I tore down my 30 gallon freshwater aquarium about 2 months ago not anticipating that I would want or need it set up in the near future. Unfortunately, I forgot about the under-gravel filter, and after getting all of the rocks out, the bottom of the tank was -covered- in mold (most definitely not algae).
I cleaned the entire aquarium with Dawn dish soap, rinsed it 5 times after not seeing any suds, then did a double rinse with a high concentration of aquarium salt water followed by another clean rinse. I filled the tank 7/8 of the way, treated it with Smart Start and set up the filter and heater to help the tank start cycling. I also added 3 T of aquarium salt. I haven’t put in the Bio Wheel yet because I don’t want to run the risk of contaminating it in the event there is even a minute risk that the Dawn hasn’t been neutralized.
Should the tank be OK after sitting 3 days to add the Bio Wheel without running a risk to the future residents of the tank, or should I clean it again with something else and start over to be on the safe side?
My African Peacock Cichlid is carrying a brood as of last night and plan on putting her and her fry in this tank in 2 1/2 weeks (this is her first brood). My other tank has 8 other 4″ + cichlids in it that would love to eat them and I’d like to give her a chance to recouperate before returning to the main tank.
I cleaned out the tube of my filter with dish soap, And now I’m worried about my fish not realizing what I had done.
I had rinsed it, But I still don’t know.
I did this before using Prime, Should I be okay?
I’m worried for my fishies D:
ok so im cycling my fish tank and i see alot of water has evaporated (tropical with 3 danios). so i find this really old water holder thingy.. its like those box shape 3 gallon water bottle (square shaped) and u just have to squeeze the little nozzle and water comes out… it’s been sitting on top of the cabinets in the kitchen and when i found it it was reall really like dusty and greasy.. like when u touched it it would feel sticky on your hands.. there is a little oppening at the top that you can twist open and close, anyways i closed it and i used a sponge with a little bit of dishsoap in it… the sponge is used for cleaning dirty dishes (i know i wasn’t thinking at the time and now im regreting it)
so im scrubbing the outside with the dish soap ( very little amount) ( it was on the sponge already , i didnt squeeze any new soap btw) and it started to become clean.. i cleaned the little nozzle with just water and im not sure if i cleaned it enough. after i cleaned the twist off lid… with soap on the top but not on the inside… after i filled the inside of the water hole/bottle with warm tap water and shook it really hard about three times… and did it over and over until the inside was clean…. so then i smelled the inside. before it smelled just like really strong platic.. after it smelled like normal i guess?? not too strong of a plasticy scent.. anyways i filled it with water (78 degreesf) and added water dechlorinator…. i shook the water bottle/holder and it became a little foamy but probably because of the water dechlorinator… after i squeezed the nozzle and let the water flow into the tank slowly… so i finish and i smell my hands by accident and i can smell a small amount of dish soap traces… it was very light and it was like the smell of your hands after u wash ur dishes and wipe it with like a cloth and u can still kinda smell the soap… but i didnt put my hands in the tank yet!!! then after i smelled it, i carefully washed it with just water and dried it with a napkin and did some rearrangeing/moving stuff… i moved the heater and filter position… after everything i just put the lid back on and the light… so now…. its been around 4 hours and the fish seem fine… i do see a little more bubbles then i used to see in my tank… theres is a very small white foam layer that u can see when staring directly at the surface from a front view… i never put my hands in the tank yet but.. i finished the water and then realized my hand was a little soapy.. then i washed my hand and moved the heater around.. the fish seem fine kinda… their still swimming fast (danios). the big one is chasing the little one again after adding water back.. he stopped chasing the danios for like 3 days but everytime i add water or do anything it starts chaseing…. i don’t know what to do now… i know alot alot about fish and i help people alot on these fourms with fish but i never had experience with soap troubles so its all new to me… if any soap got in the tank it wasn’t like takeing the whole thing and squeezing it.. the soap was used to wash the outside of the bottle/holder and it was on my hands that were not complety soap free… im just worried that it will kill the fish although they are still swimming.. i did feed them after this and they ate it… it is 2 weeks into cycling and i have a an aqueon filter a tetra constant automatic heater. ( also i dropped this thermometor into that bottle so i can match the temperature, that i used to use for a saltwater tank.. but i did rinse the thermometer a little) after i added the water, i was worried so i opened the water bottle/holder and twisted it and smelled the water… it had a slight scent of somthing like rotten eggs… like a rotten egg smell kinda? so i didnt get that smell when i rinsed the inside without the soap… but it smelled like that after i added the dechlorinator and thermometor into that holder/bottle of water… here is a video on youtube with someone that has the exact same bottle/holer!! crazy i know…. his is 3 gallons but mine is half the size…
video link:
PLEASE HELP!!! i know i know alot about fish but this is very new to me.. i never delt with soap b4….
i should have just used my water changing bucket….
after watching that video i realized i had the same water holder/bottle so thats why i deided to use that old greasy thing… the guy made it look so conveniant… (it was but the saop part)
also do you think the it might have been the grease from the water bottle holder thingy or maybe it’s the grease from the sponge used to clean dirty dishes… im so worried something’s going to happen.. i don’t wanna cycle my whole tank over again… the tank does seem fine but…
ok so thanks for reading this whole thing and taking your time.. please help me
Thanks guys… i did my 25% change and the white foam seems to be very little now… the tank was still cycling but the 25% won’t do anything.. just slow it down..
i’ve always been washing out my fish tank with dish soap, i always rince it really good. the other day one of my friends came over, and asked me how i get my fish tank to clean, i told her with dish soap, and she freaked out, saying that i was going to kill my fish. i’ve always done this. is it bad for my fish?
I’ve had my two small goldfish for about 5 days now, and the small (maybe 12 inch) tank and rock reek! eww. I was wondering if I can use a dish liquid soap like palmolive to clean the tank and rocks. Would it hurt my fish at all? I’m already in the process of cleaning it, and can’t go out to buy anything..so is it alright? How about windex?
i have him in a 10 gallon aquarium with about 2 inches of sand and i have him at room temp with a moist paper towel to keep the enclosure moist. i have a hollow rock for him to hide in and a water dish. what am i doing wrong and what could i do to make him happy.
i have an emperor scorpion, i have a hiding place for him and a water dish. 2 inches of sand.and i have fed him 3 adult crickets.is there anything i should do too make him comfortable??
setup tells you how to set up a basic freshwater fish tank. We’ll start with a short list of the equipment you’ll need and then give you a step by step guide on setting up your first fish tank. * Equipment you will need: Aquarium * Aquarium gravel * Aquarium filter * Replacement filter media * Other decorations * Aquarium test kits to test water parameters and monitor the infamous aquarium cycle * Fish food * Aquarium vacuum * Fish net * Aquarium Glass Scrubber * 3 gallon bucket * strainer …
