How to shut down a tank?

[jaiden]

I want to shut down my tank. I haven't had the time to take care of it, and the only thing left alive is copepods and maybe a hermit. I want to keep everything in the hopes of restarting it in a year or so, but I don't want to keep paying the electric bill if there aren't any fish or anything interesting to look at.

Do I just shut off all the pumps and heaters and drain it? The sand and rock will be wet but I guess it would eventually dry out.

I want to preserve things so I can start it up again, but I presume my LR and the attached coralline will all die. Do I have any options here other than selling it?

 

[Innovator]

You won't be able to preserve anything but bacteria (keep wet). However, you can place the lr in a tub or trash can (new) and keep water circulating over it. This would involve a powerhead and a water change every 3-6mos. The sand can be placed (wet) in buckets and stored. It sounds to me like you don't want the hassle so I would just sell it off and save up for when you might want to start again.