[whamslam3]

I have this 72gal fish tank and it has 2 fish left in it. it wasnt mine to begin with it was my brothers. but he has moved out a couple months ago and so he said i can have it. he never rly took care of it and so nothing in the tank has been cleaned for like a year or more not even water changes. the water looks clear tho thnx to the monster filter it has. the decor has some green on it so thats dirty and the gravel looks kinda nasty too. my questions are:
1.what is the proper way to clean the decor and gravel or has it been way too long from last cleaning and i should just throw it all out and start over?
2.how much water should i change out?50%?25%? start over?
3.give away the 2 fish to pet store and start fresh?
4.clean and keep decor/gravel rly rly good and keep the 2 fish to help it re cycle then get new fish?
plz hlp im not sure what to do

 

[jones57742]

I have this 72gal fish tank and it has 2 fish left in it. it wasnt mine to begin with it was my brothers. but he has moved out a couple months ago and so he said i can have it. he never rly took care of it and so nothing in the tank has been cleaned for like a year or more not even water changes. the water looks clear tho thnx to the monster filter it has. the decor has some green on it so thats dirty and the gravel looks kinda nasty too. my questions are:
1.what is the proper way to clean the decor and gravel or has it been way too long from last cleaning and i should just throw it all out and start over?
2.how much water should i change out?50%?25%? start over?
3.give away the 2 fish to pet store and start fresh?
4.clean and keep decor/gravel rly rly good and keep the 2 fish to help it re cycle then get new fish?
plz hlp im not sure what to do

wh: you are not in near as bad a shape as you perceive you are assuming that the filter is a monster filter.

1a) Remove the decor and wash in warm tap water.

1b) Vacuum the surface of the gravel (typically done by shiphoning).

2) 25% twice a week and then go to once a week.

3) If you enjoy the two fish then keep them.

4) Yes.

You do not need to recycle (the tank is already cycled) but you will need to add fish slowly.

You will need to fill a small bucket with tank water and wash the filtration media as well as clean the inside surfaces of the filter with the water.

TR

 

[whamslam3]

ok cool thnx for the help ya the filter takes up from the top to the bottom of the inside back wall of the tank not the entire back wall but just a corner of it then it goes down through that into the box underneath it in the stand that has bioballs or w/e and something else is in the box its part of the filter i guess im not to sure since i didnt buy it hehe. i think it looks big but i dont know if thats normal cuz it not like the other filters i normally see the ones that sit on top. this one is built into the tank itself it has like slits in it im not to sure how it all works. we have had the tank for a while tho.:razz:
also would the fish die if i gave them away to the pet store?
when u say surface of gravel does that mean u dont want me to dig down into the gravel? just vacuum the top?

 

[jones57742]

ok cool thnx for the help ya the filter takes up from the top to the bottom of the inside back wall of the tank not the entire back wall but just a corner of it then it goes down through that into the box underneath it in the stand that has bioballs or w/e and something else is in the box its part of the filter i guess im not to sure since i didnt buy it hehe. i think it looks big but i dont know if thats normal cuz it not like the other filters i normally see the ones that sit on top. this one is built into the tank itself it has like slits in it im not to sure how it all works. we have had the tank for a while tho.:razz:

wh:

You have a wet/dry filter which is a "high end" filter and is atypical for this small of a tank.

Unless the bioballs appear dirty or are floating you do not need to rinse them.

Above the bioballs should be some type of pad or pads which will need to be thoroughly rinsed.

also would the fish die if i gave them away to the pet store?

Who knows for sure but my best guess is yes.

when u say surface of gravel does that mean u dont want me to dig down into the gravel? just vacuum the top?

Just the top.

TR

 

[Obsidian]

The fish would not be any more likely to die by being given to the pet shop than they do by going through the cleaning of the tank.

If you choose to keep the fish in the tank the cleaning is a bit different than if you want to give them away.

With the fish:
Clean this tank slowly. No huge water changes, no massive cleanup of the ornaments etc.

With each cleaning pick some ornaments to clean in one cleaning and get those good and clean. Each week do a gravel vac of only part of the gravel. I would say no more than 25% of the gravel at a time. Keep this up until the tank is how you want it to look.

Do NOT mess with your filter and do maintenance on that, you will do that last. 2 weeks after you have cleaned everything else in the tank you can do filter maintenance. This will keep the bacteria live and active in your tank and keep you from having any mini cycles.

If you choose to give the fish away then you can either do a deep clean with it as is and keep it going which will preserve some of the bacteria as long as you continue to feed the tank in the meantime (pure ammonia-no scents no surfectants nothing but ammonia, fish food, shrimp prawns etc).

You can also just tear the whole tank down clean the whole thing and start from scratch. This tank will need to go through a full new cycle. Use the same items mentioned before to do a fishless cycle and you will be good to go in about 4-6 weeks.

There is no real reason you would have to do a complete tear down unless you just really hate the way it is currently set up. No need to gt rid of the fish unless you don't like them and are looking at a different look for the tank.

 

[whamslam3]

thnx for all ur help guys this helps me out a lot.