Custom rip clean thread for nanos, top cure for dinos and cyano above any method.

[newbie1995]

The rocks have been recently unplugged. They’re expressing waste that was pent up, and daily they express waste castings on top of that old material slough and when that sinks downs and combines with bright lighting, growback begins using that waste as growth substrate. Additional loosened castings from the initial rock cleaning will come off, be siphoning that layer of sand out with routine weekly water changes. Allow no regrowth, no waste layer to build up this is just the first guiding gardening of many as the system is guided back into compliance.

When you rinse off that taken section of sand just put it back in the tank, free of those diatoms/algae complexes forming on the sand, also be lifting out your live rocks in rotation, look for forming algae tufts if any, swish twist them in saltwater before setting back in the tank. That stuff you’re seeing is new plaque stains forming in the reef mouth, they should be cleaned out.

Those are just the regrowths we were aiming to lessen with lower light levels overall and almost no white spectrum running, just blues ideally.

As you hand guide and remove these catch up growths a new routine for keeping the tank spotless develops, and it can’t ever get invaded again. We make changes to the reef setup that reduce your follow up work, but follow up work is the final say in keeping the reef looking new.

Oh okay I believe I understand what you’re saying. Kinda weird and crazy! I will be sure to do a good siphon when I do my weekly cleanings and you suggest changing water weekly? I had just did what the biocube manual had talked about with weekly cleaning and monthly water changes, but I should do that more frequently? Is this because we’re trying to get rid of all the icky stuff right now or is that how I should always be doing it?

I’ve been using the boxed water since that is all I know, but with this many water changes, should I look into the ones you mix yourself? Just out of curiosity because I’ve seen those and they intimidate me, but they might be more cost affective?

Also, are you saying I should make some adjustments to the lighting? Or just keep going as I have been and keeping an eye on it? And if I do see algae on the rock, should I remove the rock and attempt to clean it up again?

Sorry for all of the questions but thank you so so much for helping me out!

 

[brandon429]

You get to choose on the water details there is no best way they are all fine. Yes remove it as often as needed agreed simply don’t let anything build up on the sand and rocks.

 

[BeanAnimal]

@ChrisPPolys in order to vet the information anyone posts on this site, select their avatar then select find all posts and you can uncover primary motivations really well

This is the rhetoric that puts people off. You calmed down for a week and here we are again. This site is full of talented, informed and successful reef keepers who do not do "work threads" and who may or may not agree with your advice or methods. You can post your opinions and counter those of others directly without impugning the entire community.

The tanks you’ve posted have little to no corals.

Wholesale rock removal and mechanical cleaning is fairly invasive for larger systems and those fully populated. It can be done and can be successful (see Paul B's sponge removal project). But (regardless of Brandon's position) it does not come without risk, as it can certainly throw the nitrogen cycle and fauna out of balance. Each system will recover differently.

My personal experience doing two of them on a 20g were unsuccessful 2 months down the road. However I blame that on not finding the source of the problem

Mechanical removal, like any other fix only treats the symptom. You still must treat the cause. As it were, Brandon has gone as far as to recommend rip cleaning a tank every 12-18 months. That may work for some, but that is not my idea of keeping a reef tank, of any size. YMMV.

The first time I got dinos a couple weeks after the rip clean (nutrients bottomed out and lots of new real estate). The second time GHA manage to make a three-peat comeback.

Major mechanical removal by washing rock and sand is bound to have a major effect on the equilibrium of organisms. Each system will bounce back differently.

The rocks have been recently unplugged. They’re expressing waste that was pent up, and daily they express waste castings on top of that old material slough and when that sinks downs and combines with bright lighting,

Respectfully, where is the actual science that says this, or are you philosophizing about what you think is happening?

When you rinse off that taken section of sand just put it back in the tank, free of those diatoms/algae complexes forming on the sand,

Again - are we sure that we are "free of" or did we just reduce the numbers? I am being picky here because you are posting "facts" with conviction and I am not so sure where your "facts" are coming from.

 

[brandon429]

I guide my tanks here as I always have.


Until the results show something not predicted, there's no explanation due for you.

Take notes, or even better start your own thread I respectfully ask you to stay out of my threads. When in someone else's thread feel free to digress, but in my threads am asking you bean to exit. You'll never see me posting in your threads, this is a fair request. It's how I want to avoid post stalking and harassment on the board from you.

 

[BeanAnimal]

Take notes, or even better start your own thread I respectfully ask you to stay out of my threads.

But you are not being respectful, you are being purposefully insulting.

You want the freedom to insult the other members of this forum and portray their information as untrustworthy. You want to speak with authority and not have your opinion questioned or challenged on a public forum. That is unfortunate.

is It's how I want to avoid post stalking and harassment on the board from you.

People who question something you say are not stalkers or trolls and you are not being harassed. I respond to a tiny fraction of your posts. This thread bubbled to the top of unread posts. I asked you two very valid questions based on your comments. You could have kindly answered without the back handed “take notes” or the deflection.

Leaving this thread now.

Have a nice evening.

 

[brandon429]

Ok. Thank you I promise not to try and wreck your threads as well this agreement should provide more peace on the board.


If readers want to see evidence of particulate matter sloughing and ejection from live rocks, simply remove a few test pounds of live rock from your tank, rinse them off in saltwater so nothing is stuck to them, and bubble them overnite in a white bucket of clean saltwater

Next day, brown castings on the bottom. Siphon those out. Wash out the rocks externally again in clean saltwater, set them back in the pure clean white test bubble bucket.

Next day, brown castings over and over. It won’t stop

This particulate waste matter becomes part of the detritus complement in the reef tank and it’s a fine food substrate for cyano and diatoms or dinos or algae in spots where current deposits the mulm on the sandbed and lights are bright.

All we are doing is keeping the mulm from building up as waste in the sandbed.

These rocks went months and months without dentistry work, there’s some repeat guiding work due for a little while here as catch up.

When it’s time to try light power reduction there are some simple ways to attain that.