LR question

[djcanis]

I just bought a 90 gal and am in the process of setting up a reef tank. This is a big step and I want to do it right. I had a 29 up for almost 5 years. In January, we ahd a huge ice storm and I lost power for 6 days. Lost all of my livestock as the tank dropped to 40 degrees. Since then, all of my LR has been sitting in the tank, I havet had the light going, only a single power head.
I set up the 90, filled it with 90lbs of sand and transfered the 30 lbs or so of LR into the new tank. Now my question is; Is my rock ok? It has lost almost all of the coraline on it. Did the lack of light and everything kill the rock?
So far in the new tank I have 90 lbs of sand, I dont believe its LS, any thoughts on how much live sand I should get to seed the 90 lbs bed? I aslo added 35 lbs of uncured dry base rock, giving me about 70 lbs of rock total. In 2 weeks I plan to add about 25 to 30 lbs of new, cured LR, is this sufficient?
Thanks in advance for all the help.
B.

 

[spanko]

So since sometime in January or early February the rock that was previously alive and in a "thriving" tank has been sitting in a glass box, covered in (saltwater?) with a power head moving water around, correct?
Question would be have you been topping off the said glass box to keep salinity stable? Doing any testing for ammonia nitrite nitrate?
Lack of light and temperature dip probably killed off the coralline. Temp dip for that long probably killed any life on the rock. However if the rock has been sitting in saltwater with the powerhead for movement and the temp and salinity have been maintained since then you have "cured" rock. 100 lbs. of rock in a 90 gallon tank being enough is really a question to be answered by you. Do you like how much rock is in there or should you add more for aesthetics? 100 lbs. depending on the density and what type of bioload you will have may indeed be enough.

 

[djcanis]

I have been topping it off with saltwater to keep the rocks submerged, I havetn had a heater going so the tank has sat at room temp (about 72 degrees). I havent tested anything, the salinity has been somewhat constant, it hasnt been perfect but it has stayed within the "acceptable range" according to the gauge I have on the tank. I got all the livestock out asap after we got power back, so the only things in the tank would be pods and anything living in or on the rock...
I'm just worried that the rock is basically dead at this point and I am gonna have to reseed it with a bunch of new live rock.

 

[spanko]

Yeah the rock was probably dead from a bio filter standpoint. How long has the 90 been up and the rock been in it? Is the 90 fully up with filters, heaters etc?

 

[djcanis]

The 90 is in the process of being up and running. I filled with water on Sunday, sand on Monday, old rock on Wednesday and then the new base rock yesterday. Have to wait 2 weeks for fresh live rock. I'm in no hurry to get livestock, I figure I got about 4 to 6 weeks after the next round of rock so it cycles completely. I have 4 powerheads moving about 1000 gal per hour, and 2 small fluval canister filters running. I am going to be buildign a ref/sump system. Been looking through the posts as this will be the first one, but there are so many different opinions and designs, I'm am quite confused. I do have a protein skimmer but its not up and running. As for lights, 2 250 watt MH, 2 96 watt Compact Florescent and moon lighting. I have been piecing thsi stuff together from local reef people taking down their tanks.

 

[spanko]

yeah then with the base rock and the rock from the 30 gallon you have a new setup. There may be some things that have survived on the rock from the 30, algae spores, critter eggs etc, but for the most part you are at the beginning!

 

[djcanis]

Thats kinda what I was figuring. Now how do I go about reseeding it and seeding the sand. I got 90lbs of the argonite (i think thats the name) reef sand. It wasnt live, it came dry. The LFS sells live sand by the pound. Should I get some? If so how much, and then what about the rock? Will adding about 30 lbs of new live rock be sufficient to reseed what I have? I know the base rock will take a few months to seed but what about the old LR?

 

[spanko]

yes 30 lbs. of new live rock will seed the old and base and also the sand.

 

[djcanis]

awsome. How long will the seeding take? Should I wait beyond the cycle?
Also, I have been looking at all the threads for building sump systems. Any suggestions, I am pretty experienced with working with glass and plexi, so I am not worried about complexity to build, but what is the best option for a reef tank?

 

[spanko]

Seeding with the bacteria needed to establish the bioload is the normal cycling time usually 4-6 weeks. As for the fauna, worms, pods, etc. this will be an ongoing process. When you say the LFS sells sand by the pound, do you mean from thier own established system somewhere? If so would not hurt to get a pound or two to help the process along.
On the sump, can't help with any first hand knowledge but let me google that for you!
http://lmgtfy.com/?q=melevs+reef+diy+sumps

 

[djcanis]

Yeah the LFS has 3 I think 55 gal tanks, 2 with LR curing and one filled with sand with all kinds of stuff crawling and growing on it. Its part of their whole system and I have yet to see any bad tanks of dead fish in my few visits. So I was thinking a couple pounds to put in. Is there any typ of acclimation with it or just dump it in. My last tank I used CC so workign with sand is all new.
Thanks for the help, I really appreciate it.

 

[spanko]

Just dump it in, well put it in a like ziplock and put the bag on the bottom then slowly dump the new sand in. Don't want to cause too much of a sand cloud.