Set up question.....

leeleeah

leeleeah

Member
I have a 50 gallon tank I am setting up for FOWLR. I have an Emperor 400 with new bio wheels and filtration. My problem is this......
My tank was set up and established for 5 years with live rock, crushed coral substrate and fish only. I moved to a new house and lost all but one fish ( a percula clown ) when he died last year I let the tank go. Keeping the filtration running until the water level went down so far I had to cut the pump off. The tank has sat for one year in the salt water with no filtration. The tank has been inside the house where the temperature has been around 72 degrees.
When I set up the tank last week I took out all the live rock and substrate and cleaned the tank thoroughly. I reused the old substrate and live rock, rinsing it off with salt water that had been declorinated. I added a 20 pound bag of live sand to the old substrate as well. My live rock still has coraline but alot of it has died off. My question is this....Is my live rock still alive after all this torture? I am posting a picture of it for an expert eye. And, what would you suggest or is there any way to jump start the live rock if it isn't alive?
The tank has only been setup for 6 days. I measured my parameters last night and here they are:
Nitrate: 0
High Range PH: 8.2
Ammonia: .25
Nitrate (NO3): 20
Thank you in advance for any suggestions!



 
t316

t316

Active Member
I think it looks pretty good to have sat for a year. That's a long time, but there might be something still alive in there as long as the lr was sitting in salt water.
 
snakeblitz33

snakeblitz33

Well-Known Member
If your tank goes through a small cycle, there is bacteria still alive on the live rock. If in a couple of months you see coralline starting to spread and grow, you are doing well. If there are no tube worms etc. that you can see... then the invertebrates are dead.
 
leeleeah

leeleeah

Member
Is there anything I should be doing to help it along? I've heard of "purple up" but I don't know enough about it to use it.....or should I just wait it out and see what happens? I thought of just buying a couple of pieces of live rock from the lfs to see if that might jump start it....what do you think?
Also I've been reading on the boards that some people use a piece of shrimp to help the cycle.....I've never done it that way and I wondered if it would help my tank at this point? or should I just wait it out......?
 
leeleeah

leeleeah

Member
I just found the answer to my own question here on the boards...Duh! Purple up is just used for the coraline....but can I still use it while the tank is cycling or wait until after the cycle? Also, add a piece or LR now or after the cycle?
 
mcbdz

mcbdz

Active Member
Originally Posted by leeleeah
I just found the answer to my own question here on the boards...Duh! Purple up is just used for the coraline....but can I still use it while the tank is cycling or wait until after the cycle? Also, add a piece or LR now or after the cycle?
I think adding a couple of pieces of new LR will help with bio diversity. You could use purple up after your cycle but it really isn't nessisary. As long as you do frequent water changes and keep your water quality good. If you decide to add anything to your water make sure you test for it.
 
ketill

ketill

Member
Purple up has a lot of stuff in it, might want to try just calcium,( les test kits to monitor what all your putting in), If you have no fish or anything right now I would get all the LR you plan to have. Bulk orders wether online or thru LFS you can usually get better deals. but in shipping there is die off, so better now than later.
As for the current coraline I had a bucket of LR with Powert head and heater when i was moving about 4 years ago. I Rolled that car in an ice storm, the rock froze in the bucket at the tow yard, ( in block of ice for 2 months frozen ) then sat in my back yard for about another 3 months. I finally got a new tank, mixed up salt, threw the rocks in 3 months later they where all purple. No seeding . . ., Your's should come back :0)
 
leeleeah

leeleeah

Member
Thanks so much for the post. I'm glad to know that the LR can come back from so much trauma. I'm going to order some more live rock because I am needing it anyway (only 20 pounds of LR in the 50 gallon tank right now.) I think also that I will steer clear of the purple up since I can't test for it. I am a bit more educated on that now! Thanks again so much for the help!
 
t316

t316

Active Member
Even if the lr has nothing left in it, adding a little new lr will bring the old back to life after time. Rule of Thumb...never throw the rock away.
 
leeleeah

leeleeah

Member
Will that bring back the inverts too? I don't see anything.....feather dusters.....critters....nothing. I want to bring them back.......
 
rcoultas

rcoultas

Member
the inverts can not be "brought back" but new rock may introduce new ones - this of course is not guaranteed unless you hand pick the rock.
the pods should be present in the LS you've added and will build their population in time.
Let the cycle finish before you start tinkering or adding supplements.
Welcome back
another addict relapse
 
t316

t316

Active Member
Originally Posted by rcoultas
the inverts can not be "brought back" but new rock may introduce new ones - this of course is not guaranteed unless you hand pick the rock.
the pods should be present in the LS you've added and will build their population in time.
Let the cycle finish before you start tinkering or adding supplements.
Welcome back
another addict relapse

ditto
slow down and give your tank a few weeks to see what you have left, then start from there.
 
leeleeah

leeleeah

Member
Yes I know, I never should have let the tank go but I developed fibromyalgia and could no longer take care of it. I'm doing a bit better now so I thought by setting it up again maybe it would help me stay sane! lol! I've really missed it! The tank has only been up for 6 days so I have a long long way to go from here. I'm just going to let it cycle in on its own with a few more pieces of LR from LFS and hope for the best. My main worry was the LR dieing off. Hope it comes back......I read the post about the LR in the bucket in a block of ice for months? WOW! Hard to believe it can come back from that!
 
ketill

ketill

Member
Yeah. ME too. But after doing all that prep for the move with it to have it freeze and all my equipment smashed when we rolled it took a good while to want a tank again. Worked of well though.
 
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