????is this right ?????

[rmfun]

I'm starting my 75 gallon back up. A few thing i had problems with last time. The water evaporating out about a gallon a day or more. I turned the lights down to where it started killing the coral plants. Things was dying then, my heater cracked the tank glass. about the same time i moved and took every thing out and put in tubs. Its all been in the tubs for two years. I still have the live rock,and sand but its been out and dried.
so I'm asking
1} Is it normal to have to add 7-10 gallons a week.
2} With the rocks and sand all dead will that start the first cycle, or to much for once.
3} any advice about restart, anything i need to watch out for

 

[acrylic51]

Evaporation can and will vary from tank to tank and season to season as well, so actually saying what the evaporation should be is tough to say, but it is very normal for a tank to evaporate.....What type of lighting/canopy were you running.....
As far as your rock and sand it is dead....Not a big deal IMHO.....Personally I would soak the rock in either RO water or saltwater, but preferably to me in RO water and let it run.....A good course of action since you didn't indicate how you shut the system down is to soak the rock in RO water and do a bleach bath to remove any dead junk that has died off and clung to the rocks.....After a good bleach soaking drain it down and refill with RO water and circulate, and I'd check my Phos and see what level your at; at that point.....As far as sand, I wouldn't personally use old sand of that nature....Others might, but that's just me.....

 

[sepulatian]

You COULD re-use the sand, but I would rinse the heck out of it first. I mean a bucket and a hose and don't stop mixing until that water runs crystal clear. Everything else, what Acrylic said.

 

[gradymo]

I have a 90g open top, and I add at least a gallon a day. So for me, 7 to 10 gallons a week is normal.