Getting back into the hobby, looking for advice.

[SteveCon89]

Hey guys, I need some help..
I used to have a 29 gallon BC that ran great and I wanted to upgrade to a 90 gal. Well the 90 just never got under control and left me quite broke after a good 9 months of continuously pouring money into the tank. Anyhow, I tore both tanks down and kept everything in the garage in garbage cans with powerheads...

I have decided to set the BC back up. I have over 100 pounds of rockin the garage but the thing is, i know that the water it's in is pretty bad off(nitrites and nitrates etc..). Is this rock acceptable? or what do I have to do to get it clean enough to use again? I really want to do this the right way this time without rushing anything. I bought new sand because I figured it's easier/cheaper than spending the money on clean water to clean the sand with and less hassle. I just want to know about the rock...

Thanks in advance, Steve.

[ininerider]

Have you tested the water that the rock has been in? Does the rock smell rotten? The rock should be fine IMO. What does the rock look like. Post a few pics. Any life left? Have the powerheads been on the entire time? I bet the rock is fine. We used to keep LR in barrels for months at the shop where I used to work although we would do water changes but not often.

[bmw-legend]

welcome back

[kylebeano]

The rock should be fine to use again, as long as it isnt full of pest anemones or such. You bought new live sand, so even the die off from the rocks, if there is any, will make for a good cycle.
If you want full comfort, you could set out some rocks to dry, scrub, and rinse. Use as base rocks and just seed them with one piece of live rock. Good luck with the new start. New tanks are what you wanted to do the last time lol

[marclwheeler]

right on kyle...

[SteveCon89]

k, cool. I will use some of dry rock too(plenty of that as well)...

The water tested like so:
nitrates 10-20
nitrites 0
ammonia 0.1 or so

I was quite surprised when I tested the water because it's just the tank water from when I tore it down, and back then that water was MUCH MUCH worse in all three tests. lol.

What should I expect once I add rock, new water and sand to the empty tank? Do you think it's going to be a vicious cycle? The rock looks pretty decent, has some color to it but since it's been in the dark for some time it doesn't have much left...