Post hurricane sandy help

[Sean_South]

Hello everyone,

I have an interesting situation, I live(d) in Rockaway Beach, NY one of the hardest hit areas by hurricane sandy. I still am without electric, heat, and hotwater. Luckily I am able to stay with some family a few miles away that has all of these things. Once life gets back to normal I am looking to start my tank back up. I lost my fishtank and its inhabitants. Which was heartbreaking knowing they were going to die a slow and painful death. My question is my tank is still sitting in my home with the live rock in it, which I am assuming is as good as dead as well as the sand. Now what is the best way to go about starting it back up again, the rock has stayed submerged the whole time but without heat and without current so is it essentially dead rock? It was beautifully corralined up, and am just looking for advice on how to get the tank back and running? Should I drain all the water and in essence do a 100% water change and just treat it as dead rock, wait out a cycle etc? Or will the sand and rock have so much die off on it I should scrub the rock, ditch the sand, etc? Thanks for any help.

[chrisfont23]

Sean... sorry to hear. I am on the South Shore of LI too and not nearly as bad. My thoughts are with you guys, esp. fellow reefers! I am not sure about the rock...if you can get it in some water it might "preserve" the rock - not sure how long it has been lying around. I would definitely start from square one again w/ the cycle though before you do anything.

As a side note - out here in Patchougue there is a store called "Country Critters" - they have a sale through the weekend 20% off live / 30% off other. If u are looking to restock (and cheap) just an idea.

Hope all is well!

[Sean_South]

Thanks chris,

I know I wont be starting the tank back up anytime soon theres still a lot I have to get back in order with my life, but in terms of reefing I was thinking about just mixing up a 5 gallon bucked of saltwater and putting the rock in there with a heater and a pump and see what happens for the time being and then once Im ready to start the tank use it. Also should I worry about the sand? should I just leave the tank filled with the cold water and sand or put the sand in a bucket and keep it heated and circulated as well? Im just confused and never had to deal with something like this. When is tarted the tank I bought rock and sand, I never had to deal with how to store it for a few months or to worry about die off etc. Just a little intimdated and worried about how much more money its going to cost for me to get it back up and running. or if I should just empty the tank and dry it out for the time being or if its ok to have the water rock and sand sitting in the tank not circulating.

[MrTuskfish]

I lost over 1,000 gals of DTs to Katrina. I moved and started over. After seeing the water after the storm; I sure would never put anything porous, like LR, into any tank. A friend put about 30# of post-storm LR in a brute tub with a PH a few weeks after the storm, it immediately formed an oil slick in the tub. The tub was soon coated with slime/oily residue.

[sponger0]

Would bleach or using muriatic acid work to get the rock cleaned out? And start fresh? I would think that could work

[chrisfont23]

Sean... I really don't know. Why don't you give one of the LFS a call and see what they recommend. I know Country Critters had a load of folks stuff that didn't make it thru the storm so they have to have some sound advice for you. They are really knowledgeable in that store. Give it a try http://www.countrycritterspets.com/

[Sean_South]

Thanks, the rock did not get contaminated by flooding it was a small tank on my upstairs, the thing is it is sitting in stagnant water for a month, I just worry if the die off is so greatI should just rid it and start new. And thanks for all of the input.

[MrTuskfish]

Thanks, the rock did not get contaminated by flooding it was a small tank on my upstairs, the thing is it is sitting in stagnant water for a month, I just worry if the die off is so greatI should just rid it and start new. And thanks for all of the input.

I mis-read your initial post, sorry. This is an area I know little about, so I'll politely butt-out and wish you a faster recovery from Sandy.

[Sean_South]

I mis-read your initial post, sorry. This is an area I know little about, so I'll politely butt-out and wish you a faster recovery from Sandy.

No problems I like getting feedback and hear different ideas. I just dont know if I should toss the sand and rock because it is sitting in cold saltwater for a month now.

