Do you have to "recycle" your tank ?

[mukiwa]

I was wondering do you have to recycle your tank if everything dies ? Because all my fish died and it has been about a month since i've had some fish in there and I was wondering do you have to recycle your whole tank before you get more fish in there or can you just add the fish with no problems ?
Thanks

 

[celacanthr]

check your levels.

 

[sw65galma]

The main questions is....Why'd they ALL DIE?

 

[ophiura]

Originally Posted by sw65galma
The main questions is....Why'd they ALL DIE?

A very important question.
Do check the levels.
Have you done any maintenance on the tank in the last month?
Before doing anything, I would feed the tank some food for a week - as you would a fish - to ensure there are no ammonia spikes.

 

[mukiwa]

Well all my levels are fine,
PH about 8.3
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 0-5
Ammonia 0 if anything .1
Why did they all die ? well the first couple died I think because I went away for 2 months and my mom forgot to feed them and I don't think she knows what she is doing very well, and the others died because they fought each other and they got stuck under some rocks and I couldn't find them and when I did about 2-3 days later they were dead.....
Should I just put in a jumbo shrimp in a stocking and see if the Ammonia jumps or is food ok for a week ? thanks again

 

[murph]

A tank will cycle or as you have found stay cycled without adding anything. There are plenty of sources of ammonia.
If I were you and sure that water quality issues were not a factor in the fish dieing then I would add one or two inexpensive fish and go from there.
IMO cocktail shrimp are for cocktail party's. The only time you would find a dead shrimp in my tank stinking things up would be if I had thrown a cocktail party and one of the more, shall we say slurry people, dropped the thing in the tank by accident.

 

[ophiura]

THere is NO ISSUE with putting dead shrimp or fish food in the tank...I put it in to feed my fish, I can put it in without fish. There is nothing wrong with it.
The potential issue is this:
The bacteria die back to populations that can use available ammonia in the system. If, suddenly, you increase that ammonia load you could out pace the ability of the existing bacteria to use it, and that results in a spike in ammonia. I have SEEN this happen. IMO, better safe than sorry - fish food or shrimp, whatever...cheaper and easier to deal with than "cheap" fish you may not want (if damsels) or "relatively cheap fish" that will still ding the wallet if they die. I don't know about you, but I don't like to flush $10 down the toilet for any reason.

 

[murph]

Well ophura I cant really argue with that logic either. I purchased 3 raw shrimp the other day to supplement my feeding routine and it came to a grand total of 35 cents.
I would rather have one of those dead shrimp in my tank than one of the ornamental variety you find at the LFS that cost much more. The path of prudence is always best but in the case the tank seems to have stabilized and the true test any tank comes only when fish are added.

 

[1journeyman]

Originally Posted by Murph
The path of prudence is always best but in the case the tank seems to have stabilized and the true test any tank comes only when fish are added.
Well, the problem is the tank may have gone "dead".
If there hasn't been anything in the tank producing any ammonia for a month then the nitrogen cycle will have to be re-established.
You should NEVER add fish until you know everything is optimum. While the true test of a healthy aquarium may be adding fish, the true test of an aquarist is the care given to EVERY fish purchased (regardless of fish $)

 

[murph]

He has already stated that his levels are normal and there ARE sources of ammonia present in even the emptiest of empty tanks.
You can pretty much spare me the "true aquarist" phsco-babble unless it functions to make yourself feel better. I have been around this hobby in one way or another basically all my life. It is a legitimate and entertaining hobby but no matter how one goes about it it inflicts incredible amounts of stress on the livestock, and you my friend are knee deep in it just as the rest of us are.

 

[fishmamma]

IMO feed the tank for a week, do a water change and add a fish or two and be prepared to do small frequent water changes after your daily ammonia and nitrite testing. Just don't change your filter materials at the same time as adding new fish since you would be removing some of your beneficial bacteria.

 

[1journeyman]

Originally Posted by Murph
He has already stated that his levels are normal and there ARE sources of ammonia present in even the emptiest of empty tanks.
You can pretty much spare me the "true aquarist" phsco-babble unless it functions to make yourself feel better. I have been around this hobby in one way or another basically all my life. It is a legitimate and entertaining hobby but no matter how one goes about it it inflicts incredible amounts of stress on the livestock, and you my friend are knee deep in it just as the rest of us are.
yeesh...
First off, his levels may not be "fine". Set up a new tank with RO/DI water and do a water test... is that tank fine? Of course not, but I bet you'll get the same readings he posted. If the tank has been fallow for a month he will probably have to re-cycle it.
There are not sources of ammonia in an empty shell that has been dead for a month or months..
Not sure how you've been around it, or how you stress out your livestock, but please don't put me in the same boat as you.
If done correctly your fish will be minimally stressed for a short period of time. Many reef fish spend their entire lives around a couple of feet of reef. An aquarium (or at least my aquarium.. apparently yours varies) can successfully mimic that.
All of us in this hobby have to weigh the ethics of keeping wild animals. Imho, my aquarium is a valuable educational tool, as well as being a great source of pleasure for me. Many of the aquarists on this board have made great strides in reproducing fish and corals.
Sorry if you disagree.

 

[murph]

I have no problem with differing opinions journeymen, its just that I have seen so many passive aggressive comments made in the getting started section that seem to insinuate that people are somehow lesser hobbyist, cruel to animals, or just plain stupid if there methods of setting up a tank and adding live stock varies from there own in the slightest manner.
It seems to be a hot button issue for me for some reason as I feel it does little to help and much to discourage new tank owners who may be on the verge of giving up to begin with.
And with all that being said I still tend to disagree. Take your example with the new tank and RO water. Of course its not fine but add nothing else to that tank and it will still cycle I guarantee you, I have done it.
Most test kits will show trace amounts of ammonia and nitrite in RO water that has had nothing added to it but salt mix(especially ammonia...hmmm). It will certainly give you a different reading than the absolute zeros they do when you take water from a well cycled functioning tank and test it. Don't believe me? The next time you mix up a batch of RO water in prep for a water change test it and the water from your tank and compare. You will see what I mean.

 

[mukiwa]

I just go finished the testing and there are no ammonia spikes at all... All the levels seem to be pretty much the same, I have been adding fish for for about 5 or 6 days now.... Do you think I'm safe yet ? or should I add something bigger like a jumbro shrimp ? or just wait a little bit more ? I would like to order some more fish.... thanks guys

 

[celacanthr]

wait you have been adding fish each day?
not a very good idea anyways but as long as you keep a very close eye on you r levels and they are ok then the fish are fine and your tank is fine, just dont add any more fish for 2 weeks -a month depending on aquarium size. How big is ur aquarium?