Questions about restoring a defunct tank

swedge · 03/30/2015, 12:56 PM

I started a 70 Gallon reef tank + ~29 gallon refugium way back in 2004.

It did very well for about 7 years until we had a prolonged power outage (5 days) after a bad storm mid July in Michigan. I was unable to keep the tank cool enough over that period with fans and lost a lot of my more delicate livestock (6 inch clam, Multiple LPS, and a couple fish). The ensuing cascade was not pretty to watch.

Algae quickly overtook the tank and I couldn't/didn't keep up with water changes because I was heartbroken about all the livestock losses & some other life issues at the time. The tank continued to decline through benign neglect on my part until nothing but algae survived.

Fast Forward to today, my daughter is 4 years old now and I think rebuilding a Reef would be fun for her to watch.

The tank had completely evaporated - shows how long it sat neglected. Hair Algae and coraline algae stuck to the sides of the acrylic tank. Rocks have dried up algae on them too of course.

I've pulled the rocks & sand bed disassembled everything for a good cleaning.

What is the best way to go about leaning the dried up algae? I was leaning toward filling the tank with R/O water, letting it soak for 24 hours or so and then using an acrylic safe scraper (or Credit Card) to clean the sides. Should that all come off fairly well w/o trashing the acrylic?

How about cleaning the rock? Since all the algae is completely dried for the last 1 year +, if I scrub them and rinse them, none of it should come back, right? Some great display pieces in there I don't really want to have to replace.

I plan on replacing the crushed coral though, suspect it has a ton of nitrates stored in it. I'll also get a few pounds 25+ lbs of new live rock to seed the new reef.

Oh and what about lighting, LED's seem to be the new thing since I set mine up with compact fluorescents. Any reason to change/upgrade?

Any suggestions would be welcome on how to tackle the cleaning & restocking process.

Edit: I see my sig listed the hose tank too, well it died during the same storm

Lots of $$ worth of livestock & time died in those few days

Pife · 03/30/2015, 02:08 PM

I would bleach and acid wash your rock and spray vinegar on the tank to clean it.

Bono · 03/30/2015, 05:01 PM

I would use vinegar on the acrylic but there is no way I would use bleach or acid on the rock. Soak the rock in water and start scrubbing you could even try a powerwasher from a few feet away.

swedge · 03/30/2015, 05:27 PM

I'm definitely leaning toward just a good scrubbing and power washing.

I'm not sure what the benefit of the Muriatic Acid wash would be -maybe to remove excess Phosphate is what I've gathered from quick searches.

Would you dilute the vinegar and spray it on the acrylic of go full strenght?

Thanks for the answers so far.

CStrickland · 03/30/2015, 07:20 PM

Way to dust yourself off and get back on the horse Swedge!

The acid dissolves the outer surface of the rock away, taking the phos trapped in it. I think it might be a good idea to look at doing something to cure your rocks. It sounds like they were marinating in some pretty rich water, so by letting bacteria work on them in the dark for a while, or hitting them with acid, you can get a lot of it out before the tank is running. That saves you some trouble on algae and makes it easier to grow some corals.

Besides the nutrients that the dead algae would've added, you might have some expired worms etc. deep in there as well. I think power washing will help, but I would be ready for anything when the rock gets wet.

Good call on starting fresh with the sand. I would think that your old lights will do for a while, but led's are really nice when you're ready to upgrade for pickier critters. I'm guessing the kiddo will be happy with a nemo and some hermits for a while, just don't let her get any ideas about anemones

Your sitch is a lot like when people buy old tanks off craigslist, have you seen those threads? It's remarkable what a little elbow grease and determination can accomplish. Good luck!

Breadman03 · 03/31/2015, 08:23 AM

I would look into using lanthanum chloride to remove excess phosphate. I've only skimmed info on it, but the basic idea is that it almost instantly bonds to the phosphate and precipitates from the water column. One needs to actively filter out the precipitate from the system.

Once you do your manual cleanup, it might be a good way for you to take care of the chemistry.

swedge · 04/04/2015, 07:43 PM

Vinegar soak of the tank has worked well. Rocks are currently soaking in the drained vinegar bath in tubs. Will scrub them in a day or two and then power wash them and resoak in fresh water to remove excess vinegar solution.

Hopefully by next weekend I'll have fresh sand and SW in the tank ready for the old rocks. Planning on getting 20 to 30# of live rock and some live sand to cycle the tank. Then watch parameters for a few weeks looking for any spikes.

