A week without power - Recoverable?

[loftreef]

So, tank went without power for a week following hurricane Ida. There was no flow(obviously) and temps hit 85-86 during the day. I came back to the city to rescue my 2 clowns who are currently living in a 5 gallon bucket with a bubbler.
Basically my question is: what are my options from here? When i evacuated the corals were already melting. I pulled the rocks and sealed them in a bucket in case the power was out for a very very long time so I wouldnt come back to a horror show. I left my sand and water sitting. Is my bacteria done for?

My current plan is this: use my hospital tank setup (10 gal) to keep my clowns going with water changes while i completely restart my main tank.

 

[NeonRabbit221B]

Sorry to hear about the losses, very sad to hear. The bacteria should be fine on your rock work but I would follow @brandon429 strategy for a rip clean. Remove dead CUC, rotting coral, blow off junk on rocks and rinse the sand. Live rock bacteria should be fine to put the clowns back in after resetting

 

[brandon429]

Neon I 100% agree there is no better or preferable method. Its exactly the means and the reasoning a hospital would debride a burn wound and remove sloughs and blocks, let natural systems capitalize back over.

we are re establishing porosity to the rocks, packed in with expected decay from the challenge. we wouldnt even have bacterial issues if we just power blast off their coating and reestablish flow, over clean surfaces.

post a full tank shot please we can discern all details from one pic. the follow up finished shots will shine gemlike. sitting in non circulation in unideal temps harms all the life above the bacterial level, but not the bac we just need the covering blasted off in a fierce cleaning run. rocks swished in saltwater strictly, sand in tap water rinsed for two hours till perfect clarity, final rinse in RO, set back up the whole tank with new water matching old tank's salinity and temp.

other params dont matter, don't dose anything its a skip cycle option that will reinstate the system immediately, don't buy bottle bac this is a bottle bac free job. I just found #14 entry on instances we would not use bottle bac for my other thread, nice referral here.

 

[loftreef]

Apparently I had a bristle worm the size of my finger living in the sand. Here's a FTS with a rock I put back to get a pic. One thing I didn't mention: I put the rocks into a bucket filled with TAP water when I came back to rescue the clowns thinking it was all gone already.
Still see copepods on the glass and tiny worms have made their way onto the glass that I've never seen before.

 

[brandon429]

That is truly a helpful post

it will help others map out rebuilds as skip cycle runs


this reef is in the beginning stages of eutrophication, advanced aging brought on by stilled stress but as you can see it’s itching to live just fine and seed pods etc

search out examples of eutrophication from nature articles, it describes blanketing, selection for plants (in this case it’s light cyano) and algae vs calcifying corals. The rip clean is forced oligotrophy- the polar opposite condition. The steps above are perfect for this reef and add this: right after rock swishing step in old tank water, set rocks on the counter and use a knife tip to detail dig and rasp the surfaces free of algae, you’re now using reef dentistry literally to debride algae off its anchor spot, rinse away and make rock algae free not as dips, but precision metal tool dentistry and not scrubbing (scrubbing = pestle the algae into crevices, bad)

this rasping removes the plants and that’s not much rock it will take five mins or ten. * when the rock is clean manually and ready to be set into the perfectly clean tank, sand rinsed, dab some peroxide wet on a paper towel across the cleaned areas that used to have algae. This mild contact burn is precise, it’s not a dip. And it’s on spots you already rasped, it’s targeted plant kill for invisible holdfasts.
let burn for 3 mins, rinse off, rebuild reef cloudless it will be a skip cycle put back that rock on clean sand


many storm-harmed reefs can copy from your work

you’re working the rock like a modeler would on building a miniature volcano model, scraping and drawing grooves into mortar, detailed type point scraping to lift and dislodge plant/ rinse well in clean saltwater.

Peroxide used 3x harsher than this method has already been tested to not harm filter bac, ok it’s shiny pics time. Use all new make water matching temp and salinity of the old. *1/10th of the pods you see are already holed in the rock and some will survive our cleaning, for sure, don’t concern over the pods about to die in the rinse theyre incidentals only. This is the exact plan that will fix that reef based on pics, it’s a no bottle bac job.

 

[brandon429]

Here is our most recent work example. He didn’t have rock growths so we skipped that step

your reef is about to be this clean: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/substrate-change.851745/


@TimD this is the third rip clean we patterned off yours nice job mang

 

[loftreef]

Thanks @brandon429 and @NeonRabbit221B I will work on this tonight and post any updates I have on here with pics

 

[brandon429]

this is my #1 favorite activity to do online even above new dry rock cycles. Nothing is more fun than remote rip clean feedback. It is the ultimate test and expression of updated cycling science because it involves a predicted strict ready date for skipping a cycle/ begin reefing anew vs open-ended wait, and we exclude all retail help other than peroxide. We test for no params other than temp and salinity, so all rip cleans turn out well without endless debate on .25 api ammonia.