[MuffsAbby]

So sorry to hear about your loss. I went through a different situation, with some similarities. Back in June, I had a leak in my bulkhead that forced me to drain the tank and move my fish to my QT. At the time, my tank had live sand, no live rock (an artificial coral reef) and bioballs. Since you can't drain every last drop of water from the tank/sand, my sand sat in a bit of water and/or damp, while everything else sat dry for about 4 months. In repairing the leak, I also decided to do an overhaul...removed the bioballs and added man-made/dead rock, but left the sand and the artificial. When I was good to go again, I fully expected the cycle to take months. I cycled with pure ammonia and, much to my surprise, it only took 2 weeks. I added my fish slowly over the next few weeks and the tank has been up and running for several months now, with no issues. I'm also starting to see a bit of life (copepods, etc.). I don't know if any of that helps...perhaps not...but I wish you luck getting back up and running.

[TL1000RSquid]

Sorry about the losses, I'm on the North Shore, lost some corals but luckily I managed to save most of the fish and invert's.

At this point I would think your better off writing off the sand, The rock I would rinse and put in a bin with fresh SW, pump, heater, some water changes basically curing it. If you pull the rock out and it looks real bad then as someone else above said, might have to go with an acid bath.

[docs911]

Sorry to hear about your loss. Was up there in Rockaway with FEMA doing search and rescue missions for almost 8 days. The devastation was quite widespread.

[Sean_South]

So sorry to hear about your loss. I went through a different situation, with some similarities. Back in June, I had a leak in my bulkhead that forced me to drain the tank and move my fish to my QT. At the time, my tank had live sand, no live rock (an artificial coral reef) and bioballs. Since you can't drain every last drop of water from the tank/sand, my sand sat in a bit of water and/or damp, while everything else sat dry for about 4 months. In repairing the leak, I also decided to do an overhaul...removed the bioballs and added man-made/dead rock, but left the sand and the artificial. When I was good to go again, I fully expected the cycle to take months. I cycled with pure ammonia and, much to my surprise, it only took 2 weeks. I added my fish slowly over the next few weeks and the tank has been up and running for several months now, with no issues. I'm also starting to see a bit of life (copepods, etc.). I don't know if any of that helps...perhaps not...but I wish you luck getting back up and running.

Thanks for the input, Im going by there again tomorrow and I will take pictures of the rock so everyone can get a better feel if it seems usable, and I plan on mixing some water and just get it circulating and with a pump tomorrow as well so well see.

Sorry about the losses, I'm on the North Shore, lost some corals but luckily I managed to save most of the fish and invert's.

At this point I would think your better off writing off the sand, The rock I would rinse and put in a bin with fresh SW, pump, heater, some water changes basically curing it. If you pull the rock out and it looks real bad then as someone else above said, might have to go with an acid bath.

Yeah that is what I was thinking, just get it back in some warm saltwater and hope for the best. Thanks for the input

[Sean_South]

Here is some pics of the rock, like I said, it was sitting in a saltwater tank at about 50 degrees for a month with no flow. I was able to remove the dead fish and shrimp about 2 days after the power went out however I did not get out the snails. I fear there will be too much die off for it to recover, but I am not sure because I am still a newb and that is just a theory of mine. Hopefully someone more experienced and with a better understanding could chime in. Most of the rock looks OK except the one piece in the middle with the black gunk on it. Any idea what it is? The rock is now in a 5gal bucket of saltwater with a heater and a pump. Let me know what you guys think. thanks.




http://i1048.photobucket.com/albums/s362/Sean_South/BCEC5367-999A-4704-A529-774D87F5CF0C-11404-00000891C59A7C69.jpg

http://i1048.photobucket.com/albums/s362/Sean_South/90CE51E0-4A02-4BBD-8E16-18F5197EC87B-11404-00000891BE134565.jpg

http://i1048.photobucket.com/albums/s362/Sean_South/9E8D09D9-DDE9-4974-A491-67A20890EBD1-11404-00000891B3FBD476.jpg

http://i1048.photobucket.com/albums/s362/Sean_South/A1BD79BB-2094-4C81-B158-772AC982533A-11404-00000891A9200C4F.jpg

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http://i1048.photobucket.com/albums/s362/Sean_South/49102E5A-2DC3-4049-B110-46884CAD89D9-11404-000008918D5F9284.jpg

[Sean_South]

BUMP...
So any input? A quick synopsis is that the tank lost power, and could not get to it for a month due to the hurricane. All inhabitants died and the rock sat in 55 degree saltwater for the duration. Is it still safe to use? it is now being circulated and heated in a bucket.