# Changing Fish Tanks



## Jay2x (Jul 20, 2010)

I switched from 55 gallon to a 75 gallon. I have no knowledge or just wasn't thinking correctly about the fish when setting the 75 gallon tank. I think it's a disaster...sort of. Currently my fishes are in the bucket, but the fish tank is still sorting the temperature because it's cold and salt is not dissolve, it could take probably 3 or more hours since I screwed up my heaters and broke the 300W them I'm using a 100w heater =(. 

HIGH PRIORITY QUESTION!
I want to know what I can add in the bucket to keep the fish alive? very critical that this needs to be answered. I don't want to wake up and they're dead.


and I'm not sure what is in the water, but suddenly tons of small bristle worms came up I think dead...could it be because of the water temperature or there's a chemical in the water that killed them? Scared to put my fishes in.


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## scherzo (Apr 24, 2010)

What happened? How long was it setup? Did it happen over a day? 

What is the temperature of the tank? It could have been something else.. it is pretty warm so the water won't drop below whatever your ambient temperature is.. a 100W heater should be ok temporarily in this weather.

If you have fish in a bucket.. you need to have a heater in there and some way of moving water in terms of a water pump or an airstone.

What kind of fish are you trying to save?


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## fkshiu (Apr 22, 2010)

Take a breath first and then answer scherzo's questions.

Assuming your fish aren't packed in the bucket like sardines, they should survive the night fine in a bucket of heated SW with a powerhead providing circulation. You could put in a few pieces of live rock for filtration purposes as well.


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## Jay2x (Jul 20, 2010)

scherzo said:


> What happened? How long was it setup? Did it happen over a day?
> 
> What is the temperature of the tank? It could have been something else.. it is pretty warm so the water won't drop below whatever your ambient temperature is.. a 100W heater should be ok temporarily in this weather.
> 
> ...


Yes I just set it up today, and was hoping to just add few old water tank. It just scares me what if some kind of chemical or is it the temperature killing the bristleworms? because suddenly tons of small bristleworms started floating curve..and i believe dead. i don't want to risk putting my fish in the tank. It's so late to get a testing kit.

The temperature is currently 66 F in the tank and yes I have a 100W that i put it and didn't break =).

I am trying to save all of my saltwater fish. They look like they are not dying yet.. I'll definitely put airstone and some kind of heat hopefully I can find a heater here.


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## Jay2x (Jul 20, 2010)

fkshiu said:


> Take a breath first and then answer scherzo's questions.
> 
> Assuming your fish aren't packed in the bucket like sardines, they should survive the night fine in a bucket of heated SW with a powerhead providing circulation. You could put in a few pieces of live rock for filtration purposes as well.


Yes liverocks are in it.


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## fkshiu (Apr 22, 2010)

Not sure how the temperature could get down to 66F but it was probably the temperature shock that killed the bristleworms. The bad news is that the same thing probably killed a lot of other things on the live rock which means that you're probably in for a cycle.

Slowly bring the temperature back up and monitor for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and phosphate. Make as much new SW as you can.


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## Jay2x (Jul 20, 2010)

fkshiu said:


> Not sure how the temperature could get down to 66F but it was probably the temperature shock that killed the bristleworms. The bad news is that the same thing probably killed a lot of other things on the live rock which means that you're probably in for a cycle.
> 
> Slowly bring the temperature back up and monitor for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and phosphate. Make as much new SW as you can.


I have not added any liverock in the tank or anything, except livesand from the old tank.


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## Jay2x (Jul 20, 2010)

btw guys thank you for this late night help..it's greatly appreciated.


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## scherzo (Apr 24, 2010)

wow 66F! Did you use cold water from the tap? Either that or it is really cold where you are.... out here in Coquitlam is it about 24C in my basement!

In any case.... just get a heater in the tub with the fish.

What I would do is put the heater in the bucket... wait until tomorrow and get a new heater for the main tank. Your fish should be fine.. make sure your salinity in your tub is correct and just ensure that the temperature is stable.


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## Jay2x (Jul 20, 2010)

scherzo said:


> wow 66F! Did you use cold water from the tap? Either that or it is really cold where you are.... out here in Coquitlam is it about 24C in my basement!
> 
> In any case.... just get a heater in the tub with the fish.
> 
> What I would do is put the heater in the bucket... wait until tomorrow and get a new heater for the main tank. Your fish should be fine.. make sure your salinity in your tub is correct and just ensure that the temperature is stable.


Yes, I use the water from outside. hehehe well hope for the best..i gotta get my zzzZzz


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## onefishtwofish (Apr 21, 2010)

aznjayx said:


> It's so late to get a testing kit.
> 
> http://www.bcaquaria.com/forum/cichlids-22/cichild-jumping-swiming-up-down-tank-4628/
> 
> you have got to be kidding. with all the free and "cheap" stuff you have been looking for you still didn't buy a test kit?


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## onefishtwofish (Apr 21, 2010)

did you even use a dechlorinator ?


