help with a crashed tank, Please

[caino]

I'm trying to help some with a crashed tank.
75 gal, 2 canister filters, protien skimmer, powerhead.
his tank crashed due to lack of maintience and to heavy fish load.
He let the tank sit for 2 weeks with dead fish and all.
I helped with a complete water change, cleaning of equip. etc.
my question is ... what do i do now? I rinsed off the live rock with saltwater and put it back into the tank. Will that cycle begin again? Any advise would be appreciated.

 

[jmeader]

You are basicly starting all over. It may or may not cycle again depending on the level of bacteria killed off. However, I would not help someone start over that just let it crash and die in the first place.

 

[caino]

sometimes stuff happens that is out of our control. He is not a reefer but was paying for services that he did not recieve. When the tank crashed he didn't know what to do and had no one to help.
I was wondering if there was any hope for the live rock. I rinsed it off and placed it back into the tank. I wonder what is to be expected now. What should I look for? A recycle or not? Thanks for all helpful suggestions

 

[MedicineMan1]

Let me start out by saying I've never dealt with this situation. Actually, it's hard to say what shape the LR is in without actually seeing it. If there's plenty of dead stuff on it you will be looking at a new cycle, especially with dead fish in it for 2 weeks!
Why will this time be different for this guy? Does he plan on learning the maintanence that goes along with reef keeping? How about the various theories of reef keeping, is he willing to learn at least the principles involved with the system he's running? If the answer to either of these questions is no, I'd suggest to him he may want to consider selling off his stuff.

 

[caino]

yes there is die off. Smelled terrible. like a good boy he has began his homework. I have never had a problem as large as this in my own tanks but was just trying to help this guy out. I have shown him how his equipment works and the very elementary basics. Now it is his time to read and read and read. I wasn't certain if cyle would continue or if ammonia levels would remain high with die off such as this. How long should he wait before a partial water change? Normally I would wait till ammonia levels begin to drop but this was a big stinking mess. Perhaps another water change in a few days? thanks so much for your help

 

[jmeader]

I wouldn't worry much about water changes at this point. Just treat the LR as new uncured LR. Scrub off the dead stuff, rinse it off and go through the cycles. It's basicly like a new setup.

 

[Anonymous]

i can understand someone really wanting to have a SW tank but being a little intimidated by the learning curve. that's kind of how i got into this hobby. my SO was supposed to have some local expert taking care of her tank but the dude wouldn't show up but maybe once every two-three months. I say that all that to say i think it's cool that your helping this guy out.

my suggestion or what i wish somebody had done for me when i was just starting... get him some dip stick ammonia, nitrite and nitrate test strips and a refractometer, heck maybe even a pinpoint pH meter. those are fun to use and might empower him and make him feel less overwhelmed (which i'm hoping is the reason he didn't even net his floaters out is...because he felt just totally overwhelmed)

but hey, i think your doing a very cool thing helping this guy out. break him in easy.

good luck,
po

 

[MedicineMan1]

From what I've read about curing LR (and this is what you're doing), massive water changes on an almost daily basis are in order. Skim heavy, change water (50% at a time), give plenty of circulation and be patient. Like jmeader said, you're basically dealing with a new set up. Check the library here for information on curing live rock. There's some excellent info there!