it will be a good idea to keep alot of the current water from the tank and use it after overhaul, am I correct in thinking this?

Thanks alot for all your help.


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## Tyyrlym (Jun 1, 2008)

No on both counts. First off, most of your bacteria are living in your filter. There are some in the gravel and such but the lion's share will be in the filter. You'll want to closely monitor the tank after the change (and go nuts with the gravel vac during it to clean up the bottom of the) but I wouldn't expect a full on cycle, a mini one at best.

If you want to move the fish from this tank to another while you work on it I'd recommend getting them reacclimated to good clean water from the tap. Do small partial changes or additions to slowly bring what is in there now close to what comes out of the tap and eventually go ahead and move the fish to the QT tank with all new water. There aren't any real amount of useful bacteria in the water itself so reusing it will only help move the bad contaminants from it to your QT tank and then back into your newly fixed up tank.


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## epsilonvaz (Jan 15, 2009)

Ok thanks for that! I will keep posting with updates .

I'm lucky you guys don't charge for this advice:-D, all I can hope to do is one day contribute advice back to the community!


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## FordMan (Jan 18, 2009)

Changing the substrate doesn't nessisarily mean you have to re-cycle the tank there should be plenty of nitrofying and denitrofying bacteria on the glass rocks filter etc. to re colonize the new substrate. Also if you want a planted tank the plants might thrive in the old gravel i mean just think of all the fertilizer... As for when to restock after about 4 weeks i'd say you could stock to half capacity. After another 6 weeks provided everything is going well i'd imagine you could bring it up to full capacity Which is surface area of the water divided by 10 for slim bodied fish tetra's danio's etc 12 for smaller cichlids and 18 for oscars pleco's gold fish or anything big and nasty.

Hope this helps!


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## willow (Sep 9, 2006)

welcome back to the hobby 
most if not all of what i would say,has been said.
i too don't think the tank looks that bad surprisinly enough. !
and welcom to FordMan aswell.


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## epsilonvaz (Jan 15, 2009)

Phase 1 complete :-D

Removed old gravel, completely emptied the tank, gave everything a good scrubbing. (the limescale was a complete b*tch to get off, and still is on the outside of the tank, but I will deal with that another day)

Got some danish quartz substrate and a black background.

Refilled the tank, treated water, let it run for 24hrs.

Re-introduced the veteran fish, got a few more from the (very helpful) LFS. Fish should appear in my signature I think.

Ordered a new lid also as the current is knackered.

Will monitor conditions and when all is good will up the stock, add some plants and wood.

Current pic:


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## epsilonvaz (Jan 15, 2009)

hmm... starting to think the barbs are a little bit too aggressive for my liking, fighting eachother and the danios. Back to the LFS I think :-(, they look so nice, what a shame.


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## willow (Sep 9, 2006)

hi
how many barbs do you have ?


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## epsilonvaz (Jan 15, 2009)

2 green, 2 tiger.


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## willow (Sep 9, 2006)

hi
hmm sorry to say that you would need many more barbs to even have a small chance
of quiet.i'm talking around 10-12 and sometimes that's not enough.
so personally for you i'd say take them back unless you can inlarge the group.
sorry.


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## Tyyrlym (Jun 1, 2008)

Yeah, your number of barbs is just too low. They aren't feeling comfortable. They are a schooling fish and if they don't have a large enough school they get aggressive to the other tank inhabitants. A large enough school of them will keep the aggression mostly confined to the school. You should have about 8 as a minimum and I'd go with even more if you've got the room. Less than that and they'll be little terrors.


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## occram (Aug 15, 2008)

I'm by no means an expert, but the water itself shouldn't hold _that_ much value. What I would do is keep the substrate as you mentioned and take a water sample of the out-going water. Check the pH and try to match the incoming water appropriately.

Beneficial bacteria is "sticky" and it is believed that less than 1% of it resides in the water itself at any given time. Discarding the water shouldn't be too damaging to the tanks ecosystem. :|


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## iamntbatman (Jan 3, 2008)

As long as you kept all of the media in your filter wet during this process, you should be in pretty good shape.

