Completely nasty tank and another question

[NickM]

I might be able to get my hands on another 20 gal. from a family friend.  She probably hasn't cleaned it or changed the filters in a good 6 months, if longer.  If I do get this tank, what is the best way to clean it out?  It has one fish in it, a kissing gouami which is about as big around as a tennis ball.  I can put him in my already heavily populated 20 gal. but it would be very very temporary.  This tank is a well established tank, it's been running for probably about 3 years.  So, how should I go about doing this?

And my second question is, I bought a piece of drift wood today from a very prominant independant fish store here in Atlanta, and I was wondering if there is anyhting I need to do to it before I put it in my tank?  It's already got the slate attached to it, so thats not a problem.  

Thanks!

Nick

BTW:  WOOOOO HOOOO!!  I'm a medium fish now.   *celebratesmiley*

 

[tabby360]

do you want to redo or just clean all the junk out? If you want to just clean it out take all the decorations out and vacumn the gravel real good and do a massive water chang. What kind of filter does it have?

 

[luvfishies]

Before doing anything drastic like moving the fish, don't do massive waterchanges. Daily little ones are better as that fish has gotten used to nasty conditions and could be shocked with a sudden influx of good water.

If you do decide to get this tank, save as much water as you can , net the fish into a bucket and do the move. Then once it is home start SLOWLY cleaning it up with daily 10% waterchanges with LIGHT gravel vacs. slow and sure is the way to go here. Eventually this tank will have pristine water conditions, and then you can start redecorating. A kissing gourami will eventually outgrow that 20g.

As for the drift, soak it in HOT water for a couple of days. You can do this in a bucket, dumping the cool water and adding HOT every few hours. Don't dechlor for the soak, as the chlorine will kill off nasties. You could also add salt to the soak as well.

Before adding to the tank, make sure the last soaking is in water that has LOTS of dechlor added to remove any chlorine residue in the wood. This is just how I prep any wood that I add to my tanks, and seems to work well for me.

Good luck, and keep us posted!