Firing up a setup for the first time in 3 years.

[baker_jeff]

Howdy folks! It's great to be back.

I have a roughly 40 gallon tank setup here that was running 3 years ago, then we bought a house that didn't have an appropriate spot available so it sat in the basement for 3 years. The sand stayed in the tank and dried up. I also found a bin with some live rock that is now... dead.

What do I need to do to this sand and rock to be able to use it again?

The rock has greenish stuff where coraline used to be.

Thanks for any advice!

Jeff

[baker_jeff]

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g275/baker_jeff/photo-1-1_zps764d1c62.jpg

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g275/baker_jeff/photo-2_zps04e5b037.jpg

[KPG007]

Welcome back!

Not much you need to do, just add water!

You might want to wash the sand and rock first, removing the garbage. After that, add water and let it cycle.

You might want to add a couple pieces of established live rock to help get the bacteria reestablished (ask fellow reefers in your area). There are also a few additives that can help with the bacterial establishment process.

Good Luck!

[BlueTang<3]

I would probably pressure wash the rocks and then place them in a tub and do a few water changes first, I imagine you'll have a pile or phosphates leech from the rocks. As for the sand u could wash it or just it only one bag might be just as easy to get new stuff. Once you get set up there a few ways to get it going, I started my new tank with dry rock and used zeo to cycle it. But you could use probio or other products. Might be just as easy to get some live rock from some one and seed your rock to help it along. The easiest way is to probably throw a shrimp from a ring in there and let it cycle the tank.

[Rogue951]

^ what he said. lol.
Might take longer for all the levels to drop cause there's probably a lot of leftover organics, even after you rinse it, but if it's been kept dry with no contamination it should be good to use.

I'm sure someone's gonna pipe up and suggest an acid bath for the rock, but I've never done it so won't say anything else on it.

[ChefFish]

In my experience using dead rock, its gonna leech a lot of phosphates. I would pressure wash it very well to get everything you can off of it so it isn't leeching stuff into your tank for months. As far as sand goes, I would just buy new, as the price is pretty low these days. Save yourself the headache.

[The Codfather]

Welcome back Jeff.
Really? It's been 3 years already? That long? Seems like I was just talking to you about this. At any rate, lmk if you need a hand.
Bob

[baker_jeff]

Thanks Bob, indeed it has! Wasn't sure if you would remember me, but I still remember your old setup, and just finished reading through the build thread for your new setup. Niiiice. Appreciate you taking care of my stuff, I hope it all found homes?

Jeff

[asylumdown]

Honestly I would toss the sand. For all the potential problems it could cause you at this point it's probably worth 40 bucks to buy a new bag of caribsea special grade or something similar. 1 40 pound bag is probably enough for a 40 gallon isn't it? The rock is definitely salvageable, either by curing/cooking it in a tub for a couple months until you stop seeing nutrients in the water, or by speeding up the process with either the muriatic acid or bleach methods that are floating around on the internet.

[asylumdown]

also, you should start a build thread! Breathing new life in to a system would be really cool to watch.

[baker_jeff]

Build thread coming :D.

There is a Culligan water place across the street from my shop. Should I use that water? Or is it a big enough difference to fork over for an RO/DI unit now? I just used tap water back in the day, but did have problems with algae.

[Rogue951]

As long as it's RO and not remineralized or mineral water that should be fine.
But in the long run an RO is probably a better investment.

That being said Vancouver doesn't charge per drop of water, so that may factor into your home costs.