What should do to start my tank up again?

Question

I have a 28g freshwater tank. It been set-up for 2 years. It has been empty for monthes now, no filter on, just standing water. What should I do to start it up again, maybe just a water change? What are some good fish I could put in it?

Thanks in advance!

Answer 1

Clean the whole tank get a top with a light ,get a filter, add new gravel some fake plants to start with and get some tropical fish  tetras, guppies, platies are good. Also get some live floating plants from a pond plant store [i use pond weed and duckweed] get them from one of those shops so you can get some hitch hiking little snails which can control the algae level, or just get one or two larger snails. It also wouldn't be that bad if you got a dwarf sucker mouth or another small algae eater and if you have to get a larger one (i like the smaller ones because they let you add more fish to a tank and they hide out of the way of bully fish)

ummm....

oh yeah get a thermometer and maybe a heater also get a small air stone (add this about 1 month in) i think that covers all the bases

HOPE I HELPED :)

Answer 2

In my experience there are many theory's on this subject but one seems to make the most sense to me. if the tank has been stagnant i would do a massive water change in which i would scrub the glass once i'd removed all of the water like 98-99% of it atleast. your main concern here should be cycling the tank because the lack of ammonia has starved the nitrifying bacteria that is present in a well developed or "stable" tank. Depending on your knowledge of the nitrogen cycle i would do some extensive reading from atleast 3 or 4 sources, and then fill the tank add heater and adequate filtration and begin the process of "feeding" your healthy and o' so neccessary bacteria... The link below should be of some help. Happy fish keeping and good luck.

p.s. you'll definitely need a decent test kit. you get what you pay for in this department and it removes all the guess work...   http://www.aquatic-hobbyist.com/profiles...

Answer 3

A complete water change...get a filter and get it running for at least 2 weeks...get some plants and gravel from an established tank and introduce it to your tank...read up fishless cycling..Cycle your tank..which is a process of 3-4 weeks and then get fish...tropical fish like guppies, neons, gouramis etc. need a heater...

http://www.kokosgoldfish.com/cycle.html

Answer 4

You should use a mild bleach solution to wash the tank, rinse out thouroughly. Set up the fresh water, plants and filter 3-4 weeks prior to getting the fish. Tap water can cause Ammonia build up, which kill the fish. So running the tank with the filter will build up the natural flora to protect against that. Tetras are very hardy and come in a large variety.

Answer 5

water change, get some plants,

fish: guppies, neon tetra, some bottom feeders,

get a filter, pH tester