Issue with QT Tank

[Fish Tank Travis]

So, I picked up another fire eel this morning after having eyeballed him last night in my LFS. I prepped my 29 gallon tank that has been sitting and running with no fish for almost two months. It had no filter media in it and was running with two internal filters, with mechanical filter sponges, but no bio media. It also still had the heater going. Since I was planning on picking up this guy today, I went ahead and used my siphon to pull any bits of detritus that was left off of the top of the sand, while also stirring up the sand a bit. I then proceeded to stir up the sand quite a bit and continued to stir it up while draining the tank for a ~95% water change. Once the tank was drained, I filled it up with aged water (had been aged about a week in my closet barrel) that was temperature matched and used Prime (even though the water is aged, I like to be careful)

It was at this point I went and got the new fire eel.

I put his bag into the tank to temperature acclimate him. While this was going on, I pulled some bio media from my running 220 system and filled the two internal filters with it. I put the two internal filters back into the tank and let them go on running. I then released the fire eel and he began swimming around exploring the tank.

Fast forward to tonight, I went to check on him after being at my in-laws for the afternoon/evening and his color is terribly washed out and he's swimming weird. I immediately pull out my test kit and found about 2ppm ammonia, 0 nitrite, and about 5ppm nitrate. So, I ended up dosing the tank with Prime again, and then moving him into the larger tank without QT (didn't want to but felt little choice).

Now, my question to you guys is, what did I do wrong? I have some theories, but I'd like to hear from you all first.

Thank you everyone.

P.S. Once moving the new fire eel into my larger tank, he immediately started to color up and appears to be doing much better.

 

[Coryloach]

I went ahead and used my siphon to pull any bits of detritus that was left off of the top of the sand, while also stirring up the sand a bit. I then proceeded to stir up the sand quite a bit and continued to stir it up while draining the tank for a ~95% water change. Once the tank was drained, I filled it up with aged water (had been aged about a week in my closet barrel) that was temperature matched and used Prime (even though the water is aged, I like to be careful)

Stirring the substrate almost always causes a spike of ammonia, especially in an older tank with established substrate. Ammonia is a waste product of anaerobic organisms......

I would also test the barrel of water....One should age water for a day, not a week. Water sitting in any sort of container will establish bacterial colony and go through nitrification, meaning there will be waste, ammonia, nitrites possibly and also dead bacteria which will complete the cycle..

It had no filter media in it and was running with two internal filters, with mechanical filter sponges, but no bio media.

put his bag into the tank to temperature acclimate him. While this was going on, I pulled some bio media from my running 220 system and filled the two internal filters with it.

Any media acts as a bio media. I use sponges in all my external filters majorly, as as I find them best water quality wise.

Pulling media from another tank is fine to start a new tank, but you don't know how much it can handle, as you've found out. The best way is to first make sure it handles bioload, is to dose ammonia(in a fishless tank) and see if the media handles that in 12-24 hours...Otherwise you need to wait...You'd have probably had better chances if you left the old media, which you called "mechanical filter sponges"

 

[Fish Tank Travis]

Stirring the substrate almost always causes a spike of ammonia, especially in an older tank with established substrate. Ammonia is a waste product of anaerobic organisms......

I would also test the barrel of water....One should age water for a day, not a week. Water sitting in any sort of container will establish bacterial colony and go through nitrification, meaning there will be waste, ammonia, nitrites possibly and also dead bacteria which will complete the cycle..





Any media acts as a bio media. I use sponges in all my external filters majorly, as as I find them best water quality wise.

Pulling media from another tank is fine to start a new tank, but you don't know how much it can handle, as you've found out. The best way is to first make sure it handles bioload, is to dose ammonia(in a fishless tank) and see if the media handles that in 12-24 hours...Otherwise you need to wait...You'd have probably had better chances if you left the old media, which you called "mechanical filter sponges"

Thank you for the response. The barrel is the same one I use to do the water changes on my son's ten gallon glofish tank, and they are doing great. I don't dose the water with Prime until it is in the tank.

As for the "mechanical filter sponges" I did leave them in the filter and then added the bio media from the other tank in addition to the sponges.

