Help!

Three weeks ago, I had what appeared to be a fire in my 55 gallon salt water tank. All that we can figure out is the Fluval Internal Filter caught on fire (inside the sealed tubing) and then turned to a very thick black smoke. All my fish (RIP) died almost immediately. There was a thick black scum on top of the water. We tried to clean it off before moving the rock out of the tank and into new water, hoping to save the live rock and coral. The coral didn't make it, but we are wondering if the rock was killed or can we just re-set up the tank with this rock and buy some chromies and get it going again? Thank you for any feedback you may have. Kim

 

Welcome to 3reef Kim.

I myself would sure try and get some dry base rock or cured LR and replace the existing rock.

I realize that is not cheap for a 55 gallon but personally I would try rather than speculate what chemicals interacted with the rock and how much residual is left within the rock pores.

I suppose you could start with a couple chromis and see how they fair, corals maybe a bit tricker.

Good luck

 

I would have to say start over. Sand bed included. Sorry, I know this is not fun at all. If you soaked the rock in the right chemicals and then water and then nukes it I bet you could use it again in the future. We are talking a few month of soaking and it probably isn't worth the risk. Have you contacted fluval? If it is a newer device they may be willing to help with the cost

 

Or maybe you could dry the rock and spray it with a pressurized water sprayer thingy and get all the chemicals off. ???

 

Thank you

Thank you all for your opinion... I am really bummed. I teach at a small catholic school and can't afford to replace my awesome tank (it was 6 years old and have NEVER had any trouble until now). Guess I will start saving $ and see what I can do.

 

Sorry for the loss. :-/

You might try the local reef clubs in your area or even the LFS. You might find hobbyist that can hook you up with some LR from their tanks and assist you in getting things up and running sooner.

Good luck to you and maybe think nano as they are sometimes cheaper to get underway.

 

After Christmas

We've decided that we will start a new tank after Christmas vacation. (When I say we... the deacon in our church is a fish tank nut and so the deal is I keep it and do regular maintenance and he does the big water change, etc...) I will keep in touch. Kim

 

just make your own rock i made 150 lb for around $50

 

Sorry for the loss. Try and get some nice dry rocks from Marco Rocks. They are very attractive and very porous and will seed with some live rock/sand.
I would go after Fluval and have them reimburse you for their faulty/defective product. This hobby is not cheap and you should not have to bare the cost for something which was not your fault.

 

That sucks! Sorry for the HUGE loss! I'd def be contacting the company! Have a feeling they would help! If not, i'd be willing to chip in a few bucks to help! let me know where to send it! I think its a great hobby to teach kids! This can be a big learning lesson for them! Good luck and PM me where to send a donation! I'll send ya some frags in a few months too!

BTW, I'd be more than happy to contact the company and get this set straight! i have a few skills in life and one of them is negotiating things like this! Well normally bigger things, but, I'd be more than happy to help!