Sterilizing my tank?

[Steve_B]

I had a disease of unknown origin that killed all of my fish one at a time. I went through every treatment I could find here to know avail.

Anyway, I have 2 questions;

Are there any parasites that can live without a host? The tank has no live rock, just 1 coral replica, and runs with a wet/dry system.
It's empty now of fish, nothing

If there are, I want to sterilize the entire thing.
Would running completely fresh water kill everything that could only live in saltwater?
I'm going to start all over, recycle it with a few damsels and go from there.
Sorry, this issue may have already been addressed and I didn't do a search. I don't have time because my toilet broke and I have to haul butt to get it fixed before my wife beats me to death with a steel pan.

Thanks for any help
Steve

 

[geaux xman]

what size tank? 10g?

if 10g, i would just take everything out, rinse it real good and let it dry for a few days in the hot sun.

 

[Steve_B]

what size tank? 10g?

if 10g, i would just take everything out, rinse it real good and let it dry for a few days in the hot sun.

70 gallon corner acrylic tank, 30" tall

I don't want to tear it down if I don't have have to

 

[b0bab0ey]

Most, if not all, diseases/parasites will starve out if you leave the tank fishless for 8-9 weeks. If you just want to start over and recycle, drain the tank, fill it up with freshwater, wait a few days and then add your salt.

 

[Steve_B]

Most, if not all, diseases/parasites will starve out if you leave the tank fishless for 8-9 weeks. If you just want to start over and recycle, drain the tank, fill it up with freshwater, wait a few days and then add your salt.

Because time isn't an issue, I'm going to run freshwater. I didn't think that any parasites that live in salt water could survive in fresh.
Thanks for confirming my idea.
I'll probably convert it back to salt after a few weeks of freshwater, possibly more. I make RODI water and run a 36 watt sterilizer. I'm sure the steralizer has been running with probably WAY insufficient dwell time to accomplish anything, if a sterilizer does anything at all. I figure it can't hurt. My RODI water is as perfect as possible. I use a high quality TDS meter and it reads 0 PPM out of the membrane and after the DI as well.

 

[Steve_B]

BTW, I just wanted to add something about my comments before. I've been keeping saltwater fish for a long time now. I have never used anything except copper and a freshwater dip maybe 2x in all of those years to combat any disease. I never used an isolation tank; they just went into the display tank. Back then all I was using was under gravel filters and a Magnum 350, all fake or dead coral. I went for years without 1 fish dying.
This disease started in a 225 gallon tank that was running perfectly with a wet/dry filter for several years. I introduced a blue tang that had been in my 70 gallon tank for months showing no signs of any problem. After that one went in the carnage began. I started using my tried and true copper treatment with 50% water changes after treatment. Everything kept going wrong so I began using treatments I had ever used, everything I could find here and nothing worked, they were dropping like flies. I took the remaining 3 out of maybe 15 that had died to a LFS advising them of the problem so they were aware of what happened. I must have changed possibly as much as over a few thousand gallons rodi water in between each different treatments. It all went wrong so I broke down the 225 and I'm selling it. The nightmare had to come to an end. I kept this 70 gallon and only introduced two into the tank. They are fine but I'm going to give them away in the event they may have "œthe whatever" I have graduated up to a 10 gallon executive JR. starter tank with 2 clowns and they have been thriving for over 1 year with only a hang on filter with a bio wheel. They have been completely isolated from anything in my 70 with only 2 perfect fish, but they have to go too, start completely over from square one. I've had enough watching my prized fish all die off. It's my 2 "œnemo" guys in their own place and some little friendly little guys in my 70, that's it.

Thus the tale of my nightmare

The end

 

[b0bab0ey]

I'm old school like you, been doing s/w since the 80s. Back then I never QT'd and if I did have a problem, it wasn't anything a little copper couldn't cure. The game has changed, my friend. Internal worms, bacterial infections, fungus, Lymphocystis. None of these diseases respond to copper. Don't ask me what's so different nowadays, I haven't figured it out. My advice to you is to start QT'ing everything for 8-9 weeks.

 

[Steve_B]

I'm old school like you, been doing s/w since the 80s. Back then I never QT'd and if I did have a problem, it wasn't anything a little copper couldn't cure. The game has changed, my friend. Internal worms, bacterial infections, fungus, Lymphocystis. None of these diseases respond to copper. Don't ask me what's so different nowadays, I haven't figured it out. My advice to you is to start QT'ing everything for 8-9 weeks.

(CAPS BECAUSE I’m IN A HURRY)

THE THING ABOUT IT IS THAT THE BLUE TANG WAS IN MY 70 CORNER TANK FOR A FEW MONTHS. IT DID GET SOME RAGID TAIL FINS WHICH I ATTRUBED TO THE FACT THAT SOMETIMES HE WOULD GET CHASED AROUND. I NEVER PLANNED ON KEEPING IT IN THERE FOREVER, (NO REASON FOR THE TANG POLICE) I PLANNED ON PLACEING HIM IN MY 225 AT SOME POINT. NONE OF THE OTHERS IN THE 70 SHOWED A SIGN OF A DISEASE. THAT IS PRETTY MUCH WHAT THE ISOLATION TANK WAS; THE ISOLATION TANK WAS AN ACTUAL DISPLAY TANK. I THINK THAT DIFFERENT DISEASES MAY MUTATE JUST LIKE A STAFF INFECTION IN A HUMAN HOSPITAL.
BECAUSE OF THAT FACT DRS. ARE WORRIED THAT THIS MUTATION MAY GET TO THE POINT THAT THEY WILL NO LONGER HAVE A CURE AFTER EVERYTHING HAS LOST ITS ABILITY. THAT WAS A FEW YEARS AGO WHEN I SAW A DOCUMENTARY REGARDING THIS PROBLEM
I HAVE NO IDEA WHERE THIS SITUATION IN HOSPITALS IS AT THIS POINT.