Fish tank help

[RobinGreene]

I have been using a fish tank as a poultry brooder. Is there anyway to clean this tank well enogh to keep guppies in again? Thanks for help folks.

Rpbin

 

[CityFarmer202]

I would let it soak until all the poop has mostly released, then make a paste of plain old salt mixed with some water and use that to finish cleaning it. Make sure to rinse it really well. When you set the tank up, i would suggest getting some minnows or goldfish to cycle the tank before you add the guppies, which are more sensitive. They will show you if you need to clean it more. My chickens love the minnows once they're done getting the tank ready for guppies. I used to breed guppies, and love those fish

 

[Chickerdoodle13]

I've used betta fish to cycle tanks. Mine got along just fine with some guppies and platys. Generally the other fish are faster! Betta fish have a high tolerance for water that isn't quite cycled, but I still waited five weeks before slowly introducing other fish.

I've also found vinegar to work well for cleaning animal items.

 

[SavageDestiny]

Please don't use any sort of fish to cycle tanks- it's cruel. Forcing the fish to survive high ammonia levels, then high nitrates, for potentially weeks until the cycle is complete is inhumane. Fish feel pain and distress like any other creature... fishless cycling with pure ammonia is better. Or chuck a raw shrimp in a piece of pantyhose and use that to cycle.

 

[Chickerdoodle13]

You can generally do enough water changes to keep all the levels fairly stable and still cycle the tank well enough. (Yes, I measured the levels while I did it.) My ammonia and nitrate levels rarely got above normal and the tank cycled just fine. It took about a month and a half. I didn't lose any fish in the introduction either, and most of them lived quite a while.

My favorite way to cycle a tank is with some gravel from a friend's already established tank. They also sell bacteria that you can introduce but it can be hit or miss with that. If the store does not refrigerate the bacteria, it is not worth using.

 

[SavageDestiny]

Still not fair to the fish to force them to endure that, they are only truly comfortable at 0 ammonia and nitrates. Ammonia burns their gills. Surviving does not equal thriving.

Getting gravel or filter media is certainly the easiest way to cycle. But there are plenty of ways to cycle that don't involve subjecting live fish to the cycling process.