my father has a fish tank, but the last fish died recently after about 6 years or so, so for christmas i was going to get a few fish for him the original tank is still being filtered despite it;s lacking of fish, and i do not have time to let any tap water stand before i get the new fish tomorrow, is it possible to recycle the water from it's current tank and use it on another clean one?
2006-12-06 07:54:20 · 8 answers · asked by lots_of_pie 4 in Pets ➔ Fish
No, do not use the old water and do NOT get the fish tomorrow.
Get some dechlorinator to take the chlorine out of the water.
But you can't cycle your tank by tomorrow, probably, and you NEED to cycle your tank, or the fish'll just die again.
In the wild, and in established tanks, there are nitrifying bacteria that break down toxic ammonia from fish waste and excess food into less toxic nitrates. In a brand new tank, these bacteria don't exist, so any fish in the tank will produce ammonia, which, not being broken down by bacteria, will kill or weaken the fish. So, it is vital to cycle your tank.
There are a few methods. Do you have access to an established tank? These bacteria live in the gravel and in the filter cartridge, so if you can get some from another tank, you can put the bacteria right into your tank (don't let the gravel or filter cartridge dry out). If you do this, in a day or two, your tank will beready for fish.
Another way is to get Bio-Spira. It is the actual live bacteria in a little pouch, and your tank will instantly be ready for fish.http://fishstoretn.com/bio_spira.html...
Other methods, which include putting a source of ammonia in the tank and letting the bacteria build up on its own, or putting a fish in and letting the fish produce ammonia (which borders on animal cruelty, because the fish will suffer from the ammonia in the tank), take 2 to 6 weeks before your tank is ready. If you rush that, any fish you buy may die, so try one of the instant methods I mentioned above (bio-spira or gravel from another tank)
2006-12-06 08:20:18 · answer #1 · answered by Zoe 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Of course, if the tank has been up and running for 6 years, the gravel is full of waste that is decaying and continuing to provide nutrients for the bacteria. You shouldn't have to "cycle in" the new tank at all. Just fill it up and aclimate your new fish to the water slowly.
I have 24 tanks now and when I was setting up new ones, I would always use water from the "old" tanks to start the new ones. It works very well. I never lost fish to ammonia spikes that occur in newly set up tanks because there were no spikes.
It is also very good to use the fish tank water to water plants you keep in the house or even in the garden. There is usually a lot of nitrates in fish water that plants use for food.
Go for it! I'm sure he will appreciate more fish, I always do!
2006-12-06 09:52:05 · answer #2 · answered by 8 In the corner 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It really depends on why the fish died in the first place. The water could be contaminated. I would start with new water. Jest add something to de-chlorinate and condition the water before you add the new fish. Also check the temperature of the water. Some fish need warmer water and some, like goldfish, prefer cooler water. Good luck!
2006-12-06 08:04:34 · answer #3 · answered by justswimmin 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Sure it's possible, but I don't see the benefit to starting with dirty water. Fill the tank with new water, run the equipment overnight, and you can get the fish the next day. Either way, you need to cycle the tank over again because the bacteria dies without ammonia/nitrite for food.
2006-12-06 08:02:26 · answer #4 · answered by Ghapy 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I don't think you should use the old water. Since you don't know the cause of previous fish's death. There may be something in the water. There are water cleaning tablets in Walmart or Target or any pet store. You can put them in in new water, and water becomes chlorine free right away, so you don't have to leave the water out and wait. Check it out while you go down to pet store to purchase new fish. I use Jungle brand but I think there are others.
2006-12-06 08:09:06 · answer #5 · answered by FeelingPurple 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
i'd clean out the tank just to be safe.... The fish that died might have had parasites or something or the water was full of nitrate and ammonia... Then wait a few weeks to add new fish.
2006-12-06 09:32:30 · answer #6 · answered by professorminh 4 · 1⤊ 1⤋
i do not study any web pages, yet I continuously pour mine on the backyard. It doesn't look any more advantageous suited fertilized, even though it doesn't damage both. A note of caution. Snails produce invisible eggs. in the journey that your backyard/flora runs off into the gutter then out to a river, lake or the sea, without remedy, make confident you do not unintentional introduce a non-interior sight species (the snails, or any plant bits) into your interior sight environment. the outcomes must be devastating.
2016-11-30 05:38:13 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I don't see a problem with that.
2006-12-06 08:02:29 · answer #8 · answered by cheri b 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