inherited a neglected tank

[hobbitling]

I'm a newly hired biology professor, and I was put in charge of the salt water aquarium in my department. It's in pretty bad shape, and need advice on whether to try salvaging it, or just nuke it and start over. The good news is I have a decent budget at my disposal to do this. I've never managed a salt water tank before.

About the tank:
It's an oceanic biocube 29 gallon. The tank itself (lights, filters, pumps etc...) works fine.
When I arrived it contained:
A pile of "live" rock (and I use that term very loosely, since it is pretty dead looking, except for some sickly green fuzz and a few bubble algae),
A single, sad little anemone, which recently vanished without a trace, and is presumed dead. (possibly suicide due to it's dismal surroundings)
A banded coral shrimp, who may have murdered the anemone.
A gang of hermit crabs, who have somehow survived in their post-apocalyptic hell-scape, like the characters in a mad max movie.
No plants, no coral, no sponges, no fish, no signs of invertebrate life except the shrimp and crabs. It's like a scooby-doo ghost town in there.

It's been in the department for a while, sitting in one of the teaching labs, and nobody was in charge of it, so it slowly degraded over the years. Nobody can remember the last time the water was changed. It gets fed when someone remembers, which is seldom. Nobody remembers where the water test kits are, and the bucket of sea salt is empty, so I have no idea what the salinity, nitrate, phosphate pH or any other water quality numbers are. But I'm sure they aren't good.
I'm frankly amazed anything is still alive in there at all.

So...What do I do?
Do I throw out the "dead" rock and start with some good quality live rock? what about the sand? I think I have the budget for a complete nuke and re-start, if necessary. I've heard good things about "the package" from TBS.

Can I use the package to replace only part of the rock and keep some of the existing rock as a foundation? Maybe replace half the sand too? it's a 29 gallon tank, so could I get a 15 gallon package and swap it in as a replacement for half the old rock and sand. Basically use it to re-colonize the rest of the tank?

 

[hobbitling]

Bump.
hellooooo! anybody here?

 

[Cymonous]

You dont have to replace the rock, but I would suggest to pull the rock and soak it in bleach and clean it. Toss the sand and get new dry sand. Take the inverts to a fish store and start cycling the tank with all freshly new saltwater.

After this post, read the stickies at the top of the threads to get more acquainted with saltwater tanks.

 

[ShannyG]

If it were me....and keeping in mind I know nothing...
Move your current rock and inverts to a big Tupperware with just enough of their current water to cover them. Add the same amount again of fresh saltwater. Put a filter and heater in the Tupperware to sustain them while you strip down that 29g cube and give it the scrubbing of its life. (No soap)
Start with fresh sand, but the sentimentalist in me says that anything that has survived in your current rock deserves a second chance at life, not being bleached in addition to everything else it's been through. If that means bringing a little algae along for the ride, so be it.
Get your newly scrubbed tank cycling with a piece or two of new live rock and once that's done, move those survivors back in. They've earned it, from the sounds of things.

 

[oscarreef]

So basically what I understood with the answer he gave is nuke the insides and start fresh. Which from the research I have done seems to be the easier way. I just started a new tank 2 days ago.

 

[CoralBeauty13]

If you have the funds to do pretty much whatever you want, Hire an expert and let him start you in the right direction.

 

[Reef Frog]

The rock is not dead - It has nitrifying bacteria on it and in it. It can be reused after a good scrubbing to reduce the algae but your likely to kick off a new cycle so don't have animals in there until it's run its course. However bubble algae is one of the worst types to have, so a proper bleach treatment and re-curing is indeed something to consider, although it's no guarantee that you won't introduce it again with a new coral frag for example. A full tank peroxide treatment is another option as long as all the invertabrites are out before you begin.

Get all the detrius out and tossing and replacing the sand is a good idea. I'd rehome the shrimp & crabs from the begining until you can clean up the tank, if you want to keep them, or give them to the LFS. While it's empty I'd go ahead with all new water with a good salt mix and initiate a brand new cycle. Unless this system has LEDs, you're going to need new bulbs if you want to keep any photosynthetic corals. Good luck.

 

[hobbitling]

it has fluorescents, and they seem to be working fine. nice and bright. how would I know if it needed replacing?

I know it's not completely dead, but the purpose is for it to be an educational display of biodiversity. When students look inside, I want them to see something more interesting than nitrifying bacteria or bare rock.

if I put a few good pieces of high quality live rock in (after a good scrubbing of the old rock and tank, and a water change, and wait for it to cycle) will the old/scrubbed rock be colonized? And how quickly?

If I lower the phosphates, will that slow or halt the spread of the bubble algae? I could easily put a media rack with some kind of phosphate scrubbing media in the back. the tank seems pretty flexible as far as adding on different kinds of filtration/reactor systems.

