daviesp007
New member
I bought a 2nd hand 90 gallon, 18 months ago. I was new to the hobby, made a few mistakes, and after 2 outbreaks of ich (possibly velvet), and some deaths, I decided a reset was in order.
My first mistake was listening to the LFS owner, and not quarantining new additions (tick that box). I now have a 20G tank continually running as a QT. But, there was something still in the tank after leaving it fallow for 2 months, hence the decision to reset.
I have seen threads where people have questioned why anyone would want to bleach rocks and sand. I had my reasons, and I'm sure if you're reading this, you have come to the same conclusion as me. I had a bunch of rock, I knew there was something making fish sick, and I wanted to eradicate it. Buying new live rock / sand made no sense, as you can just import new problems into your tank.
So...
I pulled all remaining fish out, and put them into the QT, and started treating with Cupramine. On the DT, I removed all rocks and placed them in a large plastic container (you can get these storage containers from any hardware store). Do the same with the sand. Mix together 1 part bleach, to 10 parts water, and fill up the plastic containers, so the rocks and sand are covered. I put a powerhead in between the rocks to keep the fluid moving. For the sand, I used a clean stick to stir it every now and then.
I left the rocks and sand for 2 days in the bleach / water solution. You'll see the rocks go white very quickly, and there's no real science behind how long to leave it, so if you want to leave it longer, go for it. And it's good to do this outside so your house doesn't smell of bleach.
Now comes the hard part, getting the bleach out of your sand and rocks. Do not underestimate how much time this will take. I spent 10 days, rinsing, drying in the sun, rinsing, and did I mention rinsing... Sniff the rocks and sand to see if you can still smell bleach. To be honest you get to a point where you can't tell if you can smell bleach any longer, at that point, enlist the nose of someone who hasn't been around bleach for the last week (in my case, my wife), and get them to see if they can still smell bleach. They will, so you're back to rinsing again. I also Ultra Clear Dechlorinator to soak the rocks and sand to remove the last traces of bleach.
While you're doing this, you can clean the tank, sump, and pipework. I used neat vinegar, and left it to dry off. My tank sat dry for probably 2-3 weeks. If there are any repairs you need to make to your tank, now is the time to do them. I had a broken brace that had been botched together by the previous owner that I wanted to fix, I wrote another post about how I fixed it.
Let the rocks and sand dry completely in the sun. Once you are convinced you have removed the bleach, it is time to put them back into your tank, fill it with salt water, and start your cycling process.
I don't intend to cover the cycling process in detail here, as there are lots of posts detailing this topic. But, I used the raw shrimp method. One thing I will note, I found I got stuck on the high nitrite stage for weeks, and wondered what I was doing wrong, as it did not seem to be going down. I added some Red Sea NO3
O4-X to address the issue. Within a few days, nitrite, and nitrate levels were in the ranges where fish could be added back to the tank. Remember to add fish slowly though (1 large, or 1-2 small fish per week). This will allow the bio stuff to adapt to the new load.
Hope this helps!
Badger.
My first mistake was listening to the LFS owner, and not quarantining new additions (tick that box). I now have a 20G tank continually running as a QT. But, there was something still in the tank after leaving it fallow for 2 months, hence the decision to reset.
I have seen threads where people have questioned why anyone would want to bleach rocks and sand. I had my reasons, and I'm sure if you're reading this, you have come to the same conclusion as me. I had a bunch of rock, I knew there was something making fish sick, and I wanted to eradicate it. Buying new live rock / sand made no sense, as you can just import new problems into your tank.
So...
I pulled all remaining fish out, and put them into the QT, and started treating with Cupramine. On the DT, I removed all rocks and placed them in a large plastic container (you can get these storage containers from any hardware store). Do the same with the sand. Mix together 1 part bleach, to 10 parts water, and fill up the plastic containers, so the rocks and sand are covered. I put a powerhead in between the rocks to keep the fluid moving. For the sand, I used a clean stick to stir it every now and then.
I left the rocks and sand for 2 days in the bleach / water solution. You'll see the rocks go white very quickly, and there's no real science behind how long to leave it, so if you want to leave it longer, go for it. And it's good to do this outside so your house doesn't smell of bleach.
Now comes the hard part, getting the bleach out of your sand and rocks. Do not underestimate how much time this will take. I spent 10 days, rinsing, drying in the sun, rinsing, and did I mention rinsing... Sniff the rocks and sand to see if you can still smell bleach. To be honest you get to a point where you can't tell if you can smell bleach any longer, at that point, enlist the nose of someone who hasn't been around bleach for the last week (in my case, my wife), and get them to see if they can still smell bleach. They will, so you're back to rinsing again. I also Ultra Clear Dechlorinator to soak the rocks and sand to remove the last traces of bleach.
While you're doing this, you can clean the tank, sump, and pipework. I used neat vinegar, and left it to dry off. My tank sat dry for probably 2-3 weeks. If there are any repairs you need to make to your tank, now is the time to do them. I had a broken brace that had been botched together by the previous owner that I wanted to fix, I wrote another post about how I fixed it.
Let the rocks and sand dry completely in the sun. Once you are convinced you have removed the bleach, it is time to put them back into your tank, fill it with salt water, and start your cycling process.
I don't intend to cover the cycling process in detail here, as there are lots of posts detailing this topic. But, I used the raw shrimp method. One thing I will note, I found I got stuck on the high nitrite stage for weeks, and wondered what I was doing wrong, as it did not seem to be going down. I added some Red Sea NO3
O4-X to address the issue. Within a few days, nitrite, and nitrate levels were in the ranges where fish could be added back to the tank. Remember to add fish slowly though (1 large, or 1-2 small fish per week). This will allow the bio stuff to adapt to the new load. Hope this helps!
Badger.
