Tank Crashed

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Bldgengineer

Bldgengineer

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Due to some personal issues I let my tank get away from me. The water got below half level and the tank has been shut down for about a month now. I'd like some help/recommendations on how I can restore the tank. It was a FOWLR tank at the time. I'm sure all of the snails are dead. Any help is definitely appreciated.
 
www.dinkinsaquaticgardens.com
1. Good that you're starting up again.
2. All of the snails might not be dead - they tend to survive bad conditions - But - I would put them in another container - perhaps with an air-stone and see if any come back.
3. Take out your rock - scrub and rinse it (well) see # 9
4. Siphon out your sand - get rid of it.
5. Wipe down (or use a blade if there is algae on the glass) - your tank
6. Throw out any filter media (unless it can easily be rinsed and cleaned
7. Wipe down any other surfaces you want to clean (dont knwo if you have a sump, etc etc)
8. Refill your tank, living sand if you want, bottled bacteria if you want or cycle any way you want. There are many threads on 'how' to do this.
9. Its possible - that your tank still has nitrifiers on your rock. If you scrub/rinse them in salt as compared to fresh water - your cycle might be much easier.
 
MnFish1 said:
1. Good that you're starting up again.
2. All of the snails might not be dead - they tend to survive bad conditions - But - I would put them in another container - perhaps with an air-stone and see if any come back.
3. Take out your rock - scrub and rinse it (well) see # 9
4. Siphon out your sand - get rid of it.
5. Wipe down (or use a blade if there is algae on the glass) - your tank
6. Throw out any filter media (unless it can easily be rinsed and cleaned
7. Wipe down any other surfaces you want to clean (dont knwo if you have a sump, etc etc)
8. Refill your tank, living sand if you want, bottled bacteria if you want or cycle any way you want. There are many threads on 'how' to do this.
9. Its possible - that your tank still has nitrifiers on your rock. If you scrub/rinse them in salt as compared to fresh water - your cycle might be much easier.
Click to expand...
Solid advice there.
 
Bldgengineer said:
Due to some personal issues I let my tank get away from me. The water got below half level and the tank has been shut down for about a month now. I'd like some help/recommendations on how I can restore the tank. It was a FOWLR tank at the time. I'm sure all of the snails are dead. Any help is definitely appreciated.
Click to expand...
Do a 50-75 % water change and add liquid bacteria such as bacteria XLM And test daily for 5 days to see where ammonia-nitrate-ph- phosphate are at
You can add a couple black Millie’s after a few days to help seed the bacteria culture and assure filters and equipment are clean upon startup
 
one good news is that your cycle is 100% set and still able. just rip clean the tank and begin again, don't buy bottle bac for this job. just clean out stuff, debride all the adhered waste off/cycle still good if kept wet. salinity variations to this degree won't kill it.
 
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vetteguy53081 said:
Do a 50-75 % water change and add liquid bacteria such as bacteria XLM And test daily for 5 days to see where ammonia-nitrate-ph- phosphate are at
You can add a couple black Millie’s after a few days to help seed the bacteria culture and assure filters and equipment are clean upon startup
Click to expand...
I'm not sure what a black millie is..
 
Bldgengineer said:
Got it. So just chuck the sand, scrub the rock and clean up all of the brown algae that has collected. Use new sand and new RODI water.
Click to expand...
Unless you know the specific gravity, etc etc - My recommendations were based on the fact that you said your tank was at 50% capacity (I assume water-wise) - which means your salinity is double normal. Not to mention all of the dissolved organics. Though its possible that your tank is still cycled - there is also a chance - again depending on your salinity, that it is not. And - when you all of the sudden add new water with 1/2 the salinity, some of the bacteria that are there are not going to survive due to lysis. In any case - part of this depends on what you meant by 'the water level was 50 %'' - if it was evaporation - thats an issue potentially - if it was because you removed 50% and left it there - thats less of an issue. Otherwise I agree with @brandon429
 
MnFish1 said:
Unless you know the specific gravity, etc etc - My recommendations were based on the fact that you said your tank was at 50% capacity (I assume water-wise) - which means your salinity is double normal. Not to mention all of the dissolved organics. Though its possible that your tank is still cycled - there is also a chance - again depending on your salinity, that it is not. And - when you all of the sudden add new water with 1/2 the salinity, some of the bacteria that are there are not going to survive due to lysis. In any case - part of this depends on what you meant by 'the water level was 50 %'' - if it was evaporation - thats an issue potentially - if it was because you removed 50% and left it there - thats less of an issue. Otherwise I agree with @brandon429
Click to expand...
It was due to evaporation. The ato bucket ran out of water and I wasn't around to refill it.
 
sfin52 said:
Black Molly
Click to expand...
I propose not using live animals as testers. Instead pick up some Dr. Tim’s ammonia and good ammonia/nitrate test kits. You can easily track your cycle that way.

I have a similar tank, a fish QT, that has gone neglected in the past as well, intentionally. In my case the tank ended up hyposaline rather than yours which is hypersaline. Anyway long story short I corrected the salinity by replacing all the water, added fish, used dormant bacteria (Stability) for a week or two, and never detected ammonia. Stability doesn’t work like that on a brand new tank in my experience, so I’m certain nitrifying bacteria survived the difficult conditions as I thought they would. So I really don’t think you necessarily need to go crazy replacing the sand and scrubbing the rock unless that’s what you want to do (start completely clean). Especially if you’re going for FOWLR. Just correct conditions then test your cycle with a challenge (ammonia, dead shrimp) and test every day until you know you’re cycled.

A bigger question is whether you should restart the tank or not. There are lots of awesome hobbies in this world, even freshwater is more forgiving. 50% evaporation takes a lot of neglect. Saltwater isn’t very forgiving so if you’ve found a new sense of enthusiasm for the hobby that’s great, but be sure to be realistic long term and perhaps engineer in some things that work for your lifestyle better (larger DI reservoir, ATO, tank controller, auto water change if possible, etc.).
 
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Bldgengineer said:
Well I got today’s work done. All of my rock has been pressure washed and put in a brute can with salt water and a power head. I’m still debating replacing the sand.
Click to expand...
You can clean (really well) the sand if you want. But - I would tend to replace it with new.
 
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www.dinkinsaquaticgardens.com
Tank is half full. Decided to do a test while making water.

pH: 8.4
ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 20
Phosphate: 0.0

so far so good. I think lol

57E3B8A9-4ED8-4FC2-9509-2A00E46AC127.jpeg
 
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