Oh crap..antibacterial killing fish?

[badasstang]

I cleaned my tank yesterday after leaving it sit too long and algae was bad. I bought a double sided sponge, like I have used before (not same kind, but I have used them before). Well I did this at about 6 yesterday, and 2 of my fish died by the end of the night, and almost everything is dead this morning. My ricordias, all fish, pretty much anything that moved, is now dead. Even the aptasia is gone. I retraced my steps and thought it may be the sponge, and on the packaging it said contained antibacterial, which I did see when I bought it, but never thought much of for some reason....although I know the dangers of soaps on an aquarium.
I know I have $@*%ed up and that most of my living things are dead, but can I even save my live rock, sand, inverts, feather dusters etc by placing ina new tank? It would be a 100% start from scratch as I obviously can't use this water. Also, I know that soaps can stay on the aquarium for years, is there any way of cleaning it off? Any help would be great, thanks

 

[bang guy]

I'm sorry for your loss. Commercial Cellulite Sponges should never be used. Almost all of them have anti-fungal and antibacterial additives.
Stick to the sponges etc. specifically for aquarium use.

 

[badasstang]

What about saving the rest of my livestock?

 

[badasstang]

I just tested my water, nitrate is very low, less than 10, PH is incredibly low, the tester does down to 7.8, and the water was still lighter than that. Ammonia was .4, not sure if that was because of the fish died, but I am pretty sure it is.

 

[bang guy]

The ammonia is caused by a bacterial die-off from the sponge. All I can suggest is a series of large water changes to dilute. You're in a bad way. You should also invest in some AmQuel to detox the ammonia until your bacteria grow back.