Cleaning without losing beneficial bacteria

Hey everybody, first post here. So I bought 2 SW aquariums from a pet store that was closing, 1 45g and 1 36g. He gave me the water, crushed coral, and 40lbs of live rock. They are pretty filthy though and I want to get them set up right. He was filtering both them with Penguin Bio wheel HOB's and 2 under gravel filters. The under gravels have to go they're gross. The HOB's need a good vinegar bath.

Basically I want to clean everything without losing the good stuff. I have a 90g and have been picking away at and will eventually be a reef, right now its empty. These tanks will basically be housing the rock and substrate until I'm ready to use them in them in the 90. I know at least the crushed coral needs to be rinsed.

 

The beneficial bacteria live deep down in the live rock and in the foam, biowheel or sponge inserts in HOB filters. Used water is of no benefit since the bacteria are not free swimming so I would use that used water to rinse the crushed coral, live rock and filter foams then start with new saltwater from there.

 

I agree with making new water. Also, I would urge you to say bye to the under-gravel filters and buy or fabricate a couple sumps - they are just better in too many ways to count.

 

Have these tanks gone for a significant period of time, as in over 24 hours without flow or filtration?

Does rock have any algae growing on it or pest anemones? What is the color of the rock, is it purple or pink?

If the rock and filtration have been sitting without flow then personally I would ditch the filtration if you are not going to use it on your current tank.

Crushed corals is not one of my favorite substrates, it collects and holds detritus too easily IMO.

My plan would be to clean and scrub the tanks with a vinegar solution diluted. Keep the rocks moist if they are worth recovering and have no pest anemones or algae. Put the rocks back in the cleaned up tanks and allow them to cycle as need.

Long story short I do not really see the benefit of trying to maintain of the biological filter if it still exist. Tons of ways to seed tanks.

Welcome to 3reef and congrats on your new acquisitions.

 

Thanks everybody,
The rocks are mostly speckled with purple, a few of the smaller ones have lots of purple. Hoping that means they are "live". I paid 4 per pound so if they end up being base not a huge loss but really hoping otherwise. The problem is I'm so new I couldn't be sure by looking. I knew they should be wet and have some color but otherwise took a chance.

The owner of another LFS told me to put the rock on egg crate in a tub of SW over a piece of shrimp for a couple hours to draw out pests, so that's what I'm currently doing.

After reading all of your advice I think I will chuck all the crushed coral, the under gravels, and the HOB's (they are filthy as well). Go with argonite substrate and fresh SW.
I have a 20g sump sitting around so I can use that to filter the 45g (which will house all the rock, 36 will remain empty for now). That will also allow me to use both lights for one tank.

Still not sure if rock is live or base...

anything else to look for to verify?

Thanks again.

 

Welcome to 3reef! We're glad you're here and asking questions as you begin this journey

If the rock has some purple and has stayed wet, I would assume it's live. I would keep pieces that have some purple on them with no pests (be sure to check really carefully)......I'm not sure about the method for removing bad stuff......I remember reading on here that someone said to put the rock into a container with really low salinity (I think that's right) and pests will come out of the rock.....

To be on the safe side, check the rock really good and keep the pieces that have some coralline or interesting shapes and make sure they're pest free. You can then use them to seed the rest of your tank......I'm hoping others will chime in because I'm not aware of a way to tell whether the rock is live or just base rock....

Good call on chucking the substrate. Replacing it is not that expensive and you can seed it with a cup from someone that has an established system.

Many people have started their tanks with all base rock.