Breaking Down Tank

WesW · Feb 17, 2014

I'm breaking down my 16 gallon tank with 20 gallon sump to take a break from the hobby for a little while. That being said, I'm sure I'll want to come back to it in a year or two and it would be great if I could use my current live rock as dry rock when I do come back. Are there any suggestions for how to treat and store it other than drain the water and store in buckets until I'm ready to use it again? It is covered in bubble algae and turf algae so I need to be sure that can't lay dormant and reappear when I use the rock in the future. Is the rock salvageable or should I throw it out and start with new dry rock next time? What about the sand? Any other tips from breaking down the tank, cleaning, and storing everything? Any advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

ChrisKey · Feb 17, 2014

I don't know how long a buble algae will stay dormant but I know I had some like rock that was in a tub for about 6 months that still had a little bit of algae on it but most of the bubbles turned white and were much easier to just pick off. This was in a bin with just a powerhead for curculation and completely covered for 6 months, so the corraline died the same as the bubble algae but it maintained the beneficial bacteria.

Have you thought about killing the rock and then just cycle it again fresh and keep it cycling until you start the tank again. I would think you are only dealing with about 30-50 pounds and you could just kill it (bleach, air dry, or lots of hydrogen peroxide) and run it in fresh rodi water for a few weeks to remove organics. Then place it in new salt water and cycle it again. Then it will be cycled and ready to go when you want.

TrishW · Feb 17, 2014

ChrisKey said:
Have you thought about killing the rock and then just cycle it again fresh and keep it cycling until you start the tank again. I would think you are only dealing with about 30-50 pounds and you could just kill it (bleach, air dry, or lots of hydrogen peroxide) and run it in fresh rodi water for a few weeks to remove organics. Then place it in new salt water and cycle it again. Then it will be cycled and ready to go when you want.

This is what I would do. I soaked some rock that has hair algae on it in muriatic acid. I had some rock that completely disappeared and the harder rock was eaten up a great deal and the hair algae still came back.

WesW · Feb 18, 2014

ChrisKey said:
Have you thought about killing the rock and then just cycle it again fresh and keep it cycling until you start the tank again. I would think you are only dealing with about 30-50 pounds and you could just kill it (bleach, air dry, or lots of hydrogen peroxide) and run it in fresh rodi water for a few weeks to remove organics. Then place it in new salt water and cycle it again. Then it will be cycled and ready to go when you want.

Thanks for the input. This is what I'm leaning towards. How do you suggest doing it? Should I drain the system, fill it with tap water, drop in bleach, run it for a couple days, drain, rinse everything, and then run with RODI for a while after that?

ChrisKey · Feb 18, 2014

The only thing with bleach is you have to rinse it VERY well.

1. I would rinse it in a tub with a powerhead with new tap water at least 5-6 times to remove as much bleach as possible. Leave it in the water with the powerhead for at least a couple hours to make sure it gets into the rock and clean it out/dilute it well.
2. Leave it out in the sun to air dry to also have the bleach evaporate and dry up if any is residual.
3. Then after it is dry, run it in tap water a few more times to remove any dead particles from the rock.
4. Then give it 1 or 2 RODI baths.
5. Start your cycle again using a raw shrimp. Since you aren't going to use it for a while you won't have to worry as much with getting the right ammonia spike and such. Just leave it in there for a week to let it start rotting and take it out. Any bacteria will start to form from this and you will have good cycled rock in a few months and it will remained seeded until you need to use it in your next build.

WesW · Feb 18, 2014

ChrisKey said:
The only thing with bleach is you have to rinse it VERY well.

1. I would rinse it in a tub with a powerhead with new tap water at least 5-6 times to remove as much bleach as possible. Leave it in the water with the powerhead for at least a couple hours to make sure it gets into the rock and clean it out/dilute it well.
2. Leave it out in the sun to air dry to also have the bleach evaporate and dry up if any is residual.
3. Then after it is dry, run it in tap water a few more times to remove any dead particles from the rock.
4. Then give it 1 or 2 RODI baths.
5. Start your cycle again using a raw shrimp. Since you aren't going to use it for a while you won't have to worry as much with getting the right ammonia spike and such. Just leave it in there for a week to let it start rotting and take it out. Any bacteria will start to form from this and you will have good cycled rock in a few months and it will remained seeded until you need to use it in your next build.

I'm wondering if I should bleach my entire system or pull the rock out and bleach it separately in a tub. Bleaching the entire system would get rid of any potentials hanging around until next time but then again it may be impossible to get all the bleach out of everything. What do you think? Also should I throw out the sand or think it is worth keeping after a bleach treatment? Thanks!

markkazdad · Feb 19, 2014

I think we should ask beaslbob if you could dump in some Prime to "lock up" the chlorine.

ChrisKey · Feb 19, 2014

I would throw out the sand and get new sand next time.

WesW said:
I'm wondering if I should bleach my entire system or pull the rock out and bleach it separately in a tub. Bleaching the entire system would get rid of any potentials hanging around until next time but then again it may be impossible to get all the bleach out of everything. What do you think? Also should I throw out the sand or think it is worth keeping after a bleach treatment? Thanks!

H@rry · Feb 19, 2014

Definately don't try to reuse old sand unless you wash it thorougly. Then it won't probably still be live sand but it won't contaminate the tank with all the nasties from the old tank.