Mobile Bay Reef Keepers

Here is the deal. Due to circumstances out of my control my tank was abandoned for about 6 months. no pumps, no water changes, no lights, nothing......everything died. even the algae. All the live rock is a sand color. I just last week cleaned every thing up and put in new salt water. My question is.....Does my live rock still contain enough stuff to get going again or do i need to add more live rock to jump start it? Also...Is it absolutely necessary to have sand or can I get by with all rock?

With no lights or water flow very doubtful that the rock is still living. Just throw in a couple of new piece and it will jump start it. IMO sand is not absolutly a must but it is helpful


Ron

Ditto to what Ron said. Unlikely there's much living. Just give it a good look over and maybe blast the rock and clean with a hose or pressure washer. Many people are going bare bottom without sand these days. However, you do loose any buffering ability the sand has, so you'll need to dose calcium/alk a little more frequently (assuming you don't have a Calc Reactor).

Get your water back straight with a water change or two. Dump in even just one piece of live rock and within a few months you will start to see new growth. Rock is very forgiving once re-seeded.