Algae Identification

[brandon429]

its a little different, on our sand rinse thread we dont remove the sand while water is in the tank, we disassemble the entire system down to an empty aquarium. we dont do that to always take the long road its specifically to keep you from clouding up the tank while corals are in there.

a 45 is easy, drain the water into a brute if you want to just reuse it after cleaning.

use all new is even better, thats a true param reset.

here is the most sandbed rinsers ever collected in a single post. Nine day rabbit hole read lol
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/official-sand-rinse-and-tank-transfer-thread.230281/
quick summary

rinse only when disassembled and the sand is rinsed in tap until its clear. somehow people find a way to short change this, and rinse till not clear. We mean clear. final rinse is RO water

reassemble the cloudless tank. as much new water as you can stand to muster

shine lights back on a weaker mode not full production lighting as ramp up after job is complete and your reef will shine

 

[brandon429]

i know it sounds crazy, rinsing sandbeds in tap. Its the only water source avail we have to rinse unlimited, it could take you two hours to clear that sandbed, they all run that dirty.


price of sandbedding.

the sand rinse thread is another separate study on rinsing but full bed removals too. if you're wondering if that recycles your reef, it doesnt, you can remove (or wash) a sandbed from any reef and it wont harm the reef if its done right. If its done like BRS does it, it will apparently harm the reef. our way is different, its disassembly removal. getting 100% of the detritus out is the goal, no matter how you wash sand we will leave all your crucial filter bac still stuck to the rocks, sink surgery doesn’t uncycle the rocks, rock detailing with a knife makes the rocks no longer plugged by plants due to sheer imposition of your will on them. we are edging towards this being first post reference in our thread for a while

 

[WVU247]

i know it sounds crazy, rinsing sandbeds in tap. Its the only water source avail we have to rinse unlimited, it could take you two hours to clear that sandbed, they all run that dirty.


price of sandbedding.

the sand rinse thread is another separate study on rinsing but full bed removals too. if you're wondering if that recycles your reef, it doesnt, you can remove (or wash) a sandbed from any reef and it wont harm the reef if its done right. If its done like BRS does it, it will apparently harm the reef. our way is different, its disassembly removal. getting 100% of the detritus out is the goal, no matter how you wash it will leave all your crucial filter bac still stuck to the rocks, only this time with more surface area exposed to water; no longer plugged by plants due to sheer imposition of your will on them. we are edging towards this being first post reference in our thread for a while

Okay, should be my last two questions, LOL, and thank you so much for all the help.
1) When removing the rocks and fish to get the sand out what would you store them in? (Large Totes or Buckets with fresh saltwater)

2) Can you add some new sand to the existing because it has gotten a little thin in spots from siphoning.?

 

[brandon429]

100% yes to both. when extracting fish do them as the tank is draining, try and keep clouding away from all sensitives, they'll be ok an hour or even more. you can mix and match any sands that are 100% rinsed no cloud, for sure its safe. I have also bragged about your resolve to take back this tank to many people in another thread; not to obligate you -well kinda lol- but to remark on the fact it appears you are not joking around here.

we need to see that more often in battles for aquarium real estate. the not giving up or starting over with new rocks. those have been revealed to be seeded with coralline gold flecks.

holding fish in clear current tankwater or 5050 is a nice way to acclimate them back to all new water if you like.

 

[WVU247]

After all the work was done!

 

[brandon429]

so happy could cry lol


I will move this picture of work done to all my threads tied with the very top ones.

*prediction

awesomeness continues, that fish distribution confirms all your zero ammonia readings, they're healthy and respiring safely. if bright lights and still-growing coralline allows some algae at least you wont have to rip clean the floor for a while, can lift rocks n guide, externally, and hold course down under. Pleasure seeing all this, truly.

your actions will specifically save corals from dying in other people's reef tanks Im 100% certain.

instate any preventative measures you might want to try for, just wonderful.

