ALL FISH DEAD IN ONE NIGHT... HELP

[duanes]

As long as it is pure ammonia with nothing added, it's fine.

There is nothing wrong with using some sacrificial fish to start the cycle.
Feeder guppies and minnows are useable, but...
realize that even 10 feeder guppies will not produce enough ammonia to equal 10 cichlids, so the amount of stock you add once the cycle is complete, can overwhelm the systems, if too many are added at once.
Also consider minnows and feeder fish are sometimes disease carriers, so during the cycle you may not know (if they start dying) if its from ammonia, or some malady they brought in with them.

 

[Gourami Swami]

Could you give me a link for the liquid Ammonia that you use?

This would do the trick https://www.amazon.com/DrTims-Aquatics-Ammonium-chloride-bottle/dp/B006MP4QG6
Or any household ammonia, as long as it's pure ammonia and not a concoction of cleaning products, would work fine

 

[KelberiFishLover19]

Thanks for all the help everyone!

 

[Zack333]

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.fishlore.com/aquariumfishforum/threads/ammonia-instructions-for-a-fishless-cycle.19627/?amp=1

Read the first post on this for the cycle (I know it's not on this forum, but it's the guide I used when I started out and I like it) make sure to note that if your using the API test kit the nitrite test can be funky when nitrites are super high and will go in purple then look fine after 5 minutes when it's not. Also for amonia if you want it now Ace sells it pic of the bottle below. Like they said above you want pure amonia no soap/scents (I think they sell a lemon scented one you don't want)

 

[LBDave]

I agree with the others, putting water in a tank, adding prime, and changing water for a month is "not" cycling a tank.
To cycle a tank there must be a source of ammonia added.
Bottled ammonia, some sacrificial fish, or a dead market shrimp left to decompose.
You must test and see 3 things happen, first ammonia must rise and fall over about 2 weeks (maybe more), then nitrite must rise and fall, another 2 weeks, And then the nitrate appears
Without a source of food (ammonia) the bacteria needed to process fish waste products in filters don't grow.
After a month when you finally put the fish in, they poisoned themselves with their own waste products (ammonia).

When I started my new tank (over 100gal) I thought my tank was cycled at 3-4 weeks. I have a seneye and at the time a nitrite test kit. Ammonia was .001 and Nitrite 0. At the time I had 3 silver dollars which are practically bulletproof. I stocked the tank with Juruparis, oscars and orino bass. The ammonia shot up.
Thankfully I was using the seneye so I was on top of it. Lot's of seachem prime, water changes and all kinds of money on bacteria for starter tanks. It probably took about 2 more months before the tank was really cycled.
BTW I have a planted tank and with 50-60% weekly water changes the Nitrates (now ahve that test kit) are sometimes near 0.

 

[KelberiFishLover19]

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.fishlore.com/aquariumfishforum/threads/ammonia-instructions-for-a-fishless-cycle.19627/?amp=1

Read the first post on this for the cycle (I know it's not on this forum, but it's the guide I used when I started out and I like it) make sure to note that if your using the API test kit the nitrite test can be funky when nitrites are super high and will go in purple then look fine after 5 minutes when it's not. Also for amonia if you want it now Ace sells it pic of the bottle below. Like they said above you want pure amonia no soap/scents (I think they sell a lemon scented one you don't want)

View attachment 1359529

Thanks for the info!

 

[skjl47]

possibly put something in the tank if it happened overnight

guy’s kids don’t go near the tank and are 17 and 18 years old

Does anyone else have access to the tank to possibly put something in it?

Hello; I have seen tanks killed by someone putting stuff in tanks . It has happened to my tanks by teenagers. The sudden nature of this event seems a big clue.

any cleaning going on in the house something could have gotten into the water. If the sand bed was deep dangerous gasses could have built up. An electrical short or lightning strike could have killed

Hello; You are not around all the time and the tank was left in a place where no one knew much about aquariums. People put stuff in tanks on purpose and by accident by having something on their hands for example. People spray for insects, termites and such with stuff not to be allowed in water.

Sand beds an inch or more deep can form anaerobic pockets of toxic gas if the sand is not stirred up say once a week. Then something disturbs the sand and a pocket of toxin is released.

Not had experience with lightning but an interesting thought.
While I agree with the general consensus that the tank may have not been cycled properly, I do suspect some additional factor. If I recall correctly you did a WC (water change) the day before and the fish were fine. A WC should likely have delayed a cycle issue more than a day if cycle was the only issue.

cycled for a month , meaning I put prime in it and I did 2 water changes during that month

Also minamally clean the sand or even better get rid of it.

Hello; I favor getting rid of sand in a tank for inexperienced fish keepers.

From the process your describing, I don't think your tank was actually cycled. For the tank to undergo the nitrogen cycle, there would have to have been a source of ammonia added. Prime itself actually binds ammonia, does not provide it.

if you have another aquarium, you could "cheat" by transferring filter media from your established tank to the new aquarium. This will seed the new tank with bacteria and drastically shorten your cycle.

Hello; This is the way I start a new tank cycle. I rob some solid surface from an established tank. I figure most all of us do this.

I agree with the others, putting water in a tank, adding prime, and changing water for a month is "not" cycling a tank.

Hello; I will find and post a link about cycling later as you do not seem to have the process down but I am not confident a poor cycle is the issue.


Aquarium cycling links


http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/nitrogen_cycle.html


http://www.bioconlabs.com/nitribactfacts.html

 

[skjl47]

Hello; Let me speculate further. In a home of inexperienced fish keepers lots of things are done than can kill a tank. Perhaps the more common I have seen over a few decades is overfeeding. Almost every new keeper does it. I can picture folks feeding too often just to see the fish eat.

One other thing is the nice filter you used because the budget allowed. Filters can become a problem if they get loaded up with too much decaying organic stuff such as excess food. An unplugged cannister can have a build up of toxins after a few hours and when plugged back in can spew the toxins into a tank.
I have sensed a theme on forums that an expensive or powerful filter "takes care" of tank junk on it's own. Not to my way of thinking. A filter properly maintained is a useful tool, but poorly maintained can be the problem or at least a portion of a problem.

One last thing. Get some distilled water (DW) and use it to clean the test kit vials. Rinse each vial several times with DW and let them sit full of DW for a while.

 

[punman]

I could not tell for sure, but it sounds like you have an established tank yourself.

I have been back into tropical fish for the last 15 years and have only cycled a tank once. When I want to set up a new tank or have torn down an old one for a while, I fill the new tank with 80%-85% fresh water, treat for chlorine, add heater and empty filter and run a few hours to make sure temperature is where it needs to be.

Then I add a sponge from my established tank (or two if it is a bigger tank) and Bio-Max from my established tank and immediately add the new fish and top off with some old tank water. I have done this with sensitive Tanganyika fish, even wild caughts and never lost a fish. I am careful not to feed too much the first week nor add too many fish that week.

If you have an established tank, and if you are just a few minutes drive from your friend, do that, and save the guess work and hassle of the cycling-a-tank-from-scratch method.

 

[EntoStentor]

Idk man, I'd just cycle the tank. I also find it weird that no one has mentioned using starter treatments. You can cycle a tank in 3 days with a thing called FritzZyme Turbostart 700. It's refrigerated so it has a lot of bacteria, and you just pour it in the tank. It works really well if you're impatient like me lol.