very dirty tank

i just got a 72g bowfront from my neighbor who moved, and he didnt take care of it much. there was salt buildup all around the rim and the glass cover that was on the tank. and algea everywhere on the back of the tank. kinda greenish brownish things.

should i clean it and start over with the live rock and the live sand? i have saved some of the water about half (so around 30 gallons?)

sorry no pictures right now, its raining hard and its dark out, so i left the tank in the back of the truck (in the camper shell)

thanks in advance

 

I'd start over.

 

An easy way to clean is with plain white vingegar. I recently acquired a 20g tall set-up which was caked with calcium deposits, algae, and salt. Filled the tank with water and one gallon of white vinegar and put some circulation in there. I let it set for about a day and.....voila! Stuff came off so easily! Of course I rinsed well and filled it (fresh RO/DI), ran for 24 hours, drained and filled and ran another 24 hours. This was probably overkill, but better safe than sorry, right?!

Good luck!

Oh, and I started over too. After reading and researching and asking loads of questions I realized it would be best to start over and not acquire someone else's "problems." I'm new to this whole thing and want to give myself every possible advantage.

 

do i keep the sand?
i dont know what kind of sand was in there, and this tank was pretty dirty.
i have taken out all the live rocks that was in there and have them in clean water i took from the tank.

but what do i do about the sand and the tank?

thanks in advance

 

I would toss the sand in the garbage and clean the tank. odds are the sand has just as many probs as the rock. i vote start brand new. it will cost you more time and effort to use that old stuff then to just start new.

 

id start from zero....doesnt sound lke a cared for system.

 

Starting over is a good idea but reusing existing items will save you $$.
1. Remove and clean all the equipments (heater, skimmer, filter, powerhead, etc).
2. Prepare a new saltwater in different tank (or bucket)
3. Scrub off algae from live rocks in old water and put them in the new tank/bucket.
4. Run skimmer, heater and powerhead in the new tank/bucket without the light for about two/three weeks (it will clean up the remaining algae from the rocks.)
5. Toss the sand except a few cups which will be re-used later.
6. Clean the tank with vinegar.
7. Fill the tank with saltwater and add dry sand. Mix in a few cups of old sand you saved earlier.
8. Add live rocks and cycle the tank.

When cycling is complete, you will get a fresh new tank.

 

right now i have the fishes in a smaller 20g tank, with 2 big piece of the live rock
(damsel, gobi and perc clown and a shrimp) no sand.
water is heat to ~78 and a hang on the back filter to give it a little flow(no filter media in there)

i am kinda confused about the live rocks. the rocks seem ok to me(but what do i know?)
there are purple stuff on them. do i go ahead and clean them up like you suggested? or keep them as they are? and just get some ro/di water and start the tank?

thanks again
sry for asking these dumb questions

 

sounds like coraline , can you post a picture?

 

Easier to start over than to have problems from the beginning.