 

[RichtheReefer21]

Was a pleasure seeing this unfold. Most people arent willing to go the mile to get these results.

Hats off to u both.

 

[brandon429]

How are we here WVU

I’m beginning to link your work to help other tanks now

we r curious if this gem is still gemmin

 

[brandon429]

how are we team

 

[WVU247]

how are we team

So far so good

 

[brandon429]

hey can we get fresh pics :) so curious

 

[RichtheReefer21]

hey can we get fresh pics :) so curious

X2

 

[brandon429]

the same cleaning action does tank upgrades without recycling too. relocation by rip clean, is the safest mode of transfer you can do between two glass aquariums because it’s sole function is to transfer no waste between systems. The loss of cycle/recycle isn’t caused by loss of bacteria or cleaning events-it’s caused by wastewater upwell. eliminate filthy detritus water from a pent up sandbed from th equation, and any tank move or upgrade will cycle because clean surfaces were moved over. No extra bottle bac needed, rip cleaning doesn’t undo anyone’s filtration cycle.

we do not use bottle bac in this thread, notice

EricR

I was way too busy to take many pictures but here's a few along with the recap of how my tank transfer went (37g tall to 40B), about 1.5 weeks later...

Prep:
-- bought new sand (posted above) and rinsed with garden hose FOREVER ...pretty clear run off by the end, plus final rinsed with new saltwater (just because I had a ton of saltwater ready and not as much RO/DI)

Temporary containment vessels:
-- 2 smaller glass tanks (5g and 12g maybe?) for livestock, with air stones
-- BIG storage container from garage rafters for as much OLD tank water I could keep and everything else going into new tank
-- 5 gallon bucket for swishing/blasting/cleaning stuff and discard
-- cheapie Amazon pump to move water

Actual transfer:
(1. Pumped old water into temporary tanks and 5g bucket (to point of live rocks still being submerged in tank
(2. Moved rocks and live stock *swish/blast rocks in bucket during move
(3. Drained old tank (water into BIG garage container)
(4. Scooped out old sand and moved tank out
(5. Put new tank in and leveled
(6. New dry rock then sand -- kept most sand at edges because I decided to go with bottom of rocks on glass
(7. Started filling with old water from garage container
(8. Moved live rock in once water level high enough to cover
(9. Heated new tank until it matched (slightly falling) temperature in temporary tanks
(10. Moved livestock in then finished filling
*randomly started using NEW saltwater as needed during all filling, ended up using about 15 gallons of new water (only salinity matched to old water and first pH check matched old so didn't worry about that)
*monitored temperature in main tanks and one temporary tank -- there was a temperature swing of about 3 degrees

Deviations from the plan:
-- bicolor blenny would NOT come out of his hole in one live rock during this escapade so I did move one live rock (twice) without ever "swishing" it (with blenny inside, as mentioned in previous post). Hopefully the detritus in that one rock isn't an issue but we'll see.
-- didn't use all new water and, in fact, actually saved as much of my OLD water as possible (minus the stuff from the bottom or the bucket I used for swishing stuff). *this isn't a deviation from my intent but, now that I'm glancing back through stuff, is a deviation from the "Official Sand Rinse and Tank Transfer" thread.

Transfer was about 10 days ago and everything seems to be doing fine.
My only concern is that now the tank is too clean for my small inverts to find food so have been feeding a bit extra (qty) and some target feeding.

PICS BELOW

Old 37 gallon tall tank:

Temporary transfer pics:

New 40 gallon breeder tank:

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EricR​

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Build Thread Contributor
JoinedJun 9, 2021Messages216Reaction score217Review score+0 /0 /-0LocationCalifornia USA
2022 Status Update:

• 3 months since tank transfer
• White dry rock (new during tank transfer) is now fully “colored” - even the urchin’s attempts to carve it back to bald aren’t keeping up
• Got an AI Nero 5 + iSea Live Anemone Guard for Christmas
• First ever coral (small zoas off the cheapie rack at LFS), only in the tank for 1 week so far

FTS — rock on right was new/dry/white 3 months ago

Coral still on rack — no idea what I’m doing with lighting, flow, or placement yet so keeping it mobile for the time-being. (I'm aware that chocolate chip starfish are not considered reef safe so just keeping an eye on it for now)

 

[reef_ninja]

November bump, I know this thread is a little aged, but would be great to see some follow-up

 

[brandon429]

I estimate 250 reef tanks were intervened from meltdown or during it from linking this thread.