 

[rlm2005]

Since the tank has been neglected for so long, I would change out the bulbs. That way you know exactly how old they are. Good luck with your project.

 

[hobbitling]

OK, so how does this plan sound?

1. Take out any survivors, and place them in quarantine tanks (we have plenty of small tanks they could stay in temporarily.)
2. Remove all the rock, put it in a tub of seawater, and scrub and wash it thoroughly. Some of this will be used as base rock for the new aquascape.
3. Remove the sand and rinse it out with saltwater to remove organic debris, but not sterilize it. Save it for mixing with the new live-sand.
4. Put the rinsed sand and scrubbed rock back in, with an initial completely water change, and frequent partial changes, and let it cycle for a bit until the water quality looks stable. During this time I would use Rowaphos (and whatever else y'all recommend) to speed along the cycle.
5. order some high quality live rock and a clean-up-crew (recommendations? I'm leaning towards the TBS package, but not a full 30 gallon package) and let that settle in for a bit. add the survivors back in to enjoy their new home.
6. start adding a few new organisms at a time to build the biodiversity. I want to have as many kinds as possible. hard and soft corals, sea squirts, sea cucumbers and sea stars, various molluscs, christmas tree worms, sponges.

 

[ReefsandGeeks]

As everyone else is saying, clean up the tank well after removing the livestock, rocks, and sand. Use newly made saltwater, as the old stuff's chemisty is probably way out of wack with the neglect you've discribed. After the tank is cleaned up, get your nitrogen cycle going, get a marine test kit for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate and monitor both the tank and the livestock (assuming you're keeping them) while it cycles. The cycle can take a long time, but adding live rock to the tank will make it go faster. Once cycled, you can add the livestock back to the tank. ohh, and also make sure the salinity of the tank the livestock are in is the same as that of the new water in the biocube before adding back in. The livestock needs to acclimate slowly to salinity changes, so you can do that while the tank cycles.

I'd have to say personaly, I'd just take the live stock to the LFS so you don't have to deal with taking care of them while the tank cycles, then get new when it's ready unless you're attached to the livestock.

By the way, vinigar and the scratchy side of velcro work great for cleaning the inside of a tank. Just cleaned the inside of mine yesterday (just velcro). no scratches, but can even remove small coraline sports with some elbow grease

 

[SecretiveFish]

it has fluorescents, and they seem to be working fine. nice and bright. how would I know if it needed replacing?

Unless you can find out when the bulbs were last replaced, I would replace them. Even if a bulb is still working, as the bulb ages the spectrum you need no longer is being produced.

I know it's not completely dead, but the purpose is for it to be an educational display of biodiversity. When students look inside, I want them to see something more interesting than nitrifying bacteria or bare rock.

Eventually you will be able to put interesting things in the tank once it is established.

if I put a few good pieces of high quality live rock in (after a good scrubbing of the old rock and tank, and a water change, and wait for it to cycle) will the old/scrubbed rock be colonized? And how quickly?

The old/scrubbed rock will become colonized surprisingly fast, but I can't tell you exactly how long... The best thing to do is test for ammonia and nitrates for when the tank cycle is complete.

If I lower the phosphates, will that slow or halt the spread of the bubble algae?

IME, it may slow the growth but does not halt it completely. Our 150 has bubble algae that seems to grow even when the water tests 0 phosphates.


IMO if that was my tank, I would start over. I would rinse/replace the sand, thoroughly scrub and soak the rocks in RO/DI water for a week with some water circulation, clean any filter sponges/media, replace any carbon, and replace the bulbs. Then after all this, I would add the high quality live rock and let the tank cycle. We bought our 150g tank almost two years ago, and we know now that it was crashing. What I would give to have just starting the tank over... it would have saved so much time and $$$.

 

[ReefsandGeeks]

be careful with sea stars. You might be able to get away with a brittle or serpent seastar, but the "normal" looking ones like the red fromia or linkia stars are actualy very had to take care of, and wouldn't stand a chance of surviving more than a week in a tank that size. I'd sugest looking up your stock on liveaquaria before putting them in. they're typicaly pretty good at explaining the requirments of each inhabitant. When in doubt, there's plenty of experianced people on reefcentral that wouldn't hesitate to help.

 

[Mark9]

IMO if that was my tank, I would start over. I would rinse/replace the sand, thoroughly scrub and soak the rocks in RO/DI water for a week with some water circulation, clean any filter sponges/media, replace any carbon, and replace the bulbs. Then after all this, I would add the high quality live rock and let the tank cycle. We bought our 150g tank almost two years ago, and we know now that it was crashing. What I would give to have just starting the tank over... it would have saved so much time and $$$.

+1
Maybe let the rock cook longer, but other than that, sound advice.

