100 Gallon Saltwater Tank..HELP

[kristylr]

Hello,

I have a few questions!
I have just got a 100 Gallon Saltwater aquarium given to me and I really don't know anything about it.:grumble:

Here is what I have and maybe somebody would be kind enough to help me out...

My sister n law got a divorce and (waiting on the divorce) she let her husbands tank sit for two years. She added water and kept the filters going but let all the fish die from neglect. She got the tank in the divorce and did not want it and I went and got the thing yesterday.

I broke the tank down and saved some of the water and packed all of the live rock in totes. I am home and have just cleaned all of the live rock with brushes and currently have the rock in a huge tote sitting in fresh saltwater in my bathroom with a heater and I have a air-hose in the tote.
The rock was filthy! I did not see anything on the rock that even appeared to be alive.

I tossed all of the sand and plan to purchase more later.

I have the empty tank on my porch and I am fixing to go clean it very well.

It came with all of the lights, test kits, filtration....I don't really understand what all of it is yet but it once was a beautiful set up.

I know her husband had over 6 thousand dollars in the tank at one time, but all the fish have died.
I am not in any hurry but I would like to save this rock, if its even possible at this point. I would also like to know what all of this equipment is.
I plan to get all of this back up and running and have always wanted a saltwater tank.
I have had freshwater tanks for years but NEVER had a saltwater tank.

If I have to start over (because everything was neglected so bad) I am willing to do that. I may need to buy a new filtration for it because all of this equipment is really dirty and I honestly don't know what is good or bad here.
Any suggestions would be appreciated!

 

[Bifferwine]

It sounds like you have done everything right so far. It's good that you kept the rock wet, and have it in a container with a powerhead and heater. You can definitely re-use it. Live rock is expensive, so good going.

You can clean the tank with a vinegar-water solution. That's the safest thing to use. Don't use any soaps or stuff like that. Just scrub it with vinegar, then rinse it out well with the hose.

Post pictures of the equipment you have. We'll be able to ID it and tell you whether it's worth it to keep it or pitch it.

 

[kristylr]

THANK YOU!

I am going out to clean the tank and I will use vinegar. I will get some pictures of this equipment on here tomorrow (before I clean it) and if its not worth keeping let me know.

I want a good start and I want to make sure I got the right equipment. I am so glad this website is available! I have no idea what I am doing with this thing.

I was told to keep the rock wet and I done that. I have the heater on and set at 80 degrees at the moment....is that too warm?

 

[Bifferwine]

No, 80 is just fine. Did you measure the salinity on the saltwater before you added the rocks? It should be between 1.020 and 1.026.

 

[kristylr]

Yes, I tested the water and it appeared to be perfect.

I just got the tank clean (it was really dirty) I am fixing to tote the thing in the house.

I am going to have my husband build me a cabinet for it and a canopy. How long will those rocks be OK sitting in that water? I need to test it daily right, and change the water out every couple of days?

This thing came with a big plastic box (with 3 compartments) it says Preskim 150 on the side and has blue plastic balls in the middle chamber.

It also came with this thing with 3 tubes. It was hooked up to a water outlet and was attached to the wall. I will get some pictures of all of this equipment on here tomorrow. I am so new to saltwater tanks that I don't even know what any of it is called.

Thanks again for all of your help! :bowdown:

 

[Bifferwine]

The rocks will be fine for a while -- you can leave them there for several weeks to several months. You don't need to test it daily. At first you probably should, but if your parameters start to level out, you don't need to test as often. I'd change the water once or twice a week. There's going to be some die off, but it doesn't sound like there was much living on it anyways. Basically, you are just trying to keep the bacteria alive. As long as they have water at the correct temp and salinity, the bacteria will be fine.

The box thing sounds like a wet-dry filter. The balls are called bioballs. It's an outdated method of filtration, but you can definitely make it useful by tweaking a few things.

The thing with three tubes sounds like a RODI unit. That's for making water for the tank. The filters will need to be changed, but it should still work. An RODI unit is an essential piece of equipment. You would have had to buy one anyways.

 

[kristylr]

I expected that some of the equipment would probably be outdated. He had started his tank out 10 years ago and it had some of the most beautiful rock in it that I had ever seen....its a shame that it got in this condition.

I will have to purchase some live rock to make this rock alive again, right?

I am willing to purchase new equipment...I just don't know what all I need. I think it would be better for me to do that anyway. Its hard for a beginner to start up with old stuff with absolutely no manuals on anything!

Thanks again for helping me! I sit here most of the morning just staring at all of this stuff! Haha!

 

[Bifferwine]

No, the rock should be alive still. As long as it's been kept wet. It only "dies" if you dry it out, boil it, bleach it, etc.