03/30/2015, 12:56 PM	#1
swedge Premium Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Michigan Posts: 133	Questions about restoring a defunct tank I started a 70 Gallon reef tank + ~29 gallon refugium way back in 2004. It did very well for about 7 years until we had a prolonged power outage (5 days) after a bad storm mid July in Michigan. I was unable to keep the tank cool enough over that period with fans and lost a lot of my more delicate livestock (6 inch clam, Multiple LPS, and a couple fish). The ensuing cascade was not pretty to watch. Algae quickly overtook the tank and I couldn't/didn't keep up with water changes because I was heartbroken about all the livestock losses & some other life issues at the time. The tank continued to decline through benign neglect on my part until nothing but algae survived. Fast Forward to today, my daughter is 4 years old now and I think rebuilding a Reef would be fun for her to watch. The tank had completely evaporated - shows how long it sat neglected. Hair Algae and coraline algae stuck to the sides of the acrylic tank. Rocks have dried up algae on them too of course. I've pulled the rocks & sand bed disassembled everything for a good cleaning. What is the best way to go about leaning the dried up algae? I was leaning toward filling the tank with R/O water, letting it soak for 24 hours or so and then using an acrylic safe scraper (or Credit Card) to clean the sides. Should that all come off fairly well w/o trashing the acrylic? How about cleaning the rock? Since all the algae is completely dried for the last 1 year +, if I scrub them and rinse them, none of it should come back, right? Some great display pieces in there I don't really want to have to replace. I plan on replacing the crushed coral though, suspect it has a ton of nitrates stored in it. I'll also get a few pounds 25+ lbs of new live rock to seed the new reef. Oh and what about lighting, LED's seem to be the new thing since I set mine up with compact fluorescents. Any reason to change/upgrade? Any suggestions would be welcome on how to tackle the cleaning & restocking process. Edit: I see my sig listed the hose tank too, well it died during the same storm Lots of $$ worth of livestock & time died in those few days __________________ 'The time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time.' - Bertrand Russell - Current Tank Info: Now Defunct: 70 gal Reef 4/30/04, 29 gal Sump/Refuge, CPR SR-4 Skimmer, 4x65W PC, Maxijet 1200 PH, Aquaclear 500 HOB Filter, 90lbs Tonga Kaelini, 20lbs Tonga Branch. 65gal Hex Reef tank in the process of converting to Equus tank.

03/30/2015, 02:08 PM	#2
Pife Registered Member Join Date: May 2013 Posts: 7,408	I would bleach and acid wash your rock and spray vinegar on the tank to clean it. __________________ Brandon I'm not saying let's get rid of all the stupid people.* I'm just saying let's remove all the warning labels and let the problem work itself out. Current Tank Info: 150g DT plumbed to an 80g frag tank and 220g sump in the basement. ~6-MP40s ~ 12 ATI powered t5s ~ Reefbrites and Radions supplementing ~ Custom GEO Skimmer ~ GEO CA Reactor 6x24~ Iwaki 70 Return ~

03/30/2015, 05:01 PM	#3
Bono Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Lakewood Ranch Fl. Posts: 872	I would use vinegar on the acrylic but there is no way I would use bleach or acid on the rock. Soak the rock in water and start scrubbing you could even try a powerwasher from a few feet away. __________________ Living it up in Florida Current Tank Info: 210 gal, 300lbs LR, Aquamaxx Skimmer, 3x Reefbreeders LED's & T5's.

03/30/2015, 05:27 PM	#4
swedge Premium Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Michigan Posts: 133	I'm definitely leaning toward just a good scrubbing and power washing. I'm not sure what the benefit of the Muriatic Acid wash would be -maybe to remove excess Phosphate is what I've gathered from quick searches. Would you dilute the vinegar and spray it on the acrylic of go full strenght? Thanks for the answers so far. __________________ 'The time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time.' - Bertrand Russell - Current Tank Info: Now Defunct: 70 gal Reef 4/30/04, 29 gal Sump/Refuge, CPR SR-4 Skimmer, 4x65W PC, Maxijet 1200 PH, Aquaclear 500 HOB Filter, 90lbs Tonga Kaelini, 20lbs Tonga Branch. 65gal Hex Reef tank in the process of converting to Equus tank.

04/04/2015, 07:43 PM	#7
swedge Premium Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Michigan Posts: 133	Vinegar soak of the tank has worked well. Rocks are currently soaking in the drained vinegar bath in tubs. Will scrub them in a day or two and then power wash them and resoak in fresh water to remove excess vinegar solution. Hopefully by next weekend I'll have fresh sand and SW in the tank ready for the old rocks. Planning on getting 20 to 30# of live rock and some live sand to cycle the tank. Then watch parameters for a few weeks looking for any spikes. __________________ 'The time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time.' - Bertrand Russell - Current Tank Info: Now Defunct: 70 gal Reef 4/30/04, 29 gal Sump/Refuge, CPR SR-4 Skimmer, 4x65W PC, Maxijet 1200 PH, Aquaclear 500 HOB Filter, 90lbs Tonga Kaelini, 20lbs Tonga Branch. 65gal Hex Reef tank in the process of converting to Equus tank.

03/30/2015, 07:20 PM	#5
CStrickland Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2015 Location: New England, U.S. Posts: 4,595	Way to dust yourself off and get back on the horse Swedge! The acid dissolves the outer surface of the rock away, taking the phos trapped in it. I think it might be a good idea to look at doing something to cure your rocks. It sounds like they were marinating in some pretty rich water, so by letting bacteria work on them in the dark for a while, or hitting them with acid, you can get a lot of it out before the tank is running. That saves you some trouble on algae and makes it easier to grow some corals. Besides the nutrients that the dead algae would've added, you might have some expired worms etc. deep in there as well. I think power washing will help, but I would be ready for anything when the rock gets wet. Good call on starting fresh with the sand. I would think that your old lights will do for a while, but led's are really nice when you're ready to upgrade for pickier critters. I'm guessing the kiddo will be happy with a nemo and some hermits for a while, just don't let her get any ideas about anemones Your sitch is a lot like when people buy old tanks off craigslist, have you seen those threads? It's remarkable what a little elbow grease and determination can accomplish. Good luck!

03/31/2015, 08:23 AM	#6
Breadman03 New Old School Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Luzerne County, PA Posts: 3,293	I would look into using lanthanum chloride to remove excess phosphate. I've only skimmed info on it, but the basic idea is that it almost instantly bonds to the phosphate and precipitates from the water column. One needs to actively filter out the precipitate from the system. Once you do your manual cleanup, it might be a good way for you to take care of the chemistry.