Need help reviving neglected tank

[ozs]

Hello,

My 3 year old tank is in terrible shape. I've had the tank at my office, and was just able to go get it.
The macroalgae grew a lot and was mostly dead. I just removed 75% of it. There's tons of algae growing everywhere. I've been trying to remove as much as possible. I'll likely remove the algae covered rock, and maybe everything else and start from scratch.

How can I clean this tank up and bring it back to health?

[Dch48]

I don't see any shrimp in those pics. Are there any in there?

[ozs]

Yes there are still many shrimp and some snails. The snails seem to die young these days, haven't seen any grow very large in probably a year.

[Varanus]

That so much algae grew points to excess nutrients. That said, I don't know if starting over would be the best idea if the shrimp are healthy. Generally algae should diminish over time if you don't feed the tank, but that it grew so much while you were absent makes me think there must be excess organic matter fueling it.

Is that a coconut hide in the tank? The husk could be slowly decaying and fueling the algae growth perhaps?

[Dch48]

If it were mine, I would just top off the water and let it be if the shrimp are doing well.

[sliphorn]

..
If that is a coconut husk I'd take it out. Too much organic matter breaking down and over time may cause problems for the shrimp.
..

[Vorteil]

Start all over. To much to overcome vs getting a fresh start.

[Mustafa]

Holy crap! That is a *lot* of organic matter in your tank, especially if you have not fed the tank for three years. And, yes, the most likely source is your coconut shell. As others have said, take it out immediately at the very least. Not sure how normally your shrimp are behaving, but starting over may not be a bad idea, this time without anything organic in the tank besides animals and live plants...or, if you do not see any dead shrimp and they are still picking at things, then you could continue with this tank and you probably have to never feed it again (at least for 5-10 years or so...see the sticky thread by our member "tooth" at the top of the main Supershrimp forum page).