Fill the tank up, add conditioner, re add gravel and decor. That's how you can avoid a mini cycle.
Why add dirty water to the tank?
Why add dirty water to the tank?
Moving 100 gallon tank
- Thread starter Dieboldly
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I agree with ehh. I do 90% water changes every week and everything is fine. BB lives in the filter media not in water, sure there some floating around in the water but that amount is very minuscule. The only reason why fish die from large water changes are temp/ph swings and also the difference in nitrates levels. One could argue the stress of a large water change can kill fish if there not used to it but that's somewhat debatable. If you do 20% and bump the next week to 30% etc. then your fish will adapt easily.
it couldve been anything that caused the death like something in the tap changed like higher chlorine /chloramine levels,
water temp, and etc etc. doesnt specifically mean the large volume of wc was the cause of death. i lived in buena park
before and i remember one time they changed the tap and increased chloramine levels which caused a couple death at
that time. so check the city water parameters and do everything one step at a time. another reason could be that this tank
hasnt been running long enough and isnt cycled right at the moment you did a large water change and it caused a spike in
your water parameters. either way best of luck to you and your tank relocation.
Hello; This does not match the current thinking and my experience over decades. The thinking now is that there is little of the bb in the water itself. Most bb colonies should be in the film on the surfaces, (filter parts, media, decor, plants and such) of a tank. To preserve the bb place the material from the tank in water while the tank is being moved. The bb should be ok for a time. If the tank move and setup will take several days, then put some of the material in the buckets with the fish so that the fish excretions will feed the bb. I also like to run bubblers in the buckets holding the fish.
I have been running a sponge filter in my QT for years. I can take the bb loaded sponge filter out and put it in a new tank setup and have instant bb going.
You are correct about keeping the bb wet.
I agree with all those who say don't save old water.
Unless you have been lax with water changes, and your new water would produce a dramatic pH shift, such as .... if your old water has a pH is 5 because of a buildup of fish urine and your new tap water is pH 8, this could be quite the dramatic change.
But if old water is a pH of 6.5, and new is 7, this could only do your fish some good.
And old water itself doesn't hold any significant amount of beneficial bacteria, (they reside as bio-film on surfaces), the old water would simply be adding nitrate, and have less buffering capacity (alkalinity).
Unless you have been lax with water changes, and your new water would produce a dramatic pH shift, such as .... if your old water has a pH is 5 because of a buildup of fish urine and your new tap water is pH 8, this could be quite the dramatic change.
But if old water is a pH of 6.5, and new is 7, this could only do your fish some good.
And old water itself doesn't hold any significant amount of beneficial bacteria, (they reside as bio-film on surfaces), the old water would simply be adding nitrate, and have less buffering capacity (alkalinity).
you're more likely to harm the fish by stirring up dirty substrate than doing a proper large water change. I do weekly 90% changes on my 90G corey tank. I've done 2 of those a day for 2 weeks once without a single casualty, and one of those cories is over 15 years old.
before the move, I'd do 50% water changes by vacuuming the substrate several days in a row until you can vacuum it with the drain water coming out clear.
don't wait to add dechlorinator until the tank is full, add about half to start, and the second half about halfway through.
before the move, I'd do 50% water changes by vacuuming the substrate several days in a row until you can vacuum it with the drain water coming out clear.
don't wait to add dechlorinator until the tank is full, add about half to start, and the second half about halfway through.
Hello; #1 to your reply.
In the event there may be a significant difference between old water and new, then a slow acclimation when adding the fish to the new setup might be a good safety measure.
Good luck
There is no bb in old water ......It should all be established in the filter if you have had it set up long enough ....... I would dump all the old water add new water with dechlorinator and slowly aclimate ur fish ...... Your cichlids prob died due to shock of the new chemistry of the water from large water change
