Can’t keep anything alive, need help

[Lavey29]

Hey, buy once cry once. Rip clean that tank. Ditch your rocks and sand. Buy a few pieces of nice wet live ocean rock and Jumpstart your tanks biome at start up. It will make your whole experience much better.

 

[BristleWormHater]

Hey, buy once cry once. Rip clean that tank. Ditch your rocks and sand. Buy a few pieces of nice wet live ocean rock and Jumpstart your tanks biome at start up. It will make your whole experience much better.

Yes. Also, a great vendor for ocean live rock is tbs live rock
https://tbsaltwater.com/product-category/live-rock/

 

[twentyleagues]

Hey, buy once cry once. Rip clean that tank. Ditch your rocks and sand. Buy a few pieces of nice wet live ocean rock and Jumpstart your tanks biome at start up. It will make your whole experience much better.

More like dispose clean.

 

[Lavey29]

More like dispose clean.

Word

 

[BristleWormHater]

So how does one remove the copper or bad things from the rocks? Is that possible?

There are products for dissolving copper in drinking water but, I would rather buy new rock & sand that is the only way to ensure it is gone.

 

[Adamski08]

Yes. Also, a great vendor for ocean live rock is tbs live rock
https://tbsaltwater.com/product-category/live-rock/

Probably should've mentioned that I live in Sweden so I'm guessing that I'll have to buy live rocks somewhere else, If they don't have international shipping.

 

[BristleWormHater]

There are products for dissolving copper in drinking water but, I would rather buy new rock & sand that is the only way to ensure it is gone.

Also using those products would probably get rid of copper, but introduce other harmful substances.

 

[Lavey29]

Probably should've mentioned that I live in Sweden so I'm guessing that I'll have to buy live rocks somewhere else, If they don't have international shipping.

But you have beautiful women there so rocks aren't as important.

 

[Uncle99]

Are you sure?

Disclaimer: TRIMARIN must not be used in aquariums containing invertebrates such as sea anemones, corals and crustaceans. To treat disease in an aquarium containing invertebrates, use eSHa OODINEX.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION! Contains copper, do not overdose! Do not use in aquariums containing invertebrates

I doubt he will have coral success after dosing this in the tank.

Apparently not.
Good catch.
I guess it’s gone too far to do anything but restart.
Bit of a shame, all he needed was fallow, there were no fish.

 

[BristleWormHater]

Probably should've mentioned that I live in Sweden so I'm guessing that I'll have to buy live rocks somewhere else, If they don't have international shipping.

Yeah tbs doesn't do international.

 

[Adamski08]

Yeah tbs doesn't do international.

I'll have to find somewhere here where they sell live rocks.

 

[Ziggy17]

Most things have been covered but I’ll advise you to not take advice from the “stress dots” neighbour going forward.

 

[Adamski08]

Most things have been covered but I’ll advise you to not take advice from the “stress dots” neighbour going forward.

I won't, lesson learned. He didn't Quarantine or use medicin either. But he hasn't had an aquarium for a couple of years so I guess people were not as informed back in the day.

 

[Fish Fan]

As others have said, starting over at this point is likely the best idea. It may sound extreme, but it's the best way to avoid having another issue like you just had down the road. There are ways to speed up your cycle (such as using live rock), and there are users here that will help you get the tank cleaned up, setup right, and cycled again as quickly as is practical. I get that you're in Sweden, but I'm sure your nicer fish store will have some live rock for sale, or at the least would be able to get you some sand or rubble from an established tank to get you going again. And now you know not to buy from a run down fish store ;-)

 

[Fish Fan]

I do have a huge concern/question that I don't think anyone has addressed yet: I had always heard that copper can get into the silicon of the tank itself, and for this reason you could never use that tank with inverts again. Am I mistaken here? Everyone is suggesting the OP basically ditches everything and then sanitizes the tank, and then starts over. I'm concerned the tank itself is contaminated at this point. What do you guys think?

 

[Fish Fan]

OK, I did a little research on the above question about silicon, and got some mixed opinions as expected, but I will always differ to one of our resident chemists who from this link indicates that the copper leaching into the silicon is not a big concern:

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/c...pper-be-converted-back-to-a-reef-tank.643737/

I do not think copper ion soaks into silicon (the blue stains from freshwater tanks is likely methylene blue), and any that did would be extremely slow to redissolve.

