Really sorry, I would just do 100% water change, maybe replace the sand bed and let things stabilize. Remove the dead obviously and clean up the algae manually.
Abandoned Hurricane Aquarium: Help Temper My Expectations
- Thread starter Zakary2003
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Really sorry, I would just do 100% water change, maybe replace the sand bed and let things stabilize. Remove the dead obviously and clean up the algae manually.
Zakary2003
Active Member
I assume ceramic filter media and carbon and stuff would need replaced too right? Could I reuse the rocks?
You can use the rocks. In fact, bacteria are resilient and the rock will still be live.
So just clean it up and replace the water then give it some time to stabilize.
Zakary2003
Active Member
Wow. I guess I should definitely avoid any harsh cleaning chemicals like bleach then?
Yes, no reason to?
Dead bodies are not going to ruin your rock. It just may have dead corals or sponges that need to be scrubbed off.
When we used to buy live "boat rock" - it was covered in dead material but came back to life with care.
Zakary2003
Active Member
Yeah that's a good point. I'm just be worried about the toxins and stuff that corals release when they're stressed and dying, as well as pathogenic microbes feasting on the dead stuff. I had a ton of different zoas and palys so palytoxins are also something I'm concerned about.
The toxins won't be leaching from your rock. Just wear protection for yourself, clean it up and change the water and add new carbon.
If you bleach the rock, you will be starting from scratch. It is probably more valuable to a healthy tank to keep it alive.
Nick Steele
2500 Club Member
I would replace the sand and water 100% leave tank without lights for a few weeks (cover it to make completely dark if possible) that will kill off any algae on the rocks too.
Another note, I also have no idea how you would bleach rock in a dorm... you would have to do it outside or somewhere with ventilation and leave it out there but somewhere safe from people or animals? That doesn't even seem like an option to me because it is a public space.
Zakary2003
Active Member
My dorm building used to be a hotel in the 70s. There's a balcony I was planning to use if needed.
20 gal is easy. Get all the rock out scrub and put aside in good salt water. Dumpt the rest, water, sand , dead animals. Flush them all down the toilet (just dump the sand and get new sand if you have/want to keep a sand bed.)
Scrub the tank and equipment and remix the salt and start over.
Scrub the tank and equipment and remix the salt and start over.
ZoWhat
10K Club member
See if your local news will do a story featuring an interview with you.... then have a gofundme page to promote yourself at the end of your story.
If you get the local news to AIR this story of interest, I bet the gofundme donation will fill up to.buy you a 2nd tank.
Local news love stories of interest outside the normal everday news. They love human interest stories
Sell them the drama of not being able to get back to your pets. Every good human interest story has drama and chaos..
Good luck
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Zakary2003
Active Member
Unfortunately not. They aren't letting anyone on campus, no exceptions. If they would have just allowed people on campus, my tank would have been totally fine. My LFS and a few friends in the area volunteered to take care of the tank but security wouldn't let them in.
Zakary2003
Active Member
I've been informed that the school is going to send me pictures of the aquarium so I can file a renter's insurance claim for the dead stuff.
Should I post the pictures here or is that gross?
How do determine how much the tank was worth? Just literally adding up how much I spent on stuff? A lot of the corals were given to me or exchanged for other stuff, and all the big name online purchases I made were during sales. If I purchased everything right now from an online retailer like Top Shelf Aquatics or World Wide Corals, it might be 2 or 3 times more expensive than what I originally paid. Do I go with those higher values or would that be fraud?
Has anyone ever filed an insurance claim for a dead tank? I had no idea that was even a thing.
Should I post the pictures here or is that gross?
How do determine how much the tank was worth? Just literally adding up how much I spent on stuff? A lot of the corals were given to me or exchanged for other stuff, and all the big name online purchases I made were during sales. If I purchased everything right now from an online retailer like Top Shelf Aquatics or World Wide Corals, it might be 2 or 3 times more expensive than what I originally paid. Do I go with those higher values or would that be fraud?
Has anyone ever filed an insurance claim for a dead tank? I had no idea that was even a thing.
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What about a friend that can get your "medication", that's local to Tampa, maybe that someone reading this can help out with a backpack of distilled water even, while getting your ahemmedicationahem.
Charles Zinn
Active Member
Where the bubblers still working? what are nutrient levels? Have the soft corals split? have the electronics come back online? how about a picture?
Charles Zinn
Active Member
yes on rock, again what are nutri3ent levels? you are in school, view this as project you will learn alot!
Zakary2003
Active Member
I don't have any of those details for you. I'm not allowed back until Saturday. All I know is that I was called by the Dean of Students yesterday and informed that it seemed like everything in the tank was dead. The coral didn't look like it was alive and they saw no living fish (no dead fish either, but let's be real here. They probably didn't make it) and lots of dead inverts. I don't know about nutrient levels, electronics, or the status of the soft corals and I haven't recieved any pictures from them yet. My last update was a few weeks ago and all the electronics were working then, but we got hit by a second hurricane since then.
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