spider Posted March 19, 2012 Report Share Posted March 19, 2012 Hey Guys, quick question about how long until i can put my fish back in the tank. I have an 8x2x2 that has had an unkown fish killing problem. All water has been tested and water quality has been fine. Fish keep dying about once a week. No fin damage, no issue at all, they just dye. Anyways, with out going into too much detail I have stripped the tank and sump. The media and gravel has been cleaned and i have been cycling the tank for about 1 week now. The fish i keep are africans, who have been doing quite well in my 120L esky with a airstone, heater and canister filter. I have just checked the following and are all good. PH8.0 Ammonia 0ppm Nitrite 0ppm Nitrate 0ppm I have put a electic yellow in the tank just now as a tester. if he survives, is it safe to assume i can put the rest of the fish in. Looking for some quick advise as the missus is on my pback to get the esky out of the way Cheers Dale Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebigwes Posted March 19, 2012 Report Share Posted March 19, 2012 I wouldn't put all the fish in at once. The waste load would be to much to fast. I would do a fish or two every cople of days Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spider Posted March 19, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 19, 2012 Thats what i was thinking...... was going to dump in a couple of bristle nose and a fish a day for a week. after 7 days the filter should be seeded and hopefully up for the rest of the fish. Cheers for the advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebigwes Posted March 19, 2012 Report Share Posted March 19, 2012 No problem mate. Grab some stability from your lfs. Never hurts to help the process a long Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pk333 Posted March 19, 2012 Report Share Posted March 19, 2012 Hi Dale, Can you describe what method you have been cycling your tank for the last week. I am very sceptical that you have been cycling a tank for one week and have no readings at all. Basic answer to your question, re how long. At least four weeks if you have not jumped started your tank with seeded media from another source. This is a good article on cycling a tank, well worth the read. The Nitrogen Cycle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spider Posted March 19, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 19, 2012 the filter material was cleaned and put back into the sump. I am guessing that the filter material was still seeded with bacteria etc. all the matrix, bioballs, noodles and foam were just cleaned and then put back in the filter. they sat moist in the sump for 2 days before i fired the tank back up. just drained the hole tank, filter and pulled everything out of the tank , cleaned it and put it back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mackayman Posted March 19, 2012 Report Share Posted March 19, 2012 the filter material was cleaned and put back into the sump.I am guessing that the filter material was still seeded with bacteria etc. all the matrix, bioballs, noodles and foam were just cleaned and then put back in the filter. they sat moist in the sump for 2 days before i fired the tank back up. just drained the hole tank, filter and pulled everything out of the tank , cleaned it and put it back. It's possible you had some sort of parasite killing your fish, if that was the case, your media needs to sit in the sun for a minimum of three days b4 is ok to put back in. Brendan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TaBeck1990 Posted March 19, 2012 Report Share Posted March 19, 2012 I had a similar problem an it turned out to be murder. Once I realise who the murderer was and separated the random unknown deaths stopped... Just a thought. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spider Posted March 19, 2012 Author Report Share Posted March 19, 2012 All fish seem to be ok...... there is no fin damage.... no signs of aggression. When i clean out the tank, i ended up with 4 mouth fulls of babies(3 yellow tail acei and 1 yellow) Most of the fish are on 5-7cm and there is lots of room to hide and seperate spawning sites. Have treated for all kinds of parasites with no positive outcome. If i continue to loose fish, i will take em to the shop, pull the tank apart for a month and probably set it up as marine. i have kept fish for over 10 years and never had a problem like this. Very Very frustrating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