 

[brandon429]

Normally I remove unupdated threads from our work collection threads as people want to see long term proof

but this one still stays, it’s too good of before and afters to remove lol

even if the tank is no longer running for whatever reason, snapping it into shape here is a priceless demo of resolve in a reef keeper. That’s what nano reefing is missing in order to become invasion free: human follow through vs sitting there daily just testing and tinkering


five recent jobs I got in private message were a result of them reading this thread since it’s our first link reference. I want to add this summary so that quick glancers won’t kill their setups:



you cannot work safely by skipping the order of ops here, and leaving sand in your tank to be partially cleaned vs removing it and tap rinsing it. that is integral, not skippable, a reason the after pics looked so sharp and if you do skip the bed rinse outside the tank as the reef is taken apart, you might kill your reef.

This thread introduces us to the bizarre concept that tap water is our friend, it’s not an enemy in reefing when used correctly.


****if this tank is still running, the rip clean months ago has no bearing on whether its invaded or as clean as above.
Human resolve determines that, what we provide is a road map for safe application of this will. A rip clean has no bearing on future feed waste compilation, or common detritus live rocks and fish and corals produce every day that must be exported... we aren’t selling snake oil one off moves here that absolve us from common reef upkeeps


We are selling how to make your nano look exactly as sharp as WVU’s tank, with bright happy fish and corals. How you reef long term will determine how many deep cleans you need to maintain control over your investment. Do not allow your reef to lead, you take the lead.

 

[Gator_Reefer]

Normally I remove unupdated threads from our work collection threads as people want to see long term proof

but this one still stays, it’s too good of before and afters to remove lol

even if the tank is no longer running for whatever reason, snapping it into shape here is a priceless demo of resolve in a reef keeper. That’s what nano reefing is missing in order to become invasion free: human follow through vs sitting there daily just testing and tinkering


five recent jobs I got in private message were a result of them reading this thread since it’s our first link reference. I want to add this summary so that quick glancers won’t kill their setups:



you cannot work safely by skipping the order of ops here, and leaving sand in your tank to be partially cleaned vs removing it and tap rinsing it. that is integral, not skippable, a reason the after pics looked so sharp and if you do skip the bed rinse outside the tank as the reef is taken apart, you might kill your reef.

This thread introduces us to the bizarre concept that tap water is our friend, it’s not an enemy in reefing when used correctly.


****if this tank is still running, the rip clean months ago has no bearing on whether its invaded or as clean as above.
Human resolve determines that, what we provide is a road map for safe application of this will. A rip clean has no bearing on future feed waste compilation, or common detritus live rocks and fish and corals produce every day that must be exported... we aren’t selling snake oil one off moves here that absolve us from common reef upkeeps


We are selling how to make your nano look exactly as sharp as WVU’s tank, with bright happy fish and corals. How you reef long term will determine how many deep cleans you need to maintain control over your investment. Do not allow your reef to lead, you take the lead.

@brandon429

First, thanks for all you do to contribute of your time and help your fellow reefers on this forum.

I’m considering using your method, but curious on your thoughts post-cleaning....what strategy do you recommend for preventing the conditions that lead to these algae explosions in the first place? Or is it just assumed or recommended to have to do these tear-down cleanings every so often to ensure continued results?

