Starting Over

kategreatwhite · Jul 17, 2015

So I have a 40 gallon Nuvo tank. I recently had 5 fish that all died (I think from Amyloodinium or ich). Other than that the problem with my tank is that it isover run with algae. So now that all my fish are dead I am looking to start over. But where do I began? Do I have to buy new sand and live rock because there is so much algae? Do I get new water? What should I start with?

Joeganja · Jul 18, 2015

Start by this. Taking out the water, sand, and filtration media. Get live sand, since it's a 40 gallon u can either get pre made saltwater with beneficial bacteria or make your own salt water with RO/DI water and adding bacteria booster. Get new media. And slowly add fish. Wait about 3 weeks before adding any. Test your water quality. And since you've had ich if you think which is all the white spots on the fishes body it be a good idea to quarantine any fish before adding them into your main aquarium. Get a 10-20 gallon aquarium throw a bio wheel filter on it and make it a quarantine tank for all new fish so you are sure your tank mates aren't going to be sick or diseased. And the live rock you can either pressure wash all the algae off, and then coral rx it or you can acid bath it but i don't know how that works. Or you can get new rocks but make sure you add some coral rx or cure for the rock so you know it's the healthiest. There are several routes to go but it just seems like you wanna start over. Sorry about your fish loss but this hobby is about learning and just patience. So if you have any questions or need suggestions or advice just message me and I'll be glad to help

kategreatwhite · Jul 18, 2015

With the rocks, do they need to stay in water if we are taking a few days to set up the tank or can they stay some where else?

kevinsmixed90 · Jul 18, 2015

If the parasite problem is in your display tank and you have nothing in it but live rock, you should fix the algae problem and the parasite problem before adding any livestock. This can be done by treating the tank with algae destroyer and a non copper containing parasite killer or if you are truly starting over you could empty the tank and scrub it and the live rock with fresh water which will kill the parasites and the algae and unfortunately any beneficial bacteria, then, add your live sand/rock and refill with new salt water using RO/DI if possible cycle the tank and then start with your livestock. Just a thought, Good luck!