Tank broke

[Coogzreef]

So plumbing in the tank broke today and had to drain the tank and take out all the rock and sand to be able to lift it to work on the plumbing to fix it. Put all the rock and tank water in brute trash cans together and sand in buckets with water. Fish were moved into a quarantine tank I had set up so there okay at the moment. My question is will the sand and rock still contain the good bacteria I need if left wet? I plan to put everything back into the tank once I get the parts to fix the plumbing stuff but this may take a day or two will my rock and sand be okay? Am I going to have to re-cycle the tank? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Reeferadicto]

Should be fine, just put a power head in the trash can and buckets to keep it alive ( rocks and sand)

 

[mehaffydr]

You should put a heater in the trash can with the rock and a powerhead to move water and it will be fine

 

[Peace River]

Wow. I'm sorry to hear about your challenges. Although you will likely be okay, it is also possible for there to be a small cycle when the tank is reset. One thing to consider is how long the sand has been in place. Good luck with the process.

 

[Coogzreef]

Should be fine, just put a power head in the trash can and buckets to keep it alive ( rocks and sand)

You should put a heater in the trash can with the rock and a powerhead to move water and it will be fine

The sand won’t move cuz it’s completely full in the bucket with water on the top from the tank so I’m not sure how I could keep that moving

 

[Coogzreef]

Wow. I'm sorry to hear about your challenges. Although you will likely be okay, it is also possible for there to be a small cycle when the tank is reset. One thing to consider is how long the sand has been in place. Good luck with the process.

Sands only been in place for about 3-4 months same with rock I mean I still have some bottled bacteria I could throw in when I fill the tank and thank you it’s been one heck of a stressful day. Looks like the stuff for the plumbing won’t be here until Wednesday has me sort of worried

 

[Coogzreef]

Not sure if I can get any input here but tank is back up and fish have been in QT tank doing great. Been testing display tank after adding a little bit of ATM colony just incase any bacteria was lost while the rocks were sitting in Brute trash bins with the water sand as well. I had power heads on everything. I am a little hesitant to put fish back in all at once incase some of the bacteria did die off but im looking for opinions on this. Current fish are 2 clowns, scopas tang, and a lawnmower blenny.

 

[Peace River]

You will likely get a mix of answers. It’s not uncommon to have a little bacteria die off and a minor cycle. You can always test as if you were setting up a new tank just to be on the safe side, but you will likely be OK. Good luck with whatever you choose!

#reefsquad