Newbie Neglect -- Please Help!

[0NemoNewbie0]

Hello Everyone,
About a year and a half ago I bought a bio cube and started my tank with live rock and sand. I only got this far when life crept in and I no longer had time to finish it. I have left it in the corner of my living room vowing to get back to it one day and "save" it. Thankfully, that day has come, but I have no idea what to do with it. I was hoping someone could give me some insight as to where to start with this project. Also, what about the live rock and sand that is in the tank? Would it still be usable? Do I just need to remove all of it and start over with fresh rock/sand? Here is a current picture of the state of the tank.
Thank you to everyone in advance for your advice!

 

[borg]

Bin and start again , im surprised it didnt all evap into a pile of mush in that time lol

 

[borg]

can likely salvage tank with a decent clean and vinegar bath

 

[firefly73]

erk didnt that stink? lol

salvage the tank but i doubt the rock is any good.

 

[Dogshowgrl]

Bleach the rock and kill it. It will reseed over time. New sand is a must. Vinegar scrub, I even run 1 part vinegar 3 parts water for a few days then drain and rinse. Start fresh might be easier starting out in saltwater. This would be a good reset.

 

[CStrickland]

I would pitch the sand, and use muriatic acid to burn off the outer layer of the rock.

 

[Newguy76]

I can't believe that didn't smell like a dead foot.

 

[Mr.Tan]

take it all apart and start fresh. Either cook the rock clean or buy new, def new sand. I'd scrub the tank down good and do a vinegar bath and let it soak and then also soak in fresh water for alittle bit.


i can't believe that didnt stink at all

 

[Greybeard]

Since I place some value on my time, I'd probably toss the whole thing and start over. The tank is likely clean-able, with enough effort, but those bio-cubes aren't terribly expensive... you have to figure out what your time is worth to you. The rock might be reusable, once killed, but once again, new live rock isn't prohibitively expensive... is it worth the time? The sand, yeah, I'd dump that, regardless.

There comes a time when things are so bad, it's easier to start over from scratch. I reached that point myself once, many years ago, and ended up using 200 lbs of live rock to fill a hole in my back yard.

 

[jstack]

Hello Everyone,
About a year and a half ago I bought a bio cube and started my tank with live rock and sand. I only got this far when life crept in and I no longer had time to finish it. I have left it in the corner of my living room vowing to get back to it one day and "save" it. Thankfully, that day has come, but I have no idea what to do with it. I was hoping someone could give me some insight as to where to start with this project. Also, what about the live rock and sand that is in the tank? Would it still be usable? Do I just need to remove all of it and start over with fresh rock/sand? Here is a current picture of the state of the tank.
Thank you to everyone in advance for your advice!

oh wow that was totaly worth the log in to check that pic out xD

 

[heathlindner25]

To me, the tank and rock is still usable.

 

[Jah2707]

Have you had some type of pump and heater in it this whole time? Or if it just sat there for a year at whatever temp your house is with no movement then no doubt it smelled horrible. I let a 40 gallon sit with about 5 gallons of water and only a bit of live sand in it for the weekend, sold the rock right before we left. When I came back the whole house smelled like death. Wife was ****ed.