The bigger concern is any sort of calcium carbonate deposits or organic matter deposits, both of which can bind substantial copper and require very good cleaning to use the tank.

Looks like the OP should be good to go to reuse this tank, as long as the tank doesn't have a lot of mineral buildup. Maybe give it a good rinse with white vinegar (a weak acid), then rise again with fresh water, and proceed.

 

[twentyleagues]

I'll have to find somewhere here where they sell live rocks.

You do not need live rock to have a successful reef tank. Dry rock based tanks can and will work. The Rock had nothing to do with this issue. Get new dry rock if you can not find live. Get new sand. For reference my tank build is all dry rock.

Start the process over and read up on quarantining fish properly while you wait for the tank to cycle. Get the proper medications and a qt set up or get quarantined fish from a reputable vendor. I have a hard time buying fish on line because shipping is stressful and a lot of people dont do it correctly. I purchase my fish from 1 of 2 reputable lfs in my area both use a great wholesaler that puts the fish through a copper treatment where applicable and both stores also hold the fish in copper while waiting to sell them. This all may not be perfect and 100% quarantined but I have had good luck with fish from them. The biggest thing with all 3 of them is they will not sell a noticeably sick fish, at one lfs they will qt the sick fish in their dedicated qt system properly. I know not everyone is this lucky so its best to understand how to do it yourself. I am prepared to do this myself if needed. I have an observation tank set up and running where the fish goes first for a couple weeks at minimum before it goes into the dt. I have a dedicated qt sitting dry if I notice anything that needs to be handled. I have the room for this you may not so where you get fish from is very important if you dont. You dont need an actual glass tank for qt you can use a tote that will hold water but I do like a glass or acrylic qt better as its easier to see the fish even if the tote is clear.

 

[Adamski08]

You do not need live rock to have a successful reef tank. Dry rock based tanks can and will work. The Rock had nothing to do with this issue. Get new dry rock if you can not find live. Get new sand. For reference my tank build is all dry rock.

Start the process over and read up on quarantining fish properly while you wait for the tank to cycle. Get the proper medications and a qt set up or get quarantined fish from a reputable vendor. I have a hard time buying fish on line because shipping is stressful and a lot of people dont do it correctly. I purchase my fish from 1 of 2 reputable lfs in my area both use a great wholesaler that puts the fish through a copper treatment where applicable and both stores also hold the fish in copper while waiting to sell them. This all may not be perfect and 100% quarantined but I have had good luck with fish from them. The biggest thing with all 3 of them is they will not sell a noticeably sick fish, at one lfs they will qt the sick fish in their dedicated qt system properly. I know not everyone is this lucky so its best to understand how to do it yourself. I am prepared to do this myself if needed. I have an observation tank set up and running where the fish goes first for a couple weeks at minimum before it goes into the dt. I have a dedicated qt sitting dry if I notice anything that needs to be handled. I have the room for this you may not so where you get fish from is very important if you dont. You dont need an actual glass tank for qt you can use a tote that will hold water but I do like a glass or acrylic qt better as its easier to see the fish even if the tote is clear.

How big should a qt be? I’m thinking of keeping a couple of small fish and some coral. Maybe clownfish or some other fish around that size.

 

[Tamberav]

How big should a qt be? I’m thinking of keeping a couple of small fish and some coral. Maybe clownfish or some other fish around that size.

10g as long as you don't buy every fish at once. A pair of clowns can be QT in a 10 gallon. I would personally cycle it with a filter and sponge media rather than set it up the same day you get the fish. It is just one less thing to go wrong if it is cycled. A 20g is even better if you can afford that.

I am sorry you were given so much misinformation.

 

[Adamski08]

10g as long as you don't buy every fish at once. A pair of clowns can be QT in a 10 gallon. I would personally cycle it with a filter and sponge media rather than set it up the same day you get the fish. It is just one less thing to go wrong if it is cycled. A 20g is even better if you can afford that.

I am sorry you were given so much misinformation.

What do mean with cycle it with sponge and filter media rather than setting it up the same day.