Keep us updated!


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## epsilonvaz (Jan 15, 2009)

Ok, thank you all for your advice, at the moment, things are looking good. Current stock is in signature. Big issue is still the white residue on the outside of the glass, but doesn't look as bad as it does in the photos. Next job is to sort out the lighting, new lid should be here in a week or so.

The Barbs went back to the LFS, owner was very friendly in taking them back and exchanging them. Went to another store on the way home, some Marble Hatchets caught my eye, apparently they very rarely get them, I have absolutely fallen in love with them, will reserve them tomorrow 

Here is a current photo:


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## MBilyeu (Nov 25, 2008)

Looking good!


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## 1077 (Apr 16, 2008)

Were it me ,(and it aint) I would sow down on stocking the tank. You made no mention of quarantining any of the new fish you have placed in the tank. I might wait a couple weeks for the beneficial bacteria and fish to adjust. And I would quarantine any new fish for two weeks minimum. One sick purchase could wipe out the whole tank/ NICE restoration!;-)


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## Tyyrlym (Jun 1, 2008)

I love those rocks in the center. Great heft to them. Good choice to go with neons and a lot of them. I agree with 1077 though, slowing down is a good idea. Quarantining is a GREAT idea.


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## flight50 (Sep 30, 2008)

seems to be coming along nicely compared to what it was before you started reviving the tank. my approach would have been a little different though considering you have time. 1) take the two surviving fish back to a lfs if they'd take them, if not step 2) ..continued from step one or put and leave the fish in a quarantine tank until you completely rebuild the big tank. salvage the filter media and completely renovate the tank since your going planted. the old subtrate won't sustain much life once all the old crud is used up. getting a plantly friendly substate is a better idea. do a fishless cycle and DO NOT stock until your readings read 0 across the board within a 24hr period that you add the appropiate amount of ammonia. be wise with your investment and don't loose what you don't have to by taking chances. some may not agree but this is only my two cents.


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## ThalesthePearsei (Jan 27, 2009)

uhoh, i left a few tanks in the hands of family when i left Texas :shock:.....i gotta go make some phone calls now!

Your tank is really looking great. What a quick and clean overhaul, very impressive. If I saw my tank like I would have screamed and then passed out. Oh my, I wouldn't want to open up that canister...when i clean mine, the smell could knock out a horse, and that is only after 2 months. 
Good Luck with your tank!


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## Kim (Apr 30, 2008)

^^ I would have screamed too! Just I would have stayed conscious so that I could give the person a talking to!

It's looking great! I would take the advice above and wait a week or two before introducing any new fish though. It's just a good precaution. During that time I'd also set up a 10 gal or so QT tank. I have learned the hard way that a QT tank is a MUST HAVE, not just an option.

I really like the redecorating and the plants  Was anyone around when you discovered the tank just curious?


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## epsilonvaz (Jan 15, 2009)

Hey, thanks for your advice as always guys!

Won't be adding more fish for a while, LFS was happy to hold 6 Marble Hatchets for me till I am happy to take them home. Ordered an API Master Test kit from eBay, should be here tomorrow. Also amazed at the amount of plants available on eBay, do you think they should be quarentined before being put in the tank (if I decided to buy), if so, for how long?

Kim, my mother was there when I saw it and was just like "oh yea I think it needs a clean". I was livid to say the least.

ThalesthePearsei, the canister was really nasty when opened, massive amounts of brown slime went down the drain. I called my dog over to give it a sniff to see what his reaction would be, he backed off real quick!


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## willow (Sep 9, 2006)

hi
i really like the stone work in the middle there,looks class.


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## epsilonvaz (Jan 15, 2009)

Thanks, I bought them a few years back, they are actually garden stones so only cost about £2 ($3) each. They are inert according to the shop, but I tested them when I got home using instructions from the internet also. Could not believe the price of the "Aquarium Rocks" that size in normal FS.