 

[loftreef]

Alright, washed the sand in tap water for quite a while to get it clear then final rinse in RO. I rinsed the rocks in old tank water and rasped the surface with a scraper as best i could, I didnt focus too much on algae but it looks i got most of it. New water, new filter floss in the back, removed carbon for now. Slimmed down my rocks by leaving out about 10lbs and now we wait
Guess i should clean the outside glass

 

[brandon429]

and you did not add bottle bac is this correct, that is a highly detailed fix model you just made above my gosh

your documented work is exactly, without deviation, how giant reef tank owners would save their setups as they restore power and begin running. Not a single one should purchase bottle bac for this job.

 

[loftreef]

No bottled bac, I also cycled my tank in May according to your 'microbiology of reef tank cycling' thread using Carribsea 'Live sand' and Carribsea 'LifeRock'

 

[brandon429]

Loftreef thank you very much for documenting your work it can be copied in other reef tank jobs so clearly, well done

 

[LauraR]

this is my #1 favorite activity to do online even above new dry rock cycles. Nothing is more fun than remote rip clean feedback. It is the ultimate test and expression of updated cycling science because it involves a predicted strict ready date for skipping a cycle/ begin reefing anew vs open-ended wait, and we exclude all retail help other than peroxide. We test for no params other than temp and salinity, so all rip cleans turn out well without endless debate on .25 api ammonia.

I read this thread with great interest and am hoping to replicate your methods. I’ve been in the hobby less than a year, and this is my first time posting on here.

I evacuated New Orleans a week ago, following Hurricane Ida. The power had been off for 2 days, bubble tip anemone was almost dead, and clownfish were stressed. I put them all in 10 gal tank w/ sps coral, a couple small live rocks and 2 hermit crabs, filled halfway up w/ 50/50 mix old tank water and freshly mixed saltwater. Left most of the live rock and sand behind in 20 gal tank (scooped a small amount of sand into plastic box, set inside 10 gal, to transport crabs). Set 10 gal back up at a friend’s house, with new “live” sand from pet store. All the creatures are still alive, but I didn’t know about low lighting - I wonder if that’s why coral turned brown.

Now I’m returning home, 10 gal in back of van. Based on what I read here, I plan to transfer live rocks from 20 gal to buckets of saltwater, drain water, rinse the sand for a couple hours in another bucket in my deep sink, scrape and clean tank, put sand back in, fill tank w/ fresh saltwater, scrape rocks with knife instead of scrubbing w/ brush (!?!), rinse them in saltwater, put them back in tank, then reintroduce creatures to 20 gal. Does that sound about right? I’d love a little more detail about how to handle the live rock - do I scrape it all over, or just where I see algae growing? The rocks I evacuated have turned white-ish; can I place them back in the 20 gal as well, or would you recommend an interim step (the coral is on one of them, and the bubble tip on another). Is there any reason I shouldn’t add the “new” live sand to the 20 gal as well, assuming I rinse it first (it made the 10 gal very cloudy, which never really cleared). Thank you for any advice you can provide!

 

[brandon429]

Thank you so much for posting exactly here with a storm rebuild Laura

we want as many works in one place for patterning and easy linking in the future and your plan sounds great. Don’t give up on anemone it may come back if lucky and yes don’t use brushes as those pestle targets deeper into rock pores vs scraping up and out + rinse for restoring the existing filter bed still stuck to all rock surfaces


Loftreef was completely thorough in rinsing the reef was simply 110% clear and that gave it the best footing


*future algae gardening is expected in both these systems we aren’t selling one off cures


we sell complete cloudlessness because that helps when rocks have to be lifted out for touchups, when you set rocks back in stuff wont kick and cloud up, being cloudless allows for skip cycle future work plans


we will simply force compliance vs coax it.

 

[LauraR]

Thank you so much for posting exactly here with a storm rebuild Laura

we want as many works in one place for patterning and easy linking in the future and your plan sounds great. Don’t give up on anemone it may come back if lucky and yes don’t use brushes as those pestle targets deeper into rock pores vs scraping up and out + rinse for restoring the existing filter bed still stuck to all rock surfaces


Loftreef was completely thorough in rinsing the reef was simply 110% clear and that gave it the best footing


*future algae gardening is expected in both these systems we aren’t selling one off cures


we sell complete cloudlessness because that helps when rocks have to be lifted out for touchups, when you set rocks back in stuff wont kick and cloud up, being cloudless allows for skip cycle future work plans


we will simply force compliance vs coax it.