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## Jay2x (Jul 20, 2010)

onefishtwofish said:


> did you even use a dechlorinator ?


obviously HAHAHAH


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## Jay2x (Jul 20, 2010)

onefishtwofish said:


> aznjayx said:
> 
> 
> > It's so late to get a testing kit.
> ...


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## 182 (Apr 21, 2010)

What I'm wondering is why you decided to move everything over at once? I'm still a bit of a noob in the world of SW, but I figure there's always a cycle that needs to take place. Even with "cured" live rock. In which case, you should have left the other tank up and running while you allowed the new tank to cycle.

Am I wrong?


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## onefishtwofish (Apr 21, 2010)

especially after what happened in your other thread as above? very irresponsible. i hope it wasn't just that you got good deals on the fish. Those poor fish to have survived this long and to be purposely subjected to this is just nasty. i would be plenty p.o'd if it was me who sold you those fish.


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## onefishtwofish (Apr 21, 2010)

and you had access to all those experienced sw keepers, most who would be considered expert and you didn't bother to ask for additional advice.....man you suck. were you afraid they would find out you didnt know what you were doing and not give you cheap fish?

http://www.bcaquaria.com/forum/marine-livestock-equipment-classifieds-28/lf-saltwater-fish-4580/


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## 182 (Apr 21, 2010)

I hate to jump on a bandwagon here, but yeah man, you need a little help before you kill anything else!

And here I was all guilty that I fed my damsel a few too many shrimp yesterday. 

I guess the priority _now_ is making sure you get this tank running properly. Has it warmed up yet?

How many fish are we talking about here?


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## onefishtwofish (Apr 21, 2010)

you could at least read the sticky marked sw for beginners at the top of this marine chat section.

http://www.bcaquaria.com/forum/marine-chat-10/saltwater-beginners-part-1-getting-started-1791/


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## Jay2x (Jul 20, 2010)

Otter said:


> I hate to jump on a bandwagon here, but yeah man, you need a little help before you kill anything else!
> 
> And here I was all guilty that I fed my damsel a few too many shrimp yesterday.
> 
> ...


They survive and very alive!! and yes everything has been put together nicely =)


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## Jay2x (Jul 20, 2010)

onefishtwofish said:


> and you had access to all those experienced sw keepers, most who would be considered expert and you didn't bother to ask for additional advice.....man you suck. were you afraid they would find out you didnt know what you were doing and not give you cheap fish?
> 
> http://www.bcaquaria.com/forum/marine-livestock-equipment-classifieds-28/lf-saltwater-fish-4580/


You're a guy that's quick to jugde. Hopefully you can help yourself to just stay away from the threads I'm posting....I'm a very curious hobbists and would like to take care of different fish, many of us sometimes just learn the hard way...you need to be more relax and not flood this thread about you're arrogance. I'm just a user of this forum trying to get advices because I'M DEFINITELY A NOOB. I am asking you not to reply to any of my posting from here on and take a note of my userid. If you're not going to help my situation, please keep you're inconsiderate / insensitive ideas to yourself. I'd rather have people help than to drive away NOOB hobbists from this forum. If you think your all that... just stay away from these types of postings, especially mine. play nice.


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## scherzo (Apr 24, 2010)

It sounds like (in both the Cichlid's case and this salt water tank) that you are putting fish into new water that hasn't heated up yet.

If you're filling your tanks with water from a hose then the water would be WAAAAY to cold for tropical fish. If I use cold water I usually way at least 5-6 hours with the water heating up before I introduce fish. If you put them into that water they will freak out and try to kill or hurt themselves. 

Saltwater usually gets mixed and most advanced salties keep it overnight to temperature acclimate and for the salt to properly dissolve. (it also lets the pH stabalize).

Are you using RO/DI water or just tap water? This doesn't usually make a difference except that RO/DI water will usually be warmer than water from the cold water tap because it usually has time to acclimate to room temperature (unless you are doing it out in the cold.. but last night was pretty warm outside)

The most important thing with saltwater is GO SLOW! I don't mean to "shout" but it is very important. If you have the luxury it is best to keep both OLD and NEW tanks running at the same time and SLOWLY move livestock from one tank to another. This could take a couple of days but at least you know that you won't lose everything if something goes horribly wrong.. PLUS it gives you time to rectify any problems you may have with the new tank. 

Good luck.. You should post some pics of your setups and maybe we can offer some help. 

-Jeff


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## Jay2x (Jul 20, 2010)

scherzo said:


> It sounds like (in both the Cichlid's case and this salt water tank) that you are putting fish into new water that hasn't heated up yet.
> 
> If you're filling your tanks with water from a hose then the water would be WAAAAY to cold for tropical fish. If I use cold water I usually way at least 5-6 hours with the water heating up before I introduce fish. If you put them into that water they will freak out and try to kill or hurt themselves.
> 
> ...


The water i'm using is tap water, and it from a long garden host outside that's why it was cold.

the tank is now fully setup and fishes are swimming fine..thanks to the help and advice given putting heat and airstone worked. I tested the water in the aquarium before adding the fishes. salinity, nitrite, ammonia, ph passed =).

I will post some pics soon, may need help with liverocks renovations ..teehee


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