 

[Reef Frog]

I suggest putting together a "vision"'for the tank you want so you are ready to stock successfully once your tank is rehabbed, cycled and running. Fish species & compatibility? Coral selection in a small tank is an art in itself. Stony corals or soft corals? Mixing is possible but challenging in a small tank. Having the vision thing will help you avoid mistakes and have a better looking, stable & successful aquarium. You have tons of research coming. Good luck and don't forget the before and after photos!

 

[Reef Frog]

OK, so how does this plan sound?

1. Take out any survivors, and place them in quarantine tanks (we have plenty of small tanks they could stay in temporarily.)
   Good. Put a power filter on the tank, only to keep the water moving. Keep temp at about 79F or whatever the shrimp are used to now. Go ahead & use water from the tank if you like. Put in one unscrubbed rock for bio filtration.
   
2. Remove all the rock, put it in a tub of seawater, and scrub and wash it thoroughly. Some of this will be used as base rock for the new aquascape.
   Good. This is your chance to take a shot at the bubble algae since you don't want to do bleach. Tapwater is fine. I suggest peroxiding the LR after the scrub. Straight 3% is ideal but will still be effective cut by 2 or 3 with RODI water. All the bubble algae spheres are gone now but some bubble algae rhizoids remain on the rock. Apply to all surface area, scrub again & soak in pure RODI water for a few days. There is still some nitrifying bacteria deep inside the rock but hopefully the BA rhizoids are all or 99% gone as they attach to the surface. Believe me you'll be glad you took this extra step.
   
3. Remove the sand and rinse it out with saltwater to remove organic debris, but not sterilize it. Save it for mixing with the new live-sand.
   Good.
   
4. Put the rinsed sand and scrubbed rock back in, with an initial completely water change, and frequent partial changes, and let it cycle for a bit until the water quality looks stable. During this time I would use Rowaphos (and whatever else y'all recommend) to speed along the cycle.
   
   No water changes needed during cycle until you see zero on ammonia & nitrite NO2 test. It's time to start water changes when you see the elevated nifrates NO3. No Rowa or any other media needed during cycle. Lights off during cycle is fine.
   
   
5. order some high quality live rock and a clean-up-crew (recommendations? I'm leaning towards the TBS package, but not a full 30 gallon package) and let that settle in for a bit. add the survivors back in to enjoy their new home
   
   CUC is fine to add. Why more rock now? Add all rock at once unless it's a cured small piece or you risk possibility of extending cycle for no reason.
   
   
6. start adding a few new organisms at a time to build the biodiversity. I want to have as many kinds as possible. hard and soft corals, sea squirts, sea cucumbers and sea stars, various molluscs, christmas tree worms, sponges.
   
   some of these creatures are for experts only, need specialized feedimg or are for advanced hobbyists only.
   

 

[droog]

Since the OP is a biology professor, I think involving students as much as possible will make the project better and more likely to have long term success. So would recommend

- Recruit students to take a lot of "BEFORE" photos of the tank in it current state
- Recruit a student into photography to take photos over time that can be used in presentations
- Recruit someone to do a time lapse photography project of the tank (sepatate from the one above)
-Set long term but specific dates to measure progress
- End of term/semester 1 - CYCLE
- End of term 2 - First new additions
- End of school year: compare before and after

- Volunteer someone to be responsible for testing and maintenance of water parameters
- Volunteer someone to be "treasurer of the tank!"

There are a lot of learning opportunities here, biology and otherwise. Ideally, I think the OP should focus on project management, promoting the project and motivating students to work on it and learn for themselves. The less time OP spends with hands in the tank, the better I would judge his success with this project.

Check out the "brandon is cool" threads, where a junior school teacher did a similar setup with good success.

Put before/after shots in the school/college newsletter and I'm sure there will be free frags and donations coming in from hobbyists and LFS in the area. This is all a lot of work for sure, but the more you have students get into it and do the work, the better the chances of success IMO.

Sounds cool, and good luck!

-droog

 

[tzylak]

Droog, you nailed it on the head!! School is paying for it, it is at school, and students will LEARN ** IF ** they are assigned tasks to perform.
Hobbitling, consider being in a supervisory role. Turn them to the STICKYS of reef central to do their own research on how-to and what-to. . . . .
Of course take over during the school-off periods. . .
A pleasure to see such potential in this project!!

 

[Shawn O]

All good advice thus far. Should help a lot. I'd strongly recommend you pay heed to Reef Frog's #6. Learn what can co-exist peacefully together or you'll be replacing creatures that get killed or eaten only to have it happen again and again. Snorvich has a thread here on intended fish purchases. Once you think you have a handle on what can get along together and have a stocking list, submit your list to him and he'll let you know if you've made any mistakes or are trying to over-stuff the tank. Disappearing/killed livestock can really tarnish the experience you and your students have with this tank.

If this tank is a success you may be able to get funding for a larger, more heavily stocked tank next year. You could even offer to donate the 29 gallon tank to whomever is in charge of approving the funds for a larger tank and equipment.