water

[Holyreefer]

So me and my family were relocated by my wifes job for 2months. i have 210gallons and 40 gallon breeder sump i emptied the sump but the water has been seating for a little over two months without movement but it has like 180 gallons of water it it still. I probably know better but can i drain 50% of this water and reuse the other 50%? As i have taken my corals and fish with me once we made the move...

 

[DustinB]

This is pure speculation based on no hard scientific knowledge, but...

I would say it is likely not ok being that it is not new water. The water likely contains many forms of bacteria along with now dead microorganisms. It "might" be ok to use all or part of it if you don't mind a long cycle.

 

[isildursbane]

If you were to drain 50% of the water over to another tank and mix it in with new water, that would probably be okay. Any die-off and other nasty stuff I would think would be on any rock or sand in the tank. That is the only thing I would be worried with. I would try starting up the tank and getting the pumps going. Maybe throw a few shrimp in for starting the cycle. Then see how the tank looks after a few days.

 

[Holyreefer]

Thanks for the reply guys. My problem is ill have to wait like another 3 days for all new ro water to fill the tank...and im not sure my corals can make it longer as the drive from Miami to wi was already bad enough...

 

[DustinB]

I wouldn't try it without cycle time due to the possibility of bacteria and dead organic material. I think you would be begging for a bacterial bloom or large ammonia spike if you did.

 

[Holyreefer]

i just emptied out the entire tank and started water from Stratch. Thanks everyone for your input

 

[Holyreefer]

^bump^

 

[Holyreefer]

OK so now that i have gotten all new water, The stuff seating smelled like rotten eggs so bad...But my question is now im sure i shuold be expecting a 2 week cycle even though my LR has already been through its cycle?

Technically this is a new tank setup because i had to get all new water,etc...?

 

[Palting]

I couldn't figure out from your posts where your liverock was during this whole time. Was it sitting in the old water with no movement for 2 months? Was it in a tub awaiting the new tank and water? Need more info on the history of the rocks starting from when you started to take the old tank down.

Anyway, if there has been a significant downtime where the rocks were not in an active environment with circulation and heat and lights, then you have to start the cycling process all over again and cure the rocks all over again.

Where are your fish and corals now?

 

[Holyreefer]

my bad the tank was sitting water only nd LR for two months
The fish i had got either sold or taken to a fish store
The little bit of coral i did have i tried to keep it up and going but i didn't realilze how much i was lacking (material wise) in FL

im starting from scratch then...

With all of this LR do i need to kick start my system with raw shrimp?

 

[DustinB]

If the rock was sitting in stagnant water for 2 months, the rock probably started the cycle.

 

[Palting]

Yup, sounds like you have to start from scratch. Good news is that you probably have a healthy population of nitrosomas and nitrobacter to start with, and it may be a short cycle.

 

[DustinB]

Good news is that you probably have a healthy population of nitrosomas and nitrobacter to start with, and it may be a short cycle.

I would argue the opposite of this. After sitting in stagnant water with no light there is going to be a lot of die off along with nasty compounds, especially given that he is noticing a strong rotten egg smell. There's likely going to be a good amount of dead material that will need to break down and I doubt that's going to happen quickly.

Either way, take your time and test each week to see what's happening.

 

[Palting]

I missed that part about the rotten egg smell. Means lots of dead stuff, as well as toxic stuff. You may be right, Dustin.

 

[Holyreefer]

ok so im done with my cycle since the LR has already been cycled due to the rotten eggs smell, die off? Ok cool then i can start purchasing fish and coral again...Thanks guys

 

[DustinB]

NO! Your cycle will likely take longer due to a fair amount of dead organic matter contained in and on the rocks. Putting fresh saltwater in the tank and getting it running again will kick off the "cycle". You should be testing for ammonia/nitrite for the next several weeks until your ammonia level reaches 0. The start testing nitrate along with continuing nitrite. Once ammonia and nitrite have been 0 for 2-3 weeks then you cycle is probably complete.

From there you should slowly add one fish at a time to make sure the bacterial populations grow to adapt to the increased bioload.

 

[Holyreefer]

Ok thanks