First Step - Clean Up

The first step was obvious. Get every ounce possible of chaos out of the tank. The first step however involved a lot more then 1 step.

First I used my "No Spill Clean & Fill Python" knockoff to drain as much water from the tank as possible.

To do this I pushed as much of the gravel as I could up against one side so it would be easier to get as much water out as possible.

As I was removing the water I was also vacuuming the gravel. I figure that when I get around to cleaning the gravel it will be much easier to clean vacuumed gravel then 100% dirty gravel.

I then starting cleaning the sides with a clean dish sponge with the dirty water (bear with me). While doing this I was picking up the rest of the water I could not get with the sponge and putting it in a bucket to throw away.

I then removed the gravel with a 16 oz cup one scoop at a time.

After that I got any left over dirty water out for the final time with the sponge.

I then washed my two hang on the back (HOB) power filters, heater, and thermometer. I also of course cleaned all the suction cups.

I then took very hot water and cleaned the sides of the tank.

After that for the final time I removed the water with the sponge that was from the hot water cleaning.

I started at around 10:30 am and finished around 2:30pm. Mind you it was 93+ degrees and felt like (according to Weather.com) 96 degrees. I also took around a hour and a half break total so it took me about 2 hours to clean up the mess - Draining time included.

Chaos

I had a 90 gallon fish tank set up, and sadly it went from great, to a pure disaster in less then 24 hours.

I don't know if it was the heat. I don't know if it was the new fish in the tank. I don't know if a existing problem suddenly decided to manifest. I don't know if I disturbed a air pocket of toxins when I cleaned the tank. Heck, I don't know if I managed to kill to much beneficial bacteria when I cleaned the tank.

All I know is that a great tank with two peaceful oscars, and a bunch of goldfish all died within 48 hours.

So what do you do when your favorite fish tank goes belly up? You write a blog about the after math of course. This blog will in the first post go from what I did to clean up the disaster to what I did to restart the tank with new fish and beyond. I will talk about all the equipment I have, and all the fish I have. But most of all - I will be honest. Hold nothing back, even if I know I am a fool for doing something. This blog will be as much a reference for myself as I hope it will be for other people.

I have no plans for exact fish yet, but I highly suspect this will be a community tank, instead of the semi aggressive tank it was previously. It is a 90 gallon tank so there is quite a bit of room for a very interesting tank.

Wish me better luck this time around.