 

[brandon429]

Thank you much for posting Gator

im amazed at systems that don’t need rip cleans


everyone emulates those setups...Paul’s....all the others who seem to self balance just fine

I liken it to bob rossing the reef hobby, some people can paint trees with only broken sticks and some ink, some can’t


even after following the directions for ideal success I’m having to rip clean occasionally to get my test model pico reef out to year sixteen coming up


and about 3/4 of the hobby apparently is also unable to design pure hands off reefs, so for the crew who must earn the clean algae condition by force my recommends for lessening grow back are bluer vs white lights, lesser overall intensity, clean make water (most are on ro di anyway) maintaining higher flow so detritus doesn’t settle, changing scapes from wall stacks / inaccessible for cleaning into accessible bommies for occasional removal if needed and certainly cleaning up under occasionally

coralline algae specifically wards off gha by implanting first and using chemical allelopathy to fight gha anchoring, its why in 99% of gha pics they’re anchoring in cracks and non coralline crevices, fostering coralline growth by hand removing algae eventually makes for less algae

it’s not always about animals it’s more about physical detritus control in my opinion. While a horde of snails will eat gha, you end up with five months of pellet waste contributing to future issues, cyano etc so in the end planning for throughput and detritus controls must come before the constant parameter tweaking we associate with gha control, or the dosing for it. Using vibrant and fluc to melt algae in-tank is still part of this collective storage habit...even though this force control, force cleaning method is work intensive it’s simply leaving my reef sharp as a knife each time it’s ran, for months on end.


and we don’t clean to be able to starve systems

youll see people reporting they’ve lowered feeding in response to parameter controls for phosphate and nitrate

fish and corals hate feed reduction


but in a post rip cleaned tank, every pore is open and wants food, we get to feed twice over now and corals get fat, fish get well fed in clean water with strong ORP not because we dosed, but because we kicked out organics in one way or another.


ive come to see my system as physical weightlifting bodybuilding exercise for positive mass forcing, in a world of reef passive + allowed-then-medicated invasions and negative nitrogen coral atrophy. it’s trending out like human kinesiology and rock picking and rasping is exactly like human dentistry that’s occasionally needed despite good mouth care

I don’t know a better way but let the record reflect I’m tired of changing water for two decades lol someone find a better way

the thread here embodies every part of the system based on I’m not going to take crap anymore from a reef tank. we are here to boot camp some spoiled rotten reefs

 

[brandon429]

I’ll also add this:

take any legitimate anti-algae thing done in the hobby and apply it after a rip clean, not before one.

make all current anti algae approaches part of growback prevention, not the removal of existing mass. That core re arrangement I think is most important

as soon as we see algae in the tank spreading rock to rock, thats us as a cause not the aquarium. We’re allowing it.

that doesn’t mean every spot of algae must be detailed, we all know algae belongs on reefs and adapted there to feed grazers. It will grow in pristine water params, just let me put my 6000K plant light on anyone’s reef :) we will see if Bob across gets algae.


do practice on algae spots occasionally to make sure we are able and the target is receptive to being removed, practice in control allows you to stave off the interim work a little because repair surgery is just plain easy for any free two hours on a weekend.

 

[Gator_Reefer]

I’ll also add this:

take any legitimate anti-algae thing done in the hobby and apply it after a rip clean, not before one.

make all current anti algae approaches part of growback prevention, not the removal of existing mass. That core re arrangement I think is most important

as soon as we see algae in the tank spreading rock to rock, thats us as a cause not the aquarium. We’re allowing it.

that doesn’t mean every spot of algae must be detailed, we all know algae belongs on reefs and adapted there to feed grazers. It will grow in pristine water params, just let me put my 6000K plant light on anyone’s reef :) we will see if Bob across gets algae.


do practice on algae spots occasionally to make sure we are able and the target is receptive to being removed, practice in control allows you to stave off the interim work a little because repair surgery is just plain easy for any free two hours on a weekend.

Thanks @brandon429. I’m trying to find the thread with your steps for rip cleaning but not having luck, could you pls include a link in your reply?