How do i know if my sand is dead

Kimberly,
There is some very helpful advise so far.
I would suggest testing your well water for Nitrates, the same you would do for your tank.
If there is nothing live in the tank I would suggest draining the tank. Trowing out the Lava rock. The Live rock you do have you should put in the oven at 150 for an hour. Then let sock in Fresh water for a week or more changing the water every couple of days.
Once that is done, use RO/DI water mix new salt water and with new sand fill the tank back up. Also you will need to purchase more new Live rock.
This will start your system over form scratch and you will have to go through cycling the system again

Good Luck
J

 

Sounds like an excellent plan I would take his advice. I know it sounds like a Pain but in the end it will be worth it because your tank will be healthy and happy

 

To answer you plainly: There is nothing living that will "FIX" your problem. As others have said, the best option for you at this point is to probably just start over.

 

Hey Kim,

Like Jason, others, and myself have suggested. Dump the water, sand/crushed coral and lava rock. Wash the tank with white vinegar and clean water and rinse with water, then wipe dry. As for the good rock, it will need to be nuked or what Jason suggested.

If you don't have already, pickup a RO DI system with a TDS meter.

Keep us posted dear and cheer up! Once your back up and running, I'll have an Eagle Eye frag put aside for you to get you started.

Sent from my HTC EVO using Tapatalk

 

kimberly

To the person about the frag thanks . But i dont know if i will ever get it back up and running . But i really appreciate the gesture. That is very nice of you. I wish someone lived close enough to me to come help me. I could just cry right about now .i dont know anyone around here with saltwater tanks. And really dont have that much money to invest but i do have alot of time . You are such a nice person. By the way i did see some kind of little worm in my tank that is alive. Is that a good sign or not.

 

It could be a bristle worm. it just eats leftover food and stuff in the sand. Im really sorry about your tank but you could have it back up and running and just take your time!

 

kimberly

What is a bristle worm and can it help me?

 

Its just a little worm that lives in the LR and they eat left over food in the tank, they are beneficial but very ugly haha, some say too many can be bad, some don't like them at all and try to get rid of them. They usually come out at night and feed on the dietris that is in your live sand. This is what they look like

 

kimberly

thanks starfish that is what is creeping around in my tank . so do i need to get rid of it next time i see it? can that thing help clean up this mess?

 

kimberly, you're not really listening to any of the advice you've been given. A worm is not going to fix your tank. There is not anything that you can put in your tank as it currently is or that lives in your tank that can "fix" it.

The only thing that will "fix" it is if you empty all of the water, get rid of the crushed coral, get rid of the lava rock, clean the tank up, put in new sand, live rock, and RO/DI water.