What to do first

[nuhabit]

Ok lost power, tree on house....only 3 fish alive, thanks to Aquatic Obsession, or it would have been a total loss. Time to rebuild. Tanks need total cleaning. Should I take live rock out and clean it with anything ???? let it sit in air to kill whatever might be on it....start with new sand or can anything be salvaged???? I guess that is the real question can anything be salvaged to keep cost down...I'm thinking that new is the safest way but cost is a factor so how about some ideas people...Thanks
I really cant thank AO enough if anyone hasnt been there go. Great people really.

 

[Edwardw771]

What shape was the rock in before the storm? Ie was if full of aptasha and crazy hair algae?

 

[lefkonj]

There is a way to clean the rock so you don't have to re-buy it all. I would let it dry out, soak it scrub it make it all clean again. Sand I am not so sure but that is relatively in-expensive to replace.

 

[nuhabit]

Things in tank were good no problem anywhere. Its been sitting for a week and a half. Some fish not found yet so decaying in there. Corals all gone, mostly SPS. Gonna really start the cleaning today. Just curious if anyone has been in this position and what they did to get it back in order.

 

[mnat]

We crashed all three of our tanks several years ago due to a power outage, I will go through what we did.

First take a minute to think about your system and if there was anything you would change because now is the time to do it. Any equipment changes or aquascaping or anything at all do it now. Even if this slows you down a bit, don't rush back and miss this chance to change something for the better.

Drain the tank, remove the live rock, and throw away any sand. This part is crucial, you do not want to use any sand from a crashed tank as it has died off and will release basically sulphur into your tank. As Ed was alluding to above, do you like your live rock? If you want new rock shapes or if the rock has any pests or algae on it,must buy new rock and save yourself the headaches. If you like your rock and it is best free, put the rock in a container with new saltwater, a heater and a power head to start cycling again. Add a small piece of outside rock to help reseed some of the bacteria. Quick mote, pull the rock out and smell it, If there is really no smell to it you might not need a long cycle if it smells then it is back to being dead rock.

Get a ton of vinegar, Costco is the best, and scrub the tank and overflows down. Clean any equipment and toss and media, carbon, phosban, or bio pellets.

Depending on how fast you want to setup again you can take several different paths here. Depending on your live rock you can go very quickly or slowly, I will save that for another post.

 

[nuhabit]

Well thank you for the info MNAT. I'm going to take it slow as I'm not even back in my house yet. I've already been thinking about the rebuild, I'm excited about it but too bad it happen this way. I think a box or 2 of dry rock from BRS will do. Has anyone ever bought Sand from eBay? I don't mind it not being live as I will take time to cycle.

 

[mnat]

Depends on how the ebay vendor is. I know some people have like the sand from marco rocks and the price is good. There is a nother vendor out there that does rock and sand that a lot of people on here like, I just can't remember the name, hopefully someone will chime in.

 

[howze01]

I used Reefreock.net for my rock and sand. Great price for both and the rock is really nice. The owner is a really good guy and has helped a lot of people here. Ultracorals, one of our sponsors, sells his rock as well I believe.

 

[nuhabit]

Well thanks for some answers. Looks like I'm going to dry the rock clean it but probably not going to use it anyhow. The sand will be gone too. Clean the tank and all equipment with a ton of vinegar. IS THAT WITH WATER OR JUST VINEGAR??? I'll let you know its going to be awhile til I get back in the house. If anyone has other places to check out for rocks and sand let me know.

 

[mnat]

You can mix it in water if you are just doing a general cleaning. I really only soak things in straight vinegar if they really need it.

 

[nuhabit]

I'm thinking about taking the rocks and sand out adding a bunch of vinegar and water and cycling The thing Off of a generator for awhile scrubbing it a couple of times. no telling what kind of bugs are in that thing

 

[nuhabit]

Does anyone think that leaving the vinegar in the tank will weaken the seal??? Its going to take me several days to clean the tank.