OK..my tank died!! what now?

[native]

ok i know i got to replace all the filter media. But the blackworms that fouled my water are still in the sand. do i have to throw out all the sand? yes iv;e tried siphoning but there's always more dead bodies in it....

[Nolapete]

I'd siphon all the sand out into a 5 gallon bucket then rinse it very well. It seems that you're going to be starting over from scratch, so thoroughly clean everything.

[Star_Rider]

there's no fish??
I wonder how or why remove the dead black worms..are they dead?
I would just use them to cycle the tank if they are dead blackworms.

[wataugachicken]

i would use them to cycle the tank as well.

[Rbishop]

Change out the sand.

[Aylmer]

change the sand and start from the begenning. Dont think you want to cycle the tank with dead stuff. It could cause problems. why take the risk

[Dwarf Puffers]

Exactly what problems? It's widely accepted to cycle a tank with a (dead) cocktail shrimp, blackworms should be fine... I mean, you feed them to fish!

[native]

this is what happened. the black worms are allergic to declorinator. My lfs later told me black worms are actually parasites and the declorinator kills thems. They died in droves and foulded the water. impossible to get them all out of the sand. I ended up throwing the sand away. the stench was incredible.