Tank is cleaned and filled , temp and salinity going up . Rock be added tomorrow and out of that swamp water . They will be getting a swish in fresh saltwater before adding get all the loose stuff off.

A lot of work but well worth it . I don't think I could have had the same attitude towards this if my fish didn't make it . Thanks again !

I would suggest you put your "live" rock into a big Rubbermaid-type tub with a big powerhead and heater to re-cure them. Just fill it with RO/DI water. If you do a sudden switch from RO/DI water to saltwater you will lose about 30% of the nitrifying bacteria, but most of it will be fine. Cure it in freshwater, and then switch it to saltwater near the end. You will see a very small spike in ammonia or none at all when you do the switch. That way you can do big waterchanges without costing a fortune in salt.

Fwiw, Canadian Tire sells 210L totes for $30. They are black with red lids. I use one for saltwater mixing. They have wheels on them and they work well on hard surfaces, but not if the tote is more than half full of water.

I noticed that my snails are still hard at it ... And I think they would die before the pods and bacteria , so I'm going to throw it in tomorrow with a swish first . If I get a algae my vow fish will love me for it lol

I'm not worried about bacteria, i'm worried about the ammonia spike you're going to get when you put that rock back in water. ;)

wow what a story, kudos to your local lfs. i had my tank flooded my carpet once when I lived in apartment. i had to call a carpet cleaner to get rid of the smell

*update* three weeks into cycle . I have three colony rocks that came back and are starting to open up , a acan frag was crushed and fully healed its self also .

Diatoms , alage , pods ... All the good starting to come alive .

Sadly nothing was replaced as said it would be .
And don't even talk to them anymore ... Not over this but other silly reasons


Going to look into getting a clean up crew at the end of next week .
And add sand before I put my stress toxic fish in .

Going to pick up some cheato also to get some friend hichhikers :) .

Good note . I don't see a single aiptasia ! We will see tho ... One cell is all you need .
.

Thanks concepts !