Setting up a used nano tank

[Dechstang]

Have a few questions, I picked up a used saltwater tank, came with sand and few pieces of live rock, tank was emptied a few days back before I picked it up. Sand and rock are still damp. Was told her fish died off and the tank had bristle worms. Should I refill it as is with saltwater or run my tap water thru everything and fill it with freshwater and add salt later?

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[Sniperhank]

Filling it with freshwater will kill off what little remaining bacteria are in the rocks and sand. I would fill it up with saltwater made with ro/di water so you can cycle the tank properly.
As for the bristle worms, they are a beneficial member of your clean up crew.

 

[54seaweed]

IMO I would replace the sand I would never recycle sand , since you'll need to run a new cycle in the tank this would be the perfect opportunity . you don't want to bring in old problems ,

If all the previous owners fish died off there was a reason . try to research why they died before you start up , I would hate to see you go through that very same issue .

every effort to make this tank clean from any parasites and what ever other nasty s there may be . you want a healthy tank,

you also should find out if there was any type of treatments done in the tank to be sure your not going to have any heavy metals such as copper leach out from the rock , as if there are heavy metals it will be impossible to keep inverts and some corals , always better to be safe than sorry , as many will tell you from trial and error .

 

[Dechstang]

Would soaking the live rock in freshwater kill off any possible issues or should I just dry it all out and buy a piece of live rock to seed it after the tank cycles

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[keegster803]

If there were any heavy metals in the tank, you could throw in a pack of Cuprisorb, it detoxifies copper and other heavy metals


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[54seaweed]

not knowing if the main tank was ever treated with any copper based medications , makes it hard to determine if its worth using or not using , that's a risk you would need to decide .

anyway you look at it you are going to have to do a cycle weather its with the rock you have taking that unknown risk since you know all the previous owners fish just died off from unknown causes and were they treated with copper or clean base rock not having any of those issues, all rock will become live over time ,

It's hard to give you rock solid advice not knowing what the fish died from and if copper was ever used to treat ,

that call would be left on you , if it were me I would contact the previous owner and ask these questions , that's the only way you would know if you can proceed with the rock you have or to just replace it with base rock,

you need to realize SW is not a cheap hobby and to risk loosing fish from the unknown
is it worth that risk or start clean ,

maybe some one else will chime in with there thoughts with this ,

 

[Sniperhank]

In terms of anything living in the rock itself, a freshwater dip will ensure anything in them will come out quickly.

 

[Dechstang]

Ok, so this is what I ended up doing. I soaked the rock in Ro.di
water for 4 days. After that I rinsed and scrubbed rock and is now sitting in the tank bare bottom. SG is 1.024 and temp is 78°F. Any tips recommendations moving forward.

 

[Sniperhank]

You can add sand and cycle your tank.

 

[Dechstang]

Can't I just add a piece of frozen shrimp and leave it bare bottom?

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[Sniperhank]

You can if you want, yes.