[DrHank]

I'm sorry to hear of the fish lice situation. I would have warned you had I known that you were going to use sand from the beach. I know it's tempting but there are so many pathogens present that it really isn't worth the risk. We tell our club members over here "everything from the Gulf, or nothing from the Gulf". At this point, my suggestion to you is to find out what the life cycle of a fish louse is and don't put any fish in the tank until after that period is over.

You aren't going to like my next suggestion one bit but I have to tell you. If it were my tank, I'd remove all of the rock from the tank into a 30 rubbermaid trash can half filler with newly made fresh water. I'd scrub the rock (in your tank) and then transfer it to the trash can. After all the rock is transferred, I'd get rid of the tank water and all the sand. I'd refill the tank with tap water, add a cup of bleach and run for 24 hours. I'd then drain the tank and refill it with tap water and dechlorinator at 4 times the recommended rate. Finally, I'd drain it and refill with DI water and your salt mix.

For sand, I would buy "Caribbsea" sand (probably from Drs. Foster & Smith) and start over.

If you decide not to do that, you risk infecting every fish you put into the tank. Sorry Melanie but shortcuts really aren't.