Tank Leaked - Will new tank cycle?

[hann1bal]

So my 75 gallon tank sprung a leak 1 week ago eek (after about 6 months - bought used). And we had to quickly move fish and coral into 30 gallon tank. They have been cramped and need to get into the new tank as fast as possible but worried about cycling since I just got new 75 gallon plumbed and setup with water.

I am reusing the old sand - which sat in buckets of water for a week then was rinsed with RODI before placing in tank.

I will ofcoarse monitor chemistry close but if anyone has any suggestions on how to get the fish (Tang, clown, goby) in the new tank ASAP it would be appreciated.

Will i be ok since the rocks and some water is already "cycled" or is there something else I should do? I cant leave my Tang in the current tank for more than another day or two! Any suggestions are appreciated.

This almost ended the hobby for me...

 

[GimpyFin]

Sorry to hear about your tank. If you re-used the existing rock, that will help. If you rinsed the sand, you probably got rid of most of the bacteria there and not much bacteria is in the water itself so that won't really help much. What I would recommend is go buy a bottle of Bio Spira (Made by Instant Ocean) and add it to the tank. (Get the bigger bottle.) This bacteria will give your biofilter an added kickstart and make it safe to add those 3 fish back in almost immediately. Having used it several times on new tanks/moving tanks, I can say that it does work really well, especially in situations like this.

 

[hann1bal]

Thanks so much. I'll grab a bottle tonight and add it. And yeah I think i rinsed the sand fairly well since at first it smelled like ammonia and by the end the smell was gone.

Thanks again for the help! its much appreciated. I'll update how it goes.

(This almost ended the hobby for me but honestly it allowed me to buy a stand that had alot more room for sump, skimmer, etc. so may be a blessing in disguise)

 

[mcgyvr]

Yes.. you will probably have a mini cycle..
There is little "beneficial" bacteria in the water.. Just on the surface/pores,etc.. of the rock/sand,etc....

get the rocks/sand in ASAP and give it a few days to see how it goes..
But expect a small cycle..
Might not cause any problems... or it could.. No real "for sure" answers here..

 

[hann1bal]

No real "for sure" answers here..

Isn't that the story of this Hobby. Thanks again for the feedback.

 

[tzylak]

My concern would be from "I rinsed the sand with RODI". Why RODI and not salt water?? -Rinsing it with fresh water likely killed any salt-water bacterial growth, which will force a new start cycle.
Once you reassemble the system consider daily monitoring of the water and by ready for WC when parameters spike.

 

[hann1bal]

"I rinsed the sand with RODI". Why RODI and not salt water?? .

In hindsight, I just never really thought about it at the time but I should have used saltwater. After starting the pumps there were a few dwarf ceriths that climbed out of the sand but I haven't checked the water chemistry yet. Will do that after work.

It'll be a balancing act deciding whats the bigger risk - the cycle or my fish's current habitat! Im hoping to catch a break...

 

[Salty150]

Get the Bio Spira or Dr. Tim's, etc. and you "should" be fine.

 

[Sk8r]

Buy a bottle of Prime and check that ammonia reading morning and evening for the next number of weeks. If you detect ammonia, follow instructions on the Prime. And for gosh sakes, feed lightly. Bacteria have enough work ahead. Note that Prime states it will not interfere with bacteria, but it sure may mess up your nitrate readings over time. TOok me 6 months to begin to get my tank straightened out after needing to use it in an emergency.

 

[hann1bal]

I got bio-spira and Prime. I like the fact the Prime can be used in an emergency for Nitrites, etc (or so the bottle says).

Good info about the tests being off - i wouldn't have even thought about that.

 

[ziggy2]

I think I would invest in another bag of live sand too.

 

[GimpyFin]

I got bio-spira and Prime. I like the fact the Prime can be used in an emergency for Nitrites, etc (or so the bottle says).

Good info about the tests being off - i wouldn't have even thought about that.

Being water conditioners, products like Prime and Amquel can be useful if you have ammonia and are trying to bring it down quickly or you're by chance using tap water for your saltwater. Otherwise, you won't really need to use it. Bio spira will give you enough bacteria out of the gate to break down ammonia/nitrite and prevent them from spiking. You'll want to still monitor things to ensure they stay on the up and up, but one good thing is you are only dealing with 3 fish, 2 of which are quite small. As long as your water looks ok before adding bio spira, you shouldn't have issues transferring the fish to the new tank. (Speaking from experience.) Anyway, hope everything goes smoothly. Cheers.

 

[hann1bal]

So i transferred the fish and rock yesterday and everyone is happy as could be! I'm sure they were a little stressed but other than that they seem fine. I'll just keep a close eye on the numbers (0 ammonia so far) but I did use Prime so hoefully thats not making anything.

P.S. I have an RODI for water but i bought mostly Saltwater from the LFS for time reasons.

 

[ziggy2]

I'd still keep a close eye on the readings.