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## flight50 (Sep 30, 2008)

glad to hear you held off on more fish. ebay plants i am not sure about though. if they come from a true hobbyist then maybe. i got a better link for you though. AquariumPlants.com Largest online sales / service site for the live aquarium plants & aquarium products community. i researched around and this site was highly recommend so i gave them a shot. ordered my plants last wednesday got them Friday. if you want live plants guaranteed you need to do the overnight delivery. i did since i was investing in my tank. After giving them a shot, to my surprise, all my plants looked great. Out of 11 plants only one plant had one yellow leaf. i was able to put them directly in my tank. i couldn't find the right media to clean them so i took a chance with just running water to get rid of small amounts of debris. As of today, I have roots growing like crazy from my bunched plants embedded in red fluorite w/20-30ppm of CO2.


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## epsilonvaz (Jan 15, 2009)

Hey, thanks for the link, however I live in the UK . I will search around for a good UK/EU aquatic plant site.


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## flight50 (Sep 30, 2008)

Sorry, didn't pay attention to your location. i guess the one day thing might be out for you. what i would do is call them and see how they might be able to help. to be honest, i'd recommend them to anyone, their plants really looked great. still had their full color of reds and greens except the one leaf i mentioned already. although i got the overnight shipment for next day deliver which should have been around noon, i didn't pick up my package until 9:30pm that Friday night, got home and didn't get everything planted until 1:30am. Looked as though they could go another 12-18hrs before being planted. They packaged them pretty good. all plants were still damp as if they were soaked before they were packaged. i'd think they might package yours better for a longer trip. they ship world wide so see what they might be able to do. it could hurt to try.

if its the *"Proud to be an American Company" *thing that got you, then i understand.* 
*


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## epsilonvaz (Jan 15, 2009)

Nope wasn't that, I'm proud to be British also !

I just assumed that international shipping of plants would be more hassle (and money) that it's worth, I will contact them and check prices.


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## iamntbatman (Jan 3, 2008)

I'd imagine it's probably pretty expensive so it might be better to buy local. I'm not sure how much traffic is on there from the UK, but Aquabid is pretty much the eBay of aquarium stuff (including livestock). Plants don't really need to be quarantined, but it's a good idea to give them a bleach dip (and then a good rinse in heavily dechlorinated water) before putting them in your display. This will kill off hitchhikers like snails and their eggs as well as algae.


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## Tyyrlym (Jun 1, 2008)

You can find places that sell aquarium plants locally. Unless you're getting something really rare or out there I can't see a reason to get things sent internationally.


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## epsilonvaz (Jan 15, 2009)

The reason I mentioned eBay in the first place was because of the price, LFS in London are £££££££ when it comes to plants (compared to eBay). I will probably test a seller out and see what it's like, to be honest it's so cheap that if half of them turn up dead I'd still save money.


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## Kim (Apr 30, 2008)

epsilonvaz said:


> Hey, thanks for your advice as always guys!
> 
> Won't be adding more fish for a while, LFS was happy to hold 6 Marble Hatchets for me till I am happy to take them home. Ordered an API Master Test kit from eBay, should be here tomorrow. Also amazed at the amount of plants available on eBay, do you think they should be quarentined before being put in the tank (if I decided to buy), if so, for how long?
> 
> ...


Ha! I'm amazed your dog didn't pass out ! I have a "mini" canister filter and even that smells a bit when I clean it out once a month or so. Yours must have been down right NASTY!

My parents pulled a stunt like that too when I was a little kid. We had a 55 gallon tank and they didn't know anything at all about keeping fish. Well, the cleaning slowly went downhill and then it just plain old didn't get cleaned at all. Everything died off except for 2 huge irridescent sharks, 1 huge common pleco, and 2 cory catfish. That's a lot of waste producing fish! Anyway, we finally gave them all away and then my parents told me that if I cleaned the tank and we sold it I could have the money. The pure gunk that came out of that gravel was amazing to say the least! My parents aren't allowed aquariums anymore ;-).


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