just got a tank that died

[rodney10954]

i just got a 55 gallon salt tank
that died 3 years ago (fish coral)
it still had all the coral and substrate in it
no water
should i throw everything out and start over
or can i use some of the old coral as base

 

[e-cat]

what do you mean by fish coral? was there dead fish left in tehre also?
i would just get rid of the substrate if thats the case and clean off the dead corals and use them as base rock

 

[rodney10954]

it was just substrate and coral
in no water
they took out all dead fish 3 years ago but
never cleaned out the tank

 

[notmuffy]

My opinion is that nothing good (if anything) grows in that substrate. I would take out the coral and take a scrub brush to it, but I wouldn't use chemicals. Then I would let it soak in the water for about a day, and re-rinse.
That is just what I would do personally.

 

[cleantank]

IMO, Throw it all in the trash, clean tank and start fresh. What your trashing is cheap, so to save a little $ might cost you big in the future. 8)

 

[cj10488]

Throw it all in the trash, clean tank and start fresh

I Agree.. Better safe than sorry.. You never know what if any chemicals were previously used in the tank ie; Copper.. Toss everything except the tank and clean the tank with bleach water.. Make sure you rinse real well and If it were my tank I would fill it and add some sort of chlorine remover as well and let it sit for a day or 2 then drain it and rinse a few more times and then I would start setting it up... But thats just me...

HTH,
James

 

[rodney10954]

i cleaned out the tank
im not going to use any of the old stuff
now i just have to figure out what kind of filter i want to use

 

[notmuffy]

glad we were all able to help, good luck on setting up your new tank!