Advice for a reefer going to college

[Doobledoo]

Hello everyone! I've been a lurker for a long time, and this is my first time posting! For some context, I have had a 32 gallon Fluval Flex Saltwater tank for about 2-3 years now, with the upgraded inTank media baskets and everything else stock. It's stocked with a pair of clowns, a damsel, and only two corals (gsp and a large hammer)

Now, I set up this tank while I was in high school, and this last year I've gone away to college. The issue is that my school is extremely far away from home, to the point where I have to fly 4+ hours to get to the location. This means that I am gone from home for the majority of the year, and I only visit around 4 or 5 times per year for only a few weeks. As a result, I've left my dad (who is a fan of the hobby and has supported me since I set up my first tank) to be in charge of taking care of my reef. However, he does not regularly maintain it has has neglected it quite a bit.

Here's some pictures: a general view and a picture of my huge hammer! Interestingly enough, the hammer has done extremely well in the neglected tank and has grown to around 8 heads from the original small frag that I received.

Now that I'm back, I'll do a much needed water change to clean up the tank. There's a few things that stand out to me, though. First, there is a major outbreak of cyano in the tank, to the point where there is large pieces of cyano and other detritus floating around the top of the water. Here's a more close-up view of the rock... I'm fairly confident this is cyano but feel free to correct me.

Also, there's what appears to be baby bristle worms all over the glass, yet they're incredibly small (about the size of a larger copepod). Does anyone have any idea what they could be?

Overall, I'm in need of some advice! Since the stock equipment is not very good, should I improve lighting and flow? I know cyano issues are related to flow so I would be willing to invest in that. Also, I'm quite a lazy reefer, so I don't actually have any test kits for alkalinity, calcium, or phosphates. (I will definitely invest in this).

Other questions: What other corals should I get? I've tried my luck with leather corals but they've never really done well in this tank. What clean up crew should I get? All of the original crabs and snails that I got have died out completely, so I also need to fix that.

Since spring break is finishing and I'll be going back to school in 2 days, I sadly won't be able to do any work on my reef until this summer, where I'll try my best to implement the help I've received. Until then, what can I do to improve my reef? I really don't want to take it down so any help would be appreciated!

 

[KrisReef]

Get a new father. Or give him a break.

Take it down today, sell or give away the livestock .

Clean and dry the equipment and sell or store it until you finish school.

You are not Superman so you can fly back and forth to be with Lois Lane (this tank) on Friday night and swoop back into school on Monday and have time for school.
Lois deserves better. Get rid of her and find a new girlfriend after you graduate.

Your parents are old and from another planet. Don’t be their Kryptonite.

School, it’s your future if you succeed.

:cool:

 

[BryanM]

I'm basically in the same camp as Krisreef above - Its a tall order to try and keep a tank going when you can only control it 4-5 times a year and pops, while I'm sure is doing his best, just isn't able to keep up.

It isn't really fair to the tank or your pops.

Graduation present, re-start the tank!

 

[Clowning_Around72]

Sell all corals and run it fish only if you really want a tank.
Do a few big water changes and export some serious nutrients.
Im not sure about filtration on the system but I would clean anything that has to be cleaned.

Two issues I can see even then are:

1. Your dad might not know how to respond to or even notice certain issues in the aquarium.
2. Fish only is still going to take a few water changes and some ability to notice and respond to problems

 

[Doobledoo]

Very well then. I suppose I didn't want to take down my tank because I have grown so attached to my pets. But I have made the tough decision that it's the best choice to take down my tank. I did two large water changes and gave away my corals to a buddy of mine.

It also really was the case that my dad wasn't noticing certain issues in the aquarium, as he confused the cyano with coralline algae, and didn't remove it when it first appeared. He even said it looked good :rolling-on-the-floor-laughing:

Anyways, I will keep the tank running as a FOWLR until I return for the summer, where I will completely take it down. Meanwhile I want to find someone or a LFS that is willing to take my fish. Once that is done, my aquarium will sit collecting dust in my garage for a while. Maybe someday I will be able to set it up again.

Thank you everyone for the replies!