What area of the world are you located in? I know some areas do not have as many available meds. Are you familiar with any of the meds that are available in your area?
First, you should move the ill fish to a quarantine tank so that you can treat it separately. This […]
As someone else suggested, if you have any decorations, large rocks, driftwood, etc., you may need to clean under them. The smell could be from the gases put out by anaerobic bacteria growing in a mulm buildup somewhere in the tank… or from a dead/decaying fish or other critter. In general, a healthy, […]
Check the nitrite level. Whenever my tank has any fishy smell at all (noone has specified what their bad smells smell like but several have hinted that that’s what it smells like), my nitrites are high. They’re classically associated with the fishy smell.
A noxious rotten odor would be hydrogen sulfide […]
Absolutely. Once you have your filters running and the tank clear, you will need to cycle the tank. This can be done easily by adding flake food daily to the tank as a food source for bacteria, or by adding straight ammonia to the tank every day… It will take 3-4 […]
To keep an oxygen-rich water flow through the gravel, to avoid the growth of harmful bacteria, especially that I can’t mainten the gravel properly (time issues). And, to help the internal power filter in cleaning the overstocked tank’s water. Plus, I need the extra number of N-bacteria inside the gravel to […]
Nooura,
You need to make up your mind whether you will keep using the UGF or if you will go with an outside filter prior to breaking down the tank. I would argue for the outside filter.
If you follow that path, you will need several weeks to prepare for it. Get an outside filter, and start […]
You can clean the very dirty gravel with fresh water, just treat with dechlorinator first.
If you are too energetic with the gravel, you will kill the bio filter. Id probably siphon out as much crud as possible in your bucket, adding clean water treated with dechlor as required. And then maybe a swish […]
I got a used 55 gal tank and it was taken down the day I picked it up. I took the UGF out when I got the tank home and started to fill it. The water was so filthy, I had to drain the tank and refill. I’m not sure how many times I […]
The polyester layer is going to have a lot of your bacteria. Did Lenny or Steve or Ray advise this step?
I think I would probably not do that until you are ready to replace the UGF with a power filter. But I haven’t had a UGF for 30 years, so Lenny, Steve or […]
I’m glad it’s a Sunday, somebody will hopefully have enough time to give me detailed answers. I’m breaking my 20 g down this week, to remove the polyster layer between the gravel and the UGF plate for good. Then I’ll set it up again in the same day.
It’s my first time to fully clean […]