Re: How many times should I wash out the tank before adding fish ?

In article <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, Timothy Chu 
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes
> Sounds like a good idea.  What I'd do is use water warmer than tank 
> water for this process...you'll dissolve out the 'nasties' more easily 
> with warmer water.  Keep the heater on "high" during this (a day should 
> do it). After draining (I'd only do one cycle), adding fresh water, and 
> resetting the heater, I'd add a filter (with biological content, if 
> possible), plants, and snails (if so inclined).  If the snails survive, 
> that's a sign your tank may be hospitible enough for fish after the 
> tank cycles.

Thanx for the idea. A couple of hours after posting, I was horrified to 
see that the background appeared to be leaching all sorts of things, 
mainly streams of milky substance and loads of brown particles. This 
continued for the rest of the day. I put in a heater (at 76 degs F), 
mainly to clear the condensation from the front glass as the water was 
quite cold.

By this morning, the leaching *seems* to have stopped, although it's 
hard to tell. The amount of brown particles on the floor of the tank 
indicate that they are no longer coming off, but the water is very 
milky.

I'm going to leave it until tonight, then drain the tank completely, 
spray the background with water to wash off any more particles, empty 
that all out again and refill. If the refill stays clear and clean, then 
I might risk something living.

I was contemplating adding some guppies to the tank to see if they 
survive. I'm certainly not using expensive fish until I'm 100% sure that 
it's safe.

Thanx for the reply.

--
Alan Silver