Thanks Brandon! I rinsed this batch of sand for about an hour with the hose. This is 30 seconds after I removed the hose (rinsing in sink was taking way too long). The sand settles quickly and the water is clear, but should I be worried about the little black flecks that I can’t fully get rid of? Or can I go directly to RO rinse once I get the rest of the sand this clean?

 

[brandon429]

It’s ready when you can reach in and lift a scoop, drop and it stays clear and it looks done that well

twist swish rocks in clean saltwater before setting back in and it will all skip cycle back into place very well

also key: not a bottle bac job. We are keeping all oxygen for the system none to share with extra cycling bac, suspended in water those bacteria we need remain on rocks even after twist swish and scrapes

we get to right the wrongs made by the bottle bacteria sales machine in posts like these. Cycling bac only at original dry rock startup, we also just used some in a long distance fish moving job in the fish holding buckets…bc there was no rock and we knew water bac could still absorb ammonia for the few hours drive

 

[LauraR]

It’s ready when you can reach in and lift a scoop, drop and it stays clear and it looks done that well

twist swish rocks in clean saltwater before setting back in and it will all skip cycle back into place very well

also key: not a bottle bac job. We are keeping all oxygen for the system none to share with extra cycling bac, suspended in water those bacteria we need remain on rocks even after twist swish and scrapes

we get to right the wrongs made by the bottle bacteria sales machine in posts like these. Cycling bac only at original dry rock startup, we also just used some in a long distance fish moving job in the fish holding buckets…bc there was no rock and we knew water bac could still absorb ammonia for the few hours drive

I cleaned one of the rocks with a knife, swished and powerhead-blasted it in a bucket of fresh saltwater, and put rock and sand back in the tank. I’ll try to work on the other two rocks that need cleaning today, but the process is taking a long while. In the meantime, should I fill the water back up and put one of the HOB filters back on? I took one of the filters (with biochem balls and bio sponge) out and rinsed it before we left, and it has just been sitting dry for the last week (the other I put in the 10 gal). Is there anything I should be aware of when putting this “dry” filter back in? Does what you said about the bottle bacteria go for bio sponges as well? In other words, should I put the sponge from the 10 gal into the filter on the skip cycle tank, or will the bacteria from the rocks/sand be sufficient?

 

[brandon429]

Rocks alone are sufficient, neither the sand nor the filtration matters at all to filtration consistency when it’s all assembled and ready. This sound crazy am aware but in the context of the thousands of no-sand reefs using zero filtration beyond sparse live rocks, carrying same # of fish as old setups, it’s very accurate.


New cycling science differs in this way from rigid, inflexible old cycling science which would ardently disagree with harm to any filter and would sub in a recommend to buy bottled bacteria to boot.



the recommend above regarding live rock ability has been tested for fifty pages in our sand removal thread, we remove their sand and filtration setups so we can safely move homes. Many decided not to put them back in the new setup. If your rocks stay wet they retain all needed filtration ability, even if you’re not feeding them. Wet = retained cycle, even after cleaning.

 

[brandon429]

Loftreef thank you for making a hurricane rebuild work thread.

 

[LauraR]

Rocks alone are sufficient, neither the sand nor the filtration matters at all to filtration consistency when it’s all assembled and ready. This sound crazy am aware but in the context of the thousands of no-sand reefs using zero filtration beyond sparse live rocks, carrying same # of fish as old setups, it’s very accurate.


New cycling science differs in this way from rigid, inflexible old cycling science which would ardently disagree with harm to any filter and would sub in a recommend to buy bottled bacteria to boot.



the recommend above regarding live rock ability has been tested for fifty pages in our sand removal thread, we remove their sand and filtration setups so we can safely move homes. Many decided not to put them back in the new setup. If your rocks stay wet they retain all needed filtration ability, even if you’re not feeding them. Wet = retained cycle, even after cleaning.

I have to keep sand in there for the hermit crabs, but I’m intrigued by the suggestion to go filter-free. If I want to try it, should I add an additional powerhead to provide sufficient flow? Before the storm, I hadn’t done a water change in months; just occasionally topped it off with fresh water when it evaporated noticeably Will I have to do frequent water changes if I’m not using a filter? I currently have combo filters/skimmers. If I forgo a filter, I would assume I need to buy a standalone skimmer; is this right? Is there anything else I should know about before going filter-free? Sorry for all the questions, but this whole concept is new to me, and pretty mind-blowing!