I Bought a SEVERELY abused tank...HELP!!!

[Purevil21]

So I need some help. I picked up my new tank today, it is 65 gallons, has an overflow with a sump and protein skimmer. There was well over 100 lbs of live rock and a fully mature Maroon Clownfish. Now for the bad, and it is BAD.

The people haven't done any basic maintenance in over a year. They used crushed coral instead of live sand. There was SO much detritus, it smelled like death. There was literally an inch of dead material above the crushed coral. Literally dead. The 3 of the 4 power compact bulbs have been blown for months. They installed "custom lights", 2 traditional fluorescent light bulbs. Yeah I know, she said "It looks nicer than the aquarium lights." I haven't even tested the PH or Ammonia yet, it can't be TOO bad because the clown was still alive.

So what I have done is as follows.

I drained the water from the top, and separated "clean" water from anything with debris from the bottom. Everything is currently in buckets. The maroon clown is in a five gallon bucket with an air system right now. I am amazed he is alive.

I removed EVERYTHING from the tank, the crushed coral is in a bucket and is filthy. I took a clean sponge and gently wiped down the tank, there was slime algae, brown algae, anything you can imagine. But it is now clean. Now comes some disturbing news.

The nitrates are testing at 160 ppm. The tube turned solid red is seconds on my API test kit. I am cleaning the sump tomorrow, and selling the clown to a local store for credit towards some sand. So now the questions.

What can I do to save any of the water? I know obviously a lot will have to be dumped. I am going to use two of the "dirty" buckets to knock detritus off of the rock.

What type of sand should I purchase? How many lbs. does it take to provide adequate coverage for a 65 gallon?

Once I knock the detritus off the rock (As much as possible) and put my sand in the tank, what steps should I take to begin wrapping my arms around this beast. I was hoping to have this tank up soon, but I can see it is now a project.

What are your suggestions? HELP ME OBI...screw it...help me anyone. This should be on an animal abuse commercial...

 

[Hinds04]

I would get 75lbs of sand, no reason to save the water, use a brush to scrub the rocks. Fill 3/4 full with all new water, put in cleaned rock, use a pvc pipe to put sand directly to the bottom of the tank will help keep water clear. Start your cycle

 

[Zer0]

Exactly what Hinds said. You don't need to use any of that horrid water. All of the anaerobic bacteria is on the rocks and sand, not in the water column. Forget about the crushed coral, toss that junk. Like Hinds said, just get nice dry aragonite sand. 75lbs sounds like a good number to me. You will probably have some left over depending on how deep you want the sandbed to be. I personally suggest 2 inches in a tank that size, but it's completely up to you and your personal preference.

 

[Purevil21]

I am going to add the rock from my current tank, I should have about 150 lbs total. Should I save two or three of the buckets I had so that I will have some of the bacteria?

 

[thominil]

Try putting the rock in a rubbermaid tub and pouring the old tank water over it to knock the detritus off. Don't even bother trying to save the old water with nitrate levels that high. My guess is you won't get everything off of the rock, and that is ok since it will help you cycle the tank. Use gloves when handling the rock, no telling what is in there with a massive population. I would use regular dry aragonite sand, probably in the range of 70-85lbs. Rinse the stuff really well, or you will have a cloudy mess for days if not a week. Hope this helps.

 

[Purevil21]

I see, luckily I just found a local craigslist add for 60 lbs of live sand for 20 bucks.

 

[thominil]

I am going to add the rock from my current tank, I should have about 150 lbs total. Should I save two or three of the buckets I had so that I will have some of the bacteria?

I have my doubts about you being able to stuff 150lbs of rock in there unless it is very dense. Just use the water to knock the detritus off in a rubbermaid tub and then pitch it. There is very little bacteria in the water itself, most of it is on the rock and sand.

 

[Hinds04]

cleaning the rock is not going to remove enough bacteria for it to not be considered live anymore use your rock and clean all the other rock with a brush. Maybe put your previous rock in last after your tank has cycled with the new rock. This way you have a place for your livestock until new tank is cycled. Adding stuff from your running tank will not cause another cycle as long as you don't use your old sand.

 

[Hinds04]

The sand on craigslist will have a lot of bad stuff in it probably but will help cycle I guess. Personally I would get new sand dont waste money on any live sand. It will seed quickly from the live rock

 

[Purevil21]

So buy new sand, and wet it down. Put it in the tank bottom, add my water. I know the trash bag and pie dish trick, then clean the rock as best as I can and put it in, and let it cycle as a new tank? Without adding my current rock, there is close to 100lbs from the tank I bought, it is extremely dense stuff, in large pieces. It took up the entire back glass. With that amount of rock should it speed up the cycling process?

 

[Purevil21]

Should 60 lbs be enough, given that the footprint of the tank is only 36 x 19.

 

[Zer0]

60lbs might be enough, but the only real way is to find out by trying it out.

Use this as a sandbed depth calculator:

Sand Bed

 

[thominil]

It should, but having a 15-20lb bag in reserve wouldn't hurt since it would help avoid making an extra trip to the store if you need more, and can be returned if not used. As for the craigslist sand, as long as it is bagged by a maufacturer like you would find on a store shelf, I would say you are fine getting it. If it is not, then I agree with hinds since there is no telling what is in it and if it's used, it may release more detritus that you don't need.

 

[Purevil21]

Thanks for all the advice guys, I am excited to get this thing running. It is a shame though, these people decided they didn't want fish anymore over a year ago and just posted it on Craigslist last week. They have killed countless corals, fish, and a whole range of inverts needlessly. Had that tank been sold while everything was alive and well they would have gotten much more money. I paid 300, and they still didn't want to let it go, she wanted 400. I am going to have to sink 200 into lights, salt, and sand just to get it heading the right direction.

 

[Tim Wheatley]

Just wanted to say good luck. Amazes me that someone keeps a tank going when they have no interest in it.

 

[Purevil21]

Yeah I know, have some respect for life at least. I'm not a big PETA fan, or anything close to it. But don't kill something for the sake of killing it...

 

[mr_X]

buy new sand, rinse it thoroughly.
you are not cycling this tank if you are using the rock that's in the tank already, and not keeping it exposed to air too long. i would just shake it off in the old water and put it back in the tank with your newly made sw.

 

[Purevil21]

So even by using all new water and sand the tank won't be cycling?

 

[mr_X]

no. as long as there is no die-off on the rock, you should just see a diatom bloom on the new surfaces.

 

[Purevil21]

Also, can you buy replacement parts for lighting ballast? I can't find a manufacture anywhere, but the fan is making a lot of noise and jamming up, it still powers the lights though. Here are some pictures.