leckiesr Posted April 6, 2010 Report Share Posted April 6, 2010 Hello everyone. A little about myself. I am 26 and live in Edmonton, and have a 46 gallon tank that I have had for about 6 years, and really enjoy it. My 2 cats also seem to love watching them, they think its better than TV. I was recommended to this site by a fellow fish enthusiast and have really enjoyed browsing through it so far. I do need a little help though with troubleshooting my tank problems. I recently moved my 46 gallon tank from my parents house to my new one and am having some trouble with the water conditions. It was previously set up for about 7 years and never had any troubles. I had changed the look of the tank successfully, including introducing new fish and plants, and different styles of decoration. About a week ago though when I moved it, everything kind of went down hill. It is decorated with a number of large rocks, that accept for being rinsed off were unchanged from the move. There are also a few real plants that survived. When I transfered it, I kept the media in the filter (which is a canister style), in hopes that the bacteria would not be affected, but changed 100% of the water as I had no way to transport it. There were a handful of fish, all cichlid types, and a upsidedown catfish and plecko (I think). All the cichlids quickly passed, but the other two kept doing well. About a week later I tried to reintroduce 6 more fish, 2 yellow lab, a male red empress? and 3 female, which did not last over night, and still the other 2 are doing well. They showed no signs of distress before I went to bed. The water has been tested a couple of times and all of the levels test safe, the temperature is set to 79, I 3 chemicals, Prime, Waste Control and a Plant Food. I also used a conditioner that was recommended to me to help stop "New Tank Syndrome", but have had no success. Looking for a few ideas before I try to introduce anything else to the tank, am willing to try anything. I am wanting to keep with cichlids in the future just in case that makes any difference. Looking forward to your suggestions, and to reading more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sicklid Posted April 6, 2010 Report Share Posted April 6, 2010 Now I am no genius but I would try to find someone that has an established healthy tank and get some of their water. Last year I set up a new 90 gal tank and shut down my 45. I took some of the bacteria from the filter and put it in the new tank (gravel) before adding the water. I used all my water first then added a bunch more from my neighbour's tank and all I needed were 2 more pails from the tap. Never lost a fish. Everything in the tank was new (gravel and rocks) except that I only rinsed the filter and put in established water....no problems. It took about 24-30 hours before the tank completely cleared up though. Then recently (Feb 13th)I started my 45 up again. I had a new Fluval 405 that I put on the 90 gal and transferred the Fluval 305 to the 45 gal. I also transferred half the conditioned media from the established filter to the new one. Then over a 1 week period I did a couple water changes on the 90 gal and put the "old" water in the 45gal. A week later I introduced some little cichlids and have not had a loss. They look fine too.....Like I said I am no genius and maybe do things a bit unconventional but it seems logical and to have worked ..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timbruun Posted April 6, 2010 Report Share Posted April 6, 2010 I could supply media loaded with bacteria if you liked. I would also purchase your own liquid test kit if I was you so you can keep a closer eye on it on a more regular basis. Usually not an issue if things are going great but when there is a problems it's a must have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rayfong Posted April 6, 2010 Report Share Posted April 6, 2010 The other thing is the substrate got disturbed and it can accumulate pockets of anaerobic bacteria (kind of smells like sulfur). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geleen Posted April 6, 2010 Report Share Posted April 6, 2010 (edited) The other thing is the substrate got disturbed and it can accumulate pockets of anaerobic bacteria (kind of smells like sulfur). This is so sad. If your tests for ammonia and nitrites are fresh, and are showing 0 ( As you know MUST be 0) this is the most likely cause. You may have to remove the fish, clean the substrate and then using the established filter in addition to seachem stability for 7-10 day's (to make sure.) Several very thorough vacuum sessions with large water changes (treated water of course) may do the trick I would not introduce too many new fish at one time, better over several month's (if possible) to get things re-settled. The 100% water change is not the cause as the beneficial bacteria like to live on a surface; not so much in the water. I have done 100 % water changes many times the fish love it. John Edited April 6, 2010 by geleen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leckiesr Posted April 7, 2010 Author Report Share Posted April 7, 2010 Thank you everyone for your help. I will try these and hopefully I can rectify the problem soon and start reintroducing fish into the aquarium. I will let you all know how my progress is going, and hopefully get some pictures along the way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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