Starting over again...

[Saltar]

I was actively into saltwater aquariums several years ago but lost interest due to losing all the fish and corals I had. I am wanting to get back into but want some advice before I do.

I have a 55 gallon all glass aquarium.

Sump
In sump skimmer
Corallife 9w UV sterilizer
2 - 48" VHO Actintics
1 - 36" VHO Actinitic
1 - 75w powecompact 10,000k sunlight

About 50lbs live rock left over from last run.

My tank has been sitting with water and the live rock in it with the lights off for about a year or more. I would add tap water to the tank just to keep it running. I decided to turn the lights back on and try it again. I have lots of brown hairy slime growing on the rocks. My guess is the phosphates from the tap water?

So what would be the best way to get this tank rolling again?

Thanks for any help.

 

[roka64]

Welcome back! I would start by doing some water tests. Are you able to purchase an RO/DI unit? You can recycle your tank with about two raw, unseasoned jumbo shrimp (assuming you haven't been feeding the tank, to keep the beneficial bacteria alive).

 

[Saltar]

Thanks for the reply.

What would be the suggestion for getting the slime to go away and get the live rock reactivated?

Also do I have the right lighting for a reef tank?

 

[roka64]

If you want to get rid of the slime, you can do some more PWCs, black out the tank (leave the lights off).
When you cycle the tank (using the shrimp for an ammonia source), that will get your rock and substrate "reactivated" or cycled. This means, they will host the beneficial bacteria that converts fish waste from ammonia to nitrItes to nitrAtes. Keep in mind, the first two are toxic to your critters.
What is the total wattage of all the lights? What kind of corals are you looking to keep? What you want to keep will depend on what you lighting requirements will be.

 

[Saltar]

I mostly just want to get the tank full of the purple coraline algae all over the rock and then throw in some fish before getting into the corals. Will the lights I got get the coraline algae growing quickly?

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

If it was me, I sure wouldn't reuse the water. You have to recycle the tank anyway, so why not dump out all the water, scrub the rocks of all the algae, and start over from scratch. Lord knows what kind of nasties are in that water after sitting around for a year, with just some fresh water top offs now and then. It's only 55g plus the sump.