Ok need help cycling tank

[somosuno]

Ok I just put 20 gallons of freshwater in a tank with old algae in it (that has recently started to die and float on top of the tank) is that bad?

Also I was wondering if it is bad ^^would putting seasalt in make the condition better?


Anyway Everyone is telling me its ok but being in advanced science has taught me alot about decaying organisms,so I am a little worried....

Also About the bleach my bro is washing the equipment in a bleach/freshwater solution and the question I have is how long do we have to keep them in there till the autophagy disease is completly wiped out?

 

[Jean]

OK

Keep the stuff in the bleach solution for about a week, then rinse until you cannot smell the bleach, then I would soak it for another week in freshwater then let dry! After that you should be able to reintroduce the gear to the sea water.

Yes it's bad to have the old dead algae in the tank! get rid of it! It will nitrify everything and you'll have the most enormous nitrate spike!

I take it by freshwater you mean fresh as opposed to seawater? If so the tank won't begin to cycle until there is seawater in it. I'd thoroughly clean the tank, then put in seawater and live sand etc Monitor your usual parameters as per your test kit instructions. After a bit you could start adding in crabs, snails and perhaps a hardy fish to get the bacteria churning along. Be patient this will take some time.

Cheers

j

 

[octopus_octo]

Okay the alge was out of water for about a day then we introdouced the fresh water in

 

[somosuno]

ok then I was right *stares at brother and dad* Ok they have had the algae in it for about a week and a half and its just been floating at the top of the water.Is there anything that we can do to clean it ? I ask this because we already added salt to the freshwater it took us a while to actualy get the salt and water cuz we did it from scratch.(dads idea) his idea was that we get the freshwater little by little *the long period of time has left the water kind of murky or foggy* and then introduce the salt.He also recomended that we didnt use a pump till we put the salt in the tank.


I also have another question....
My brother has taken the Equipment that we are going to use for the tank and put it in a 30 gallon bucket.The problem is he isnt really sure how much bleach he put in it.Our mother has suggested that we boil it in water to get rid of the virus/bacterium.Would this be an equal treatment as apposed to the bleach?

 

[somosuno]

sorry to bump but i really need this help quick

 

[Jean]

In our experience boiling doesn't help. (It would for a bacterium, but not for this thing which may be a prion like mad cow disease) Can you smell the bleach? It may be OK.

Skim the algae off the surface of the water (use a fine mesh net!!!!!) I guess you've cleaned the glass already? Since you already have seawater in there I'd leave well enough alone. Every time tome algae floats to the surface scoop it out! And keep a very close eye on the tank perameters. You could add a couple of hermit crabs as they are scavengers and may help get rid of any bits of algae in the sand or on the rocks. And they're fairly hardy plus they make a meal later for you octi!!!

J

 

[octopus_octo]

Thanks jean okay thanks um...I have a question will it be the same to keep the equipment for a week in bleach then rince it or do i have to do that for three weeks@_@

 

[Jean]

In bleach for one week, then rinse it, then freshwater for a week we always leave stuff to dry thoroughly. So yes between 2 & 3 weeks ! The rinsing is until you can't smell the bleach, basically hold the stuff under a running tap (sorry faucet!) until you can't smell the bleach usually 5 -10 minutes.

It really doesn't pay to take short cuts! We did once and within a week of introducing a new octopus it was eating it's own arms.......never again will we take a short cut!

J

 

[octopus_octo]

okay thanks