I need help ASAP

[acerkai640]

so my customer (the one that gave me his old salt tank) just called me and told me he is getting out of the hobby and said i can have all of his fish and rock work (he doesnt have much) a few fish and prob like 10-15lbs of rock work. but the problem is that i dont have a tank setup yet. what is the best way to get his fish and keep them alive or do i have to cycle the tank and everything. i would have to set up a temp tank, seeing i dont have money yet to set up the big one yet.

what is the bare min of stuff i would need to get a temp tank up and running?

i have a pump and a ocean clear filter and the main tank and also a 30gal sitting empty,

can i set up the 30gal and just put the ocean clear on it with some live rock and do that or is it just a waste?
thanks

 

[Ricko]

How many fish and what kind????

 

[Rockbass6]

If you don't have time to set it up then just use the water he is using. Use like 10 gallons of the water he has then add new sw water..It would be similar to a big waterchange. That is what I would do, I have to take town and set up a 12-gallon every 6months and I just use some of the water they were in and add more sw water to the moved setup.

 

[acerkai640]

ok that sounds good ill prob do that and well what about the filtering, do i have to do anything cuz its a brand new cartrigage for the ocean clear filter and thats all i have. will that work for a month or so?

 

[skiptomyzoo]

Well seeing how he is getting out of it, the rock he gives you will most likely be fully cured and therefore instantly cycle your tank so to speak, as really very little of it will die in such a short transport. However even with that said, the amount of beneficial bacteria might not be high enough, as there was more in the sand and filteration he was using than just on the rock. It wouldn't be a problem if you were adding fish slowly, but you would be adding multiple at once as you stated. Therefore if I were you I would get the LR, some media he used in the filteration, and maybe even some sand if possible to have the highest amount of bb possible if I was forced to take on the fish immediately. The water won't have as much to do with it, because that is not where the beneficial bacteria really is. Even with that said, I just wouldn't throw fish in right after, as I'd make sure all my levels were correct and run it for a few days before adding anything just to be safe, esp. considering salt doesn't dissolve completely right away.