Help! Any suggestions?

Chiefmaster30 · Jan 10, 2019

I doubt this is in the correct area. Me and my wife recently bought our first home. During the move I lost every single fish and coral in my 2 1/2 year old 125 gallon mixed reef. We moved Nov. 8th. Since then... I bought all new sand and set the tank back up. Soon as I tested 20 nitrates I added a few fish. 2 weeks ago I added 2 more fish 2 Tangs a Salifin and Powder brown. They both had ick spots show up 2 days after I put in my tank. No I didn’t qt and I should no better! Now I’m paying the price. Took out put in qt soon as I saw the spots. Now every fish in my dt has ick. Removed everything last night and put in qt. Meanwhile.... I have ordered a brand new 80 gallon rimless tank (my dream tank) that’ll be here today so the ick infested 125 is getting tore down. My question is is there anyway I can use the sand I just put in there after the crash from the move? Is there a way to get the ick out of it even if it makes it dry and not live sand would be ok. Next question. Should I just buy all new sand and new live rock for my new setup or try to use any of what I have. I almost wanna buy dry pest free brs reef saver rock or something or should I salvage what I have currently?

ngoodermuth · Jan 10, 2019

Ich can’t survive without fish, so as long as you keep your tank fishless for at least 72 days the tank, sand, and rock will be fine for re-use.

Frtdrmrose7 · Jan 10, 2019

You could potentially soak the rock and sand in bleach, then do a fresh water rinse and set it out in the sun to completely dry. If you do that make sure to cure the rock before throwing it back into your tank.

Reefahholic · Jan 10, 2019

I’ve cleaned sand multiple times. I do want to caution you if you decide to use bleach.

Bleach is fine if you get the right bleach and rinse it out really well and let things air dry. However, there are some bleach brands than contain a small amount of detergent. These are usually your more expensive brands. I think splashless bleach also has a detergent like substance in it. It bubbles when you try to rinse the bleach out of a tank.

If you can, get the unscented and cheapest bleach you can find. I believe those are the brands that don’t contain any detergent that foams up. Good luck! Maybe somebody else can weigh in on this.

Chiefmaster30 · Jan 12, 2019

Another question: I just added a cleanup crew a week before this ick outbreak. Since I’m tearing current tank down... if I take the cleanup crew out and put in a 10 gallon tank or something, will they live for 76 days so I can salvage them and put in my new tank.

ngoodermuth · Jan 12, 2019

Chiefmaster30 said:
Another question: I just added a cleanup crew a week before this ick outbreak. Since I’m tearing current tank down... if I take the cleanup crew out and put in a 10 gallon tank or something, will they live for 76 days so I can salvage them and put in my new tank.

They should, just put a couple pieces of rock in there with them and sprinkle a few pellets in every couple of days. You might want a small power head or air-stone and a small heater.

Or just move everything over to the new tank to get it running and just wait 76 days to add any fish. That’s probably what I would do. With your sand and rock already established you shouldn’t see much of a cycle - if any. Throw in an ammonia badge for good measure if you’re worried.