The other comments you made are along the lines of what I was thinking. I probably disturbed stuff in the substrate and the bio media I added was insufficient.

I'm going to go ahead and let the tank go for now and see how long it takes to bring down the ammonia. I already have nitrates in the tank and there is no nitrite, so I think the cycle is started pretty well.

 

[jaws7777]

Tough man bit seems like you had little choice in breaking qt. I keep some foam blocks floating around in my sumps to use foe this purpose and try to leave qt up and running with some small dithers if not i just drain the tank. I would have thought you'd be ok though after doing 95%wc before adding the eel

Also i thought prime could give false readings when testing to soon after dosing it

 

[skjl47]

Hello; I keep my QT with a bare bottom. Makes whatever I wind up having to do with it simpler.
Right now the 10 gallon I often use as a QT is set up with a bare bottom, a sponge filter, a heater and a light. I filled it about half way about three weeks ago to get it ready in case the most recent spawning of my angel fish went well. They ate the eggs again. I need to empty it before the skeeters start.

Sometimes I run a QT full of water and have one or two small fish in it all the time. This keeps a small amount of bb active and also the fish eat any mosquitoes.

I quit using sand as a substrate some decades ago .I did not know about the potential for anaerobic pockets at the time. My sand tanks did not do as well as the gravel tanks, perhaps that was part of the issue. I did tend to have deep layers of the sand.

 

[Fish Tank Travis]

Tough man bit seems like you had little choice in breaking qt. I keep some foam blocks floating around in my sumps to use foe this purpose and try to leave qt up and running with some small dithers if not i just drain the tank. I would have thought you'd be ok though after doing 95%wc before adding the eel

Also i thought prime could give false readings when testing to soon after dosing it

I would have thought the 95% water change would have done it too.

Hello; I keep my QT with a bare bottom. Makes whatever I wind up having to do with it simpler.
Right now the 10 gallon I often use as a QT is set up with a bare bottom, a sponge filter, a heater and a light. I filled it about half way about three weeks ago to get it ready in case the most recent spawning of my angel fish went well. They ate the eggs again. I need to empty it before the skeeters start.

Sometimes I run a QT full of water and have one or two small fish in it all the time. This keeps a small amount of bb active and also the fish eat any mosquitoes.

I quit using sand as a substrate some decades ago .I did not know about the potential for anaerobic pockets at the time. My sand tanks did not do as well as the gravel tanks, perhaps that was part of the issue. I did tend to have deep layers of the sand.

Thanks for the advice. I do think the bare bottom is better than substrate for my QT. I wasn't expecting to use this tank at this point so I was just trying to get it working well enough for this guy. However, it didn't work out. Hopefully, he will do well enough in the big tank with the other fish. I want him to be comfortable competing for food so he can start to fatten up.

 

[skjl47]

I would have thought the 95% water change would have done it too.



Thanks for the advice. I do think the bare bottom is better than substrate for my QT. I wasn't expecting to use this tank at this point so I was just trying to get it working well enough for this guy. However, it didn't work out. Hopefully, he will do well enough in the big tank with the other fish. I want him to be comfortable competing for food so he can start to fatten up.

Hello; Good luck

 

[Fish Tank Travis]

Well, I cleaned out the tank today and I found a few issues. The substrate was not in good shape. It didn't smell very good, but not rotten. However, I disconnected the canister several weeks back, but left the lines hooked up in the tank. The water was still in them but the valve was shut off down below. When I dumped that water out it smelled rotten. It was awful.

Anyway, I cleaned the entire tank out and washed it with a sponge, but no soap. I then put the tank back together bare bottom with the same filters.



I used aged and preheated water when I filled it back up and refilled my barrel so I can do some extra water changes over the next week to keep water quality up.

 

[Fish Tank Travis]

I didn't have the time to get all of the calcified bits off of the surface. That will have to be for another time.

 

[skjl47]

Hello; For decades I have cleaned tanks with a salt paste. I get non-iodized table salt although forum members have said any table salt is ok.

I make a paste of salt and a little water. The salt paste does not scratch glass (as long as there are no sand or gravel bits in it). I some times leave the paste to dry out in hopes it will dessicate any unwanted parasites or bacteria. It rinses out easy.