need advice, lost everything.

[tenMann2]

Its been 12 days now and I'm still out of power from Hurricane Sandy and there is no word from LIPA as to when I'll be getting it back.
Unfortunately I've lost everything in my 80gal of three years, thousands gone. We had a generator which was running the heat in the house and my tank but it failed 3 days ago. I was also using a power inverter connected to the car during the times when the generator was off. But when the generator failed and the house temperature dropped to 50 degrees, the tank heater couldn't compete with the cold room temperature. The tanks temperature this morning was 48 degrees. Being too cold to sleep in the house and having to attend college full-time, I couldn't keep up with demand of tank. Now I'm faced with a clouded tank and complete whip out of livestock.
What is salvageable from the tank now, once I drain the water? (no fish or corals are alive at this point) sand or rocks? What advice would you give to reduce headaches and help me get back to were I once was. I can not drain the tank until power is restored, since I can't mix/heat new water. It's depressing and I'm annoyed at the fact I didn't have control of the situation. I don't want to leave the hobby so soon.

 

[ravi197699]

i am with you on this bro i have lost my 120 gals tank i will have to start all over again and i do know how you are feeling since i am going through the same pain

 

[d5332]

Sand and Rock is salvagable in terms meaning that you can reuse it, naturally you understand that you will need to cycle it again.

 

[JimmyR1rider]

I would do a 100% water change once powers back on, clean all of your equipment and cycle it as if you went out and bought all new dry rock. Dose it with bacteria, toss in a raw shrimp for a few days and I would get a few pieces of good live rock as well to seed the tank. I really like the FHI real reef. It's cultured for months in bacteria, is man made so no worries of pests and is made up of a calcium carbonate so it's also good for buffering.

Good luck with getting going again.

 

[thirty6]

i lost my tank last october in the snow storm, havent quite gotten back on track. good luck

 

[tenMann2]

The problem now is that I still have no power. I'm sure my skimmer pump is gone too and my return pump was making noise when it was running off the generator. The house smells so bad right now too.

 

[peteyboyny]

Id be worried about DOCs that might be building up in the rock. Maybe a soaking in some clean water to clean it out before you use it again.

 

[saltwaterinbrooklyn]

First I am proud of you for not giving up, it is a strong decision that not too many people would make , most would surely have thrown in the towel and began a new hobby or none at all but you are a strong saltwater enthusiast and for this my hat goes up in the air for ya!

So with that said I would begin by taking apart the equipment and give it a bath in some fresh water with vinegar and then sit it out to dry , after that I would take out all the rock and do the same and after a few days just drop it in fresh saltwater bin with a pump and some bio bacter and get it cycling , and keep in mind that your next tank will always be better than the last, in this hobby we are visionaries that seek greater than past aquascaping and livestock!! So good luck to you and please keep us posted , your an inspiration to the marine and reef world!!

P.s. before you go out and buy new equipment check it if lipa ever gets their $&@/ together because sometime people get irregular power spikes from generators and inverters that cause abnormal electrical function on some electronics, with a little luck all your hardware may be in full working order!!

 

[tunicata]

hm, if the tank has fouled to the point where it is stinking in your home, can you see if it is possible to start breaking down the tank now??

I'm sorry, I do not know the status of your home, or neighborhood, but perhaps you may have something to siphon out water (or use buckets??) or a net to take out the bodies of the fish if any remain?

I am just worried that continuing to let that water sit stagnant will lead to a health issue for you and your family.

 

[E.intheC]

That sucks man, truly. I had power out for 11 days and lost almost everything as well. Hopefully you'll get power back very soon. I've heard the bacteria goes dormant in the cold temperatures, so I don't know if you'll have to re-cycle the tank. If or now, I would definitely recommend removing the dead coral and fish and (if you can) do a water change.

 

[tenMann2]

First I am proud of you for not giving up, it is a strong decision that not too many people would make , most would surely have thrown in the towel and began a new hobby or none at all but you are a strong saltwater enthusiast and for this my hat goes up in the air for ya!

So with that said I would begin by taking apart the equipment and give it a bath in some fresh water with vinegar and then sit it out to dry , after that I would take out all the rock and do the same and after a few days just drop it in fresh saltwater bin with a pump and some bio bacter and get it cycling , and keep in mind that your next tank will always be better than the last, in this hobby we are visionaries that seek greater than past aquascaping and livestock!! So good luck to you and please keep us posted , your an inspiration to the marine and reef world!!

P.s. before you go out and buy new equipment check it if lipa ever gets their $&@/ together because sometime people get irregular power spikes from generators and inverters that cause abnormal electrical function on some electronics, with a little luck all your hardware may be in full working order!!

Thanks bro. I look forward to the round two and hopefully it will come out the way I want it. I will look at my pre-Sandy pics as my motivation for the next build.
I'm going to rinse and soak all equipment in vinegar. As far as the rocks and sand, can I just rinse it tap water to remove all dead organics. Then soak it in saltwater?

 

[tenMann2]

hm, if the tank has fouled to the point where it is stinking in your home, can you see if it is possible to start breaking down the tank now??

I'm sorry, I do not know the status of your home, or neighborhood, but perhaps you may have something to siphon out water (or use buckets??) or a net to take out the bodies of the fish if any remain?

I am just worried that continuing to let that water sit stagnant will lead to a health issue for you and your family.

The tank is definitely breaking down right now to the point of possible no return. I have no way right now without power to do any maintenance on the tank. It will smell even worse once the water is drain since I wont have any water to replace what was removed.
At the moment, there is no one living in our house since it too cold to sleep, 50 deg in the house.

That sucks man, truly. I had power out for 11 days and lost almost everything as well. Hopefully you'll get power back very soon. I've heard the bacteria goes dormant in the cold temperatures, so I don't know if you'll have to re-cycle the tank. If or now, I would definitely recommend removing the dead coral and fish and (if you can) do a water change.

There will definitely be a re-cycle that will happen with all the decaying matter and dead matter. But again, I can't do any water change, no power.

 

[allenjj]

Best wishes

I am really sorry to hear of all of the losses as a result of the storm and wish I had more stock to share with others. I hope at least knowing that there are lots of us out here that care and hope you are able to recover helps. Best wishes to all.

 

[saltwaterinbrooklyn]

You can soak it and shake it around in fresh water but I would let it drie out under the sun for a few days then begin culturizing it! And your off again like a freshly fueled plain