starting over

j4782 · Post by **j4782** » 10 Oct 2005, 02:21

gar!!!!

My mother is, to put it politely, beyond strange. She decided to leave soap in the dehumidifier water. I added it to my tank unknowngly.

Must start the process of seeding & cycling a tank over.

Anyone have tips for increasing the survival chances of the ones who've survived so far? (it's been about 6 hours since I fished & picked everything I could find out into untainted water (I know, not the best for them but better than the the alternative.). The poor little zebra danios were hit the worst. Luckily the cleaner water really helped. I've only lost 2 danios, 1 clam, and probably a 1/3 of my bristlenose fry (3 weeks) so far.

My L66 is the weakest of my cats a the momemt.

Anyone have pointers on returning my 55 (w/ 2 filters, various decorations, and gravel) to fish-safe condition?

pturley · Post by **pturley** » 10 Oct 2005, 18:01

It really depends on what type of soap was added and how much. At a minimum, I would think a good scrub-down and many massive water changes would be in order.
This will essentially remove all of your biological filtration (if the soap hasn't already killed it outright).

More info. please.

Durlänger · Post by **Durlänger** » 10 Oct 2005, 20:31

Put coal into your filters and pump the tank troughe. The big surface of it will absorbe the tensids.

j4782 · Post by **j4782** » 10 Oct 2005, 22:58

I have no idea what kind of soap it was, but I suspect something easy to reach in the basement, like laundry soap.

The tank is pretty much emptied at this point.

I don't think there's coal available in forms other than big 10 lbs (about 5 kg) bags of charcoal here in the US.

This morning the L66 was looking better, attaching itself to the new tank wall.

Tom2600 · Post by **Tom2600** » 11 Oct 2005, 00:10

I would make some large water changes and add a large piece of polyfilter to try and quickly reduce any toxins in the water.

Am I reading your post right, in the fact that you use the water from a de-humidifier to add to your fish tank? This is very bad pracitce even if soap has not been added, as a dehumidifier removes all the crap out of the air and therefore you are just adding this concentrated toxic water to your tank.

j4782 · Post by **j4782** » 11 Oct 2005, 22:46

I have never simply added the water and left. I always added water conditioner, too.

Knowing how the dehumidifier works helps. It uses a condensation and drip method. The "toxic" danger doesn't come from the water and air particles. It comes from the materials of the dehumidifier itself.

None of my animals are in the tank set-up that was affected.

I'll be washing everything and replacing the filter media completely.

Durlänger · Post by **Durlänger** » 12 Oct 2005, 16:58

You realydon`t get coal at your LFS

That to see under http://www.eheim.com/wasser_filtermassen.htm
for example

jellyfish · Post by **jellyfish** » 12 Oct 2005, 18:33

Hi
I think that you are on the right track by tearing the tank down, rinsing everything and starting over completely. Soap residue in the gravel bed would take a long time to filter out and probably end up crashing the system anyway. Did your survivors go into an established aquarium or do you have other tanks that you could "jump start" the 55 with? If you do, you can could use aged water and filter media from those tanks and shave some time off of the cycling process. Good luck

j4782 · Post by **j4782** » 12 Oct 2005, 20:22

Yeah, we really don't find coal that easily. The Eheim line in the US is not very popular.

No, my fish had to go into a new tank set-up. :/ My mom said I could only set up the 55 if the other tanks got taken down. I think I will be establishing this tank and transferring everything over--luckily the filter media is the same size for the whisper 20 and 60.

Thanks!

natefrog · Post by **natefrog** » 13 Oct 2005, 03:58

My best advise is to strip the contaminated tank bare, rinse the gravel and glass and start with new filter media. If you have friend with an established tank, borrow a "dirty" filter and rinse it in the newly setup aquarium. If this is not an option, many LFS sell "live" gravel which has a good compliment of beneficial bacteria.

Another note is that what some call coal others call carbon, (I'm in the latter group). Carbon would likley help remove toxins from your contaminated tank however it would be quicker to just start fresh and speed cycle the tank.

bronzefry · Post by **bronzefry** » 14 Oct 2005, 14:00

Coal = charcoal.

j4782 · Post by **j4782** » 14 Oct 2005, 15:48

oh, okay. Yeah, I have carbon for the Whisper 60 in excess (using the whole bag in one catridge seemed to clog up faster and not filter as well).

I've rinsed and refilled the tank. The filters have been running since last night, a lot of the tank decoration is in (rinsed the gravel like crazy). I want to do a big water change before adding my starter/sacrificial school of black neon tetras. Water seemed very cloudy after I added the gravel.