# how long to let new tank sit before adding fish?



## cichbillyia

i set up a new 30gal tank today ... used an established filtermedia in it and got it running for a couple hrs before i added the fish ... added 5 fish 3 new and 2 from my 55gal tank ... 4-5hrs later 1 dead new one and 2 almost dead from the 55gal ... put them all back in the 55 and letting the new tank run for a few days? .... how long should be long enough? new gravel, cleaned fake plants and decorations, and the established 30gal filter media in a used filter....


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## Grafx

Not sure why you're adding fish. Used filter media doesn't cycle a tank in 3 days.

ALWAYS test the water with a liquid test kit BEFORE adding fish.


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## cichbillyia

added fish thinking it would be immediately cycled? good bacteria in the the filter media already to take care of the ammonia/nitrites ... i guess i read it wrong? i need to wait a few days then ?


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## AnThRaXx

what you need to wait for is your chemical levels to balance out. the natural course has to run. ammonia to nitrite, nitrite to nitrate. its gotta happen before u can add fish. GL sir. you can also purchase beneficial bacteria to assist cycling process. *** used it and it works wonders (COSTLY tho) GL to ya.


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## Teggy

Live and learn no shame in that 

Yes it does normally take longer to cycle a tank. I was able to do it quickly recently when I moved a tank and fish, but I also had the 2 canister filters (both with tank water inside), all the substrate and rocks, as well as a couple bacteria laden powerhead filters. Plus I had no choice lol, had to get those fish out of the coolers.

Under normal conditions with only an established filter your best case scenario is usually 3 days, though obviously it is best merely wait until your water parameters check out. I've done the same thing before so don't be bothered about it. I just couldn't wait to get fish in that tank back in the day :lol:

Best of luck getting your tank cycled for your fishies


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## cichbillyia

i moved 10-15gal of established tank water to the new tank also! .... how do i add ammonia to the new tank without fish? to speed up the cycle? im going to do the mesh bag and gravel tomorrow and let it soak in really well also!

and another question? why would clean water (brand new dechlorinated) kill my fish in a matter of hours ... ammonia was not high and neither nitrites or nitrates? there wasnt time to get anything bad in there! ... is the water lacking something? or have something left in it even tho i conditioned it very well?


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## KaiserSousay

*(brand new dechlorinated) kill my fish in a matter of hours*
That, by it`self, can`t.
What brand dechlorinator did you use?
Probably a number of things ganged up to harm your fish.
Just the stress of moving fish can cause major problems, specially with fish that might have been stressed in the tank they came from.
Ammonia, nitrite, or nitrate poisoning usually would not take an, otherwise healthy life in that short a time. 
The few fish you put in that tank couldn`t produce enough toxins in that short a time period to cause what you described.
There had to have been an issue with the water before the fish went in.
In all the moving of media, that you thought housed nitrifying bacteria, could have held a bunch of organics as well.

*new gravel, cleaned fake plants and decorations*
Could there have been anything toxic in the above?

You would really need to give some water quality test results for a better answer, if there is an answer we can come up with.
Good luck.


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## BillD

Well said, John. Those fish did not die from being in an uncycled tank. Having a working filter would have been more than sufficient. Something else is going on here.


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## cichbillyia

i go the tank used from a friend for free ... any suggestions on cleaning the whole thing quick and easily? i cant think of anything that would be in it the water is still cloudy this morning ... any test kits i can get for bad stuff in the tank? besides my water quality test kits? i have strips and liquid dropper tests for AM nitrites and nitrates ph alk and hardness ... what kind of test strips should i get for toxins? things that dont belong in the tank? :-?


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## PfunMo

Things that might get into a tank stored in my garage are numerous. Some are motor oil frm working on a mower, Treated lumber dust from sawing, roach poison from spraying, Spray paint overspray, etc., etc. Bottom line is that it is not safe to use any tank or equipment without running it through a routine cleanup. It is a frequent point of disagreement but to me it is like using a clean sheet of paper when you write a letter. If you want good results, start fresh. For me the quickest, cheapest and most reliable way to start fresh is by using a bleach soak. I scrape out any heavy stuff, fill the tank and add about half cup of bleach and let it soak overnight. Make sure to fill all the way to the top so that stuff under the top lip is disinfected, too. If I'm using any decor items those can soak at the same time. Next day the bleach will have worked on most any organics and be pretty well used up. I dump the water and rinse everything then let it dry totally. I do a final cleanup of the glass and if there is no smell of chlorine, it's ready.
A Quick, cheap and easy way used by public water suppliers to clean the equipment for your drinking water. Good enough for them= good enough for me. Any worries about chlorine, just add a double dose of dechlor, like Prime.


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## cichbillyia

Thanks pfun and everyone else! Ill bleach it tonight and rinse everything tomorrow again ... itll be a few more days but itll be better in the long run! I appreciate the help from everyone! Thought i was doing well with 2 established tanks that i could set another really easily! Still learning and wont do that again!


