Considering rebuilding after the tank crash!

[neptune]

Fellow Reefers... I am weighing my options on restarting my 20 year old tank that crashed while I was on vacation last week. Would like your POV on how best to restart.... What can I salvage?

3 foot bow front tank 50 ish gallons 50 pounds LR / live sand bottom / only survivors starfish on the glass

* Dump all the water and start new new salt water
* Pull out the live sand and start again?
* How can I salvage the live rock? My ammonia alert badge reads toxic still after several days of heater and power back on? The live rock has Xenia and mushrooms hanging off of it? Do I pull all this off manually will it come back? Xenia is a bit of a weed in my tank... not sure I care if it survives?
* IF I CAN SAVE MY LR - Do I consider this a new tank.... or will my tank still have some extra capacity and stability? I want to restock with pygmy angelfish and BTA with clown fish... Do I need to treat this like a new tank and be super slow?

Hmmmmm to start over or end this insanity...?

 

[kgstei]

Let me start with I'm no expert but I would definitely pull the dead stuff out my guess is your bacteria is still there doing it's job it's just overwhelmed right now. I would keep the rock and sand, do a big water change and see how things go. Good luck think of it as a new beginning.

 

[kgstei]

Oh and run carbon if you have it.

 

[Chris A.]

100% water change should do if nothing in there ( fish,corals , inverts)
That’ll at least get you started.
I’d also get Bio Digest , it works very well at bringing your bacteria back up to par.

 

[neptune]

That is encouraging... I can keep my sand and rock and do 100% water change? that makes this whole process much easier. and just pull of the rest of the dead zenia. BTW I also had 3 BTA's in the tank. They are clearly dead and I *think* all removed. But I have been stung by my BTA before and my skin did really react.... if I bump into a dead BTA in my tank can it still sting me?

100% water change should do if nothing in there ( fish,corals , inverts)
That’ll at least get you started.
I’d also get Bio Digest , it works very well at bringing your bacteria back up to par.

 

[Chris A.]

No idea , I’ve never been stung by one and have manhandled a bunch lol

 

[aresangel]

My understanding is if it stings you it is alive. It is a nerve reaction to the BTA bumping into possible food. The tentacle triggers its nerve to shoot the nematocyst into you. If dead there are ways to trigger the reaction (an acid or electrical current).

Found this out because I had a bastard crawl right under the front lip of my tank. When ever I go in to move coral/rock on the right side it stings the crap out of me. Like fire ant bites/small bee stings.


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