[underdog5004]

A while ago, I was given a 10G tank, with air pump, HOB filter, gravel, fake plant (since removed), a dual screw-in socket hood, and about 25 guppies and a 5" gold gourami.

When I got it, it was half full of gnarly green water that was so murky I couldn't see the guppies, and the gourami was something of a suprise. I bagged up the fish, removed the water, cleaned and scrubbed a bit, removed all the algae, and filled the tank once more. I then proceeded to float the fish, dump the fish with the nice old water into the tank, and pop in a couple flourescent light bulbs.

The shelf that the tank was on basically pulled out of the cabinet and dumped my brand new (to me) awesome tank onto my carpeted floor
I immediately picked up as many fish as I could, only lost 3 guppies that got squished under glass
I spent the next week picking up gravel and glass, vacuuming, carpet cleaning, vacuuming again, etc. During this time, my fish had some nice quiet time in a pitcher in my closet, where the temp stayed at about 78F

After I got my new tank set up, I put some StressZyme+ (similar to biospira) into my tank, filtered the water, and put my fish into their new home. Obviously, the tank wasn't filtered, but I was able to dechlorinate the water, and establish a bacterial colony in the filter before dumping them back in.

Anyway, I then proceeded to rubberband some anacharis (elodea) to a "safe" rock from my workplace (LFS), and planted a bunch more around the rock, with some java fern securely banded (now rooted) to the rock as well.

After about a week, I reduced my guppy population by 10, leaving about 10 guppies. My present tank setup is as follows:

10 guppies (3 male, 7 female)
1 5" gold gourami
3 platys (1 male, 2 female)
2 juvenile mollies (both female)
5 ghost shrimp
about 10 ramshorn snails, which are laying eggs
and of course, about 14 stalks of anacharis, which is flourishing under the flourescent light

So, what do you all think of my tank? I can't post pics yet, and even if I could, I don't have a camera handy

Matthew

PS - Nitrites are 0, ammonia is slightly elevated, nitrates are ~5ppm, plants seem to suck 'em up pretty well. PH is about 6.8, temp is about 76-78F.

 

[petlover516]

wow thats a tragedy. Hope nothing else bad happens, but try to elliminate ammonia, as the gouramis can be quite sensitive.

 

[djrichie]

What size tank is the new tank... how long have you had it running now.... If you replaced it with another 10 gl than you are over stocked.... A good rule of thumb to stick with until you learn more about the bio-load of each type of fish you are hosing than go with 1" of fish to 1 gal of water. You amm. is elivated because your tank has not cycled completely and with all the fish waste it will be hig... do a water change of 20% without gravel vacuming and check you amm. levels daily and when they get high do a water change without vacumming. If I read it correctly you do not have a filter for the tank.... Aquaclear makes a good cheap filter and for a ten gal.tank. You'll thank yourself later for having it.

Sorry about the lose of the first tank. but first thing to do is to make sure your stand is safe and not wobbly. Water does have some weight to it, and can be a safty hazard, to children and drunk college students.

 

[underdog5004]

What size tank is the new tank... how long have you had it running now.... If you replaced it with another 10 gl than you are over stocked.... A good rule of thumb to stick with until you learn more about the bio-load of each type of fish you are hosing than go with 1" of fish to 1 gal of water. You amm. is elivated because your tank has not cycled completely and with all the fish waste it will be hig... do a water change of 20% without gravel vacuming and check you amm. levels daily and when they get high do a water change without vacumming. If I read it correctly you do not have a filter for the tank.... Aquaclear makes a good cheap filter and for a ten gal.tank. You'll thank yourself later for having it.

Sorry about the lose of the first tank. but first thing to do is to make sure your stand is safe and not wobbly. Water does have some weight to it, and can be a safty hazard, to children and drunk college students.

Sorry, I've got a filter, uses a biobag filter cartridge. Ammonia levels are very low (hence, slightly elevated), and should soon subside. I have the tank on a new cabinet, one which is very strong. I have a ****-ton of plants in the tank, mostly anacharis, to eat the nitrates the fish put off, and some ghost shrimp for the larger particles.