Hospital tank/cleaning dirty water

[shrimpnoobie]

Hi everyone,

it has been about two years since I established my tank with four ecosphere shrimp. Unfortunately, my tank has an opening and over time some dust has gotten into the tank. I try to clean it with my net occasionally when I top the water off.

Well, I have to move my tank to a new table soon. I am thinking about moving the shrimp to a cup or vase, moving the tank, and then putting them back in. The tank is not that heavy, maybe 20 pounds with the water in it, I can move it with the shrimp in it. But I am thinking of taking this opportunity to do a cleaning of my shrimp’s home. So my questions are- how long can my shrimp be in the “hospital vase”. Of course the vase will have the proper salinity but it won’t be cycled to keep ammonia levels down. And how can I clean my tank while still keeping an appropriate level of healthy bacteria? I was thinking of removing maybe 75% of the water?

Alright that’s all. Thank you for reading all this!

[Dch48]

As long as you don't clean anything with untreated tap water, the water change should do the trick. Just don't let things dry out or the bacteria on them will die. Just don't overdo the cleaning and make sure you preserve as much of the biofilm on things as possible. Do you still just have the same 4 shrimp?

[shrimpnoobie]

As long as you don't clean anything with untreated tap water, the water change should do the trick. Just don't let things dry out or the bacteria on them will die. Just don't overdo the cleaning and make sure you preserve as much of the biofilm on things as possible. Do you still just have the same 4 shrimp?

Yup just the four. Thank you for your advice!