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## AnThRaXx

try the bacteria addition if you have like o idk 20$ lying around. if you wanna do things quickly it sure works. worked on three new tanks i recently setup. had to move fish and didnt have anything cycled to move em to. so i just do regular testing PITA btw, and lots of regular water changes.


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## benny71

KaiserSousay said:


> *(brand new dechlorinated) kill my fish in a matter of hours*
> That, by it`self, can`t.
> What brand dechlorinator did you use?
> Probably a number of things ganged up to harm your fish.
> Just the stress of moving fish can cause major problems, specially with fish that might have been stressed in the tank they came from.
> Ammonia, nitrite, or nitrate poisoning usually would not take an, otherwise healthy life in that short a time.
> The few fish you put in that tank couldn`t produce enough toxins in that short a time period to cause what you described.
> There had to have been an issue with the water before the fish went in.
> In all the moving of media, that you thought housed nitrifying bacteria, could have held a bunch of organics as well.
> 
> *new gravel, cleaned fake plants and decorations*
> Could there have been anything toxic in the above?
> 
> You would really need to give some water quality test results for a better answer, if there is an answer we can come up with.
> Good luck.


+1 to all of this.

No way did that un-cycled water kill your fish that quick.

I'd definitely clean the new decorations and substrate really well before adding it back. Maybe boil the gravel?



> try the bacteria addition if you have like o idk 20$ lying around. if you wanna do things quickly it sure works.


If he already has established filter media, is the bacteria in a bottle really necessary?


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## cichbillyia

gravel is brand new stuff ... i strained it before adding it to the tank ... been letting it run all day today with no fish in it ... its getting cloudier ... so much so that you can see the cloudiness floating around from the filter pushing it ... im going to bleach and clean everything tomorrow and get it set back up again


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## Pali

My best guess if the fake plants or decorations are to blame, now you don't specify if the decorations are "fake" stuff or regula rocks/wood or what ever so I assume it's some of thouse molded things I see at pet stores.

The chance that it being the gravel seem very unlikely to me, specialy for a brand new product. Shure it may contain all kinda dust n particles, but it should not contain anything that should be able to kill you fish in matter of hours.

You can buy test kits to test for heavy metals in the water, but if your other tank is fine I see little chance that if be heavy metals in your tank. Unless u have a cracked mercery thermometer in the new tank, or something else containing heavy metals is leaking it out in the tank.

I would clean everything as alread recomended and try again, if your expirianceing the same again after you have cleaned your tank, gravel, equiptment, fake plants, deco and reestablished your filter. Then I would look into getting a test kit for heavy metals and maybe other toxins, but im guessing it's not the cheapest test kits to aquire.


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## JimA

Something no one has mentioned unless I missed it,what was the temperature of the new tank compared to the one they came out of?

Just throwing that out there.


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## cichbillyia

Now that someone mentioned it i did break 2 thermometers in the box of stuff when i was putting the tank together... i think the rocks smashed them... i cleaned everything b4 i put them in ... but the rocks were holey pumice kind of rock... thats probably where this all went bad! How do i clean it now?


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## JimA

Possible mercury poisoning, nasty and deadly stuff!


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## Glaneon

True.. however, unless it's a high concentration - which, I can't comment on how much 2 glass thermometers would do to a tank that size...

I know for humans we're more concerned with eating fish that have mercury in it -- so if the fish have it, and living until they're caught for eating... chances are they can survive some dosage of it that might be unhealthy for us.

The 6 million dollar question is just how big a dosage of mercury did they get.


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## Jmanolinsky

I'm pretty certain that the cheap thermometers sold in pet stores contain no mercury. It is likely just water and maybe some alcohol.


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## Glaneon

Unless they're using something else (I thought I heard that something else is being used) that is silver colored and thick, my cheap-o thermometer looks like it has mercury in it.


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## BoilerFan

Is it possible you're looking at the lead in the bottom of the thermometer? If the liquid is red it is definitely not mercury. I think you'd be hard pressed to find a mercury thermometer in the US these days and it would likely not be cheap (science equipment catalog maybe?).

I could be wrong, but I can't even remember the last time I saw one that actually had mercury in it.


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## PfunMo

Mercury has pretty well been out for most uses for a long time. Any body making something with mercury would just be looking for lawsuit city. It can be absorbed through skin.


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## Glaneon

:thumb: I thought I had heard as much.

I do remember playing with mercury in my 7th grade science class. (1985)

It's amazing when you drop a ball of it... it flashes (bright, but completely silent) and looks like it disentigrates, but it just "blows up" into little TINY balls of mercury that roll on the floor.


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## PfunMo

You might want to check the qualifications on a science teacher that was letting you play with mercury in 1985! My teacher was freaking out when we broke anything with mercury and that was 1961! And , YES. I am older than dirt!


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## Glaneon

It was New Jersey, mercury is probably clean compared to that air. :roll:


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