Donated Tank!

[Sam_Ashton]

Hi there.

My brother has just moved out of my Dads house and he no longer has room for his freshwater tank and so I have been given it.

I'm afraid to say that they have been slightly neglected but your advice can help!

I have no clue what I'm doing and am wondering if there are any major components etc. that I'm missing. (Sorry if my terminology sucks but I don't know what things are called either!)

I have a medium/large acryllic tank that I reduced to about 33% of its originally water in order to transport then re-filled with tap water. I tried to clean as much as I could without largely disrupting the fish's environment.

I have:
Tank
Filter
Heater
Air Distributer pipe (which I've buried under some gravel)
1 Piece of wood
1 plant (which looks as though its just about to die)
2 immitation shark type fish
2 Clown loach
4 'neons'
And some snails that were never initially purchased.

AM I MISSING ANYTHING??

Also... There is alot of green growth on the walls of the tank, I tried to scour some off but it just damaged the acryllic. How do I remove it safely and effectivly??!

Thankyou so much.

 

[d3sc3n7]

Shew, ok here we go...

First thing to worry about is the "Green growth" which is algae, and bad news. You can manually remove it, you shouldnt have to scrub though...it should wipe of for the most part. Then go to your local pet store, and get some treatments for it, something to acctully kill it off.

If its possible, I would find somewhere to put the fish, without harming them, and drain the tank, clean it, refill and cycle it. If that isnt an option then get rid of the growth fist, but make sure to maintain the levels in the water. Your local pet store should sell test kits. There are plenty of posts on here, about what you tank should be at.

From the way it sounds, this tank is in real bad shape, and is going to take alot of work, and some dedication to get it back right.

If you can take pictures, that would be very helpful!

As far as equiptment goes, it sounds like you have what you need....but I dont know if they are the right size, without more information or pictures.

Best of luck,

-d3

 

[TheFighterFish]

Don't use chemicals if you plan to get rid of the green algae. The only way to physically remove it using a scaper, one that doesn't damage the acrylic. Just remember now that whenever you add new water, you need to declorinate it. There are a bunch of products available at the fish store.

Try to keep the fish if you can. If you feel too bad about hurting them, you can donate them at your fish store as an option. A test kit too, will help you understand how well your tank is faring. If you plan to get into fish, read some of the stickies here or check out some books at the library. Hope all goes well.

Good luck.

 

[Lotus]

Welcome to the site

It sounds like you have all the equipment you need.

The green stuff (algae) isn't really bad news, and it's not harmful to the fish. It just needs scraping off. The pet store should have acrylic-safe scrapers for it. I wouldn't recommend getting any chemicals to add to the tank for the algae, they usually do more harm than good.

Regular (weekly) water changes should get it clean and healthy pretty fast. There's a nice video tutorial here: 5min - How to Start a Gravel Vacuum - Video

You may need to go buy a bucket and a gravel vacuum, if you don't have them already.

 

[d3sc3n7]

Ok, listen to these guys, instead of me!! They know plenty more!

 

[MissFishy]

Another good beginners guide that may get you up and running are the stickies in the beginners forum or the link in my signature below. These cover some basics of running a tank successfully.

 

[skratikans]

how many gallons in size is your tank? bc the imitation sharks and clown loaches will get huge and if this is a medium sized tank...they will outgrow them in the long run..and what kinds of imitation sharks do you have...maybe show a pic to i.d. them? some will not get along when they grow older depending on the species..also they may consume their smaller tank mates

 

[Sam_Ashton]

I'm not sure exactly on the size of the tank. Pictures of tank / largest shark below but they have hardly grown in the years my brother had them and I don't think he would have brought them if they would out-grown the tank.

Unfortunatly I didn't have any chlorine treatment and as it stands about 50% of the tank is tap water because it was all moved on Sunday evening when nothing was open. I understand Chlorine will diffuse into air over time so is this treatment essential, as I'm a student and treatment sounds expensive!!

I do have a gravel-vacuum and I removed the water with it yesterday so I could clean the bottom at the same time.

 

[MissFishy]

That is a bala shark. They grow up to 1 foot in size. It is too big for your tank. YES, chlorine treatment is necessary, it will eventually kill your fish and all of your beneficial bacteria if you don't treat the water, if it hasn't already. You really need to take a look at the guide I directed you to, it sounds like you need a refresh on what "cycling a tank" means.

 

[Sam_Ashton]

Well fishless cycling isn't an option but I have been using my gravel vacuum like mad.

Strange because my brother hasn't used treatment for years and the hardy little things are all still alive - I brought some just to make them that little bit happier though

 

[Lotus]

The dechlorinator shouldn't cost more than a few dollars, and should last a few months at least. You should definitely use it whenever you add water to the tank.

 

[Boston 107]

Declorinator is really cheap but it also is necesary. chlorine + fish = dead fish

 

[d3sc3n7]

I use Start Right (made by Jungle) i believe its about $5 for an 8oz bottle, and depending on the size of your tank, it will last you a while. It does chlorine and chloramine.

Edit: In fact, I only have 1 water change left in my bottle!

 

[Deku]

Hey Sam, my first post!
I'm not experienced enough to help you fix your tank, but I can pass along some pointers I've picked up the last month or so.
I have a 1 gal and 5 gal bucket. The 1g bucket always has water in it for replenishing water in tanks. The chlorine evaporates out after 24hrs I'm told, so I use it after said period elapses for each bucket. I fill up the 5gal the morning before I plan on doing a water change so that the water will be ready for the afternoon of the following day.
Its not impossible to cycle your tank with fish without a death, so don't lose hope! I was lucky enough to do it. I found this forum a week too late, but I was able to get a healthy tank within 2 weeks! All I did was get an API test kit, a careful eye and lots of water changes.
Your tank is way bigger than mine, and I've read that a bigger tank is more forgiving. Good luck with your tank! *thumbsups

-MikeH.

PS. Oh yeah, I have a few cory's and a snail to eat up the algae (I have algae wafers cuz I like mine and don't have any algae). I don't know about compatibility of Bala Sharks and cory's, snails or shrimps. Maybe someone can comment on this? Controlling the hours of how long the lights are on will help keep the algae in check as well.

 

[jcpaisley]

I think that I have read that letting tap water sit will not get rid of the chloramines though, so you should find out from your water co. how they treat the water (if they use chlorines or chloramines). Someone please correct me if I am wrong...