Hurricane Irma Tank Crash

[nickyeager]

Hi All,

So my 125 Gallon didn't make it through the hurricane in the Florida Keys. After the battery backups died there was an additional 2 weeks of it just sitting before I got power back and was able to return to the island. We've decided after this ordeal to move a bit further up north where I plan to set the tank up again. In the meantime I need to figure out how to clean the tank up and ready it for transport.

I was able to siphon out all the bad water and remove the fish carcasses. I then filled it back up with regular tap water today to allow me to siphon out more than half of the sand and get the filtration running. The rocks are cemented together but in 4 large sections so I can remove them.

At this point what do I do to prepare everything to be moved? I am assuming get rid of all the sand I can easily buy new sand. Should I remove the rocks and add bleach to them? Should I just dry them out in the sun and put them in a bin for transport?

I have a bunch of bleached coral skeletons as well with the frag plugs cemented into the rock. Should I scrape the skeletons of the frag plugs so later I can glue new frags to them?

Is it fine to run the tank with regular tap water for now and should I consider adding any bleach or vinegar or that stuff for killing algea to the water to help clean up the system before transport?

Should I be worried about any poison from the dead skeletons? Can I handle them without gloves? I have to remove the skeletons of Hollywood Stunner Chalice, Goniopora,Torch ,Trumpet , Zoas, GSP.

 

[sbash]

Sorry for your loss

Do not bleach your rocks! Just put them in a tub with salt water if you can, or just let them dry out. If your rocks have been exposed to tap water for a while now, you they are likely no longer 'live' or not very 'live'. So just take them out and let them dry in a safe place.

I do not recommend bleach, as it is deadly if any is not washed away. Vinegar is the safest bet if you there is something really stuck on.

You can either throw out and replace the sand, or just rinse it heavily. That much sand is not cheap where I am, so I would just rinse it.

To provide toxin advice, we would need a full list of livestock.

I always recommend heavy-ish nitrile gloves, those rocks are sharp!

 

[Katrina71]

I'm so sorry for your tragedy.

 

[nickyeager]

Sorry for your loss

Do not bleach your rocks! Just put them in a tub with salt water if you can, or just let them dry out. If your rocks have been exposed to tap water for a while now, you they are likely no longer 'live' or not very 'live'. So just take them out and let them dry in a safe place.

I do not recommend bleach, as it is deadly if any is not washed away. Vinegar is the safest bet if you there is something really stuck on.

You can either throw out and replace the sand, or just rinse it heavily. That much sand is not cheap where I am, so I would just rinse it.

To provide toxin advice, we would need a full list of livestock.

I always recommend heavy-ish nitrile gloves, those rocks are sharp!

They have only been exposed to tap water for about an hour should I empty the tank now and dry the rocks?

The livestock that were in there are a Foxface Lo, 4 Bar Goby, Coral Beauty, 1 Blue Chromis, 2 Firefish, 1 coral bandit shrimp, 1 cleaner shrimp.

 

[sbash]

They have only been exposed to tap water for about an hour should I empty the tank now and dry the rocks?

I would just remove the rocks. If you can, store them in saltwater, like I said. Otherwise, just let them dry. There is a theory out there that the bacteria can survive outside of water. I will be conducting experiments on this subject next month. I should add in a test case with a live rock being subjected to fresh water for extended periods of time. But, I digress...

The livestock that were in there are a Foxface Lo, 4 Bar Goby, Coral Beauty, 1 Blue Chromis, 2 Firefish, 1 coral bandit shrimp, 1 cleaner shrimp.

I doubt any of your listed livestock would 'poison' the tank, aside from the obvious ammonia spike. Perhaps others with more knowledge on the subject will chime in...