Despair with my 40g breeder

[glb]

Quick question; if I wanted to replace the live sand, I take the livestock and rocks out, replace the sand, let it mini-cycle then put everything back? I do have a nice amount of live rock in the sump that I can leave in. Is this the right way to go?

 

[glb]

Update:
Here are my test numbers (rather surprising)
Alk: 12.5. Turned off pump and will recheck in a few days
Ca: 470. Same action as above
Mg : 1245 wnl
NO3: .2ppm very low
PO4: .17 ppb very low
SG: 34.7
Temp: 75.3

Hard to imagine why I have so much algae with such low nutrients. I’m sure the algae is taking in some of it, but the numbers still seem low. Thank looks much better after scrubbing rocks and cleaning glass. Any advice welcome!

 

[glb]

Progress (aka more things that I did wrong that are now fixed)

Cleaned and adjusted gyre pump which is now up and running, providing much needed water movement.

Cleaned overflow and spout from return pump. I’ve always cleaned them, but didn’t realized that inside of each were coralline. Once that was cleaned out the flow improved dramatically.

My new Sicce fan has stabilized my temp between 75-76, the lowest stable temp I’ve ever had in South Florida. Cooler water means less algae. It’s coming back a lot slower.

I took out the rocks and scrubber them with a stiff brush. This will need to happen again and again.

My LFS (who has given me terrific advice for 15+ years), said my sand could use replacing, which will help with the appearance of the tank and with keeping things in balance.

Here’s the latest pic. After cleaning the glass and rocks it looks a lot better (even if hard to see so far)!


Thanks to everyone for your encouragement! I’m determined to prevail!!

 

[Llyod276]

Here is what a 75g with a single ap9x on it looks like.

 

[sfin52]

In its prime, my 40g looked like this (pic from July. 24

I’ve had this tank for almost 10 years and have been reefing for close to 15-20 years. I’ve always been able to keep it in check, doing all the maintenance myself. I built the entire setup myself (tank, stand, plumbing, etc) and it’s always been my pride and joy.

I had a crash (my first big one) in August due to a dosing mistake pushing my alk up to 15 and overfeeding by someone watching it while I was away, pushing the nitrates up to the 20’s. The Ca was low, a terrible breakout of green algae took hold, and 5 months later I’m still not able to stabilize. Now my tank looks like this

I just pulled out of a ton of green hair algae. I lost all the SPS back in August, gradually most of my LPS have died, although a few look fine. I had a terrible breakout of flatworms, and got a spotted mandarin to help, but it’s still overrun

I know my problems are due to lack of maintenance over the past few months due to work responsibilities. My nutrients were brought back into control (last reading no3 3ppm, po4 0.03ppm, alk was up to 7.1, ca in the 400’s. Mg in the 1300’s. These readings are about 6 weeks old. I will post new readings tomorrow. The tank overheated a few weeks ago to 80 when my return pump heated up before conking out. Its since been replaced and circulation is normal.

I turned off the t-5’s and will leave them off for a few days to help.

Please no judgment. I know it’s my fault, but it’s been so out of whack for so long I don’t even know where to start. I need to find an expert in the Miami area who does house calls. I’ve always been able to fix things like this myself but, even as an advanced reefer, I’m stuck. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! New numbers tomorrow.

A very large water change will do a lot to bring balance

 

[sfin52]

Progress (aka more things that I did wrong that are now fixed)

Cleaned and adjusted gyre pump which is now up and running, providing much needed water movement.

Cleaned overflow and spout from return pump. I’ve always cleaned them, but didn’t realized that inside of each were coralline. Once that was cleaned out the flow improved dramatically.

My new Sicce fan has stabilized my temp between 75-76, the lowest stable temp I’ve ever had in South Florida. Cooler water means less algae. It’s coming back a lot slower.

I took out the rocks and scrubber them with a stiff brush. This will need to happen again and again.

My LFS (who has given me terrific advice for 15+ years), said my sand could use replacing, which will help with the appearance of the tank and with keeping things in balance.

Here’s the latest pic. After cleaning the glass and rocks it looks a lot better (even if hard to see so far)!


Thanks to everyone for your encouragement! I’m determined to prevail!!

How old is the sand.

I have neglected my sand bed for the last couple of yrs. Last week I was cleaning my sandbed the junk coming out was insane.

 

[glb]

How old is the sand.

I have neglected my sand bed for the last couple of yrs. Last week I was cleaning my sandbed the junk coming out was insane.

As old as the tank! (c. 8yrs)

 

[sfin52]

As old as the tank! (c. 8yrs)

Have you cleaned the sand bed?

 

[glb]

Have you cleaned the sand bed?

Yes, many times. But I’ve never replaced it. I have critters that turn over the sand too.

 

[glb]

Hi everyone!! Thanks so much for your help! I’m going to switch to my tank thread which is a banner under my name. It’s been up and running since 2017 and traces the entire history of my build. I’ll update that thread to include all the great info I’ve gotten here. Today I partially cleaned the sump, including the skimmer, carbon reactor, filter sock and the glass sides. My despair has turned to hope thanks to the support I’ve gotten from R2R since the beginning!

If you’re at the beginning of planning about tank build, I documented everything (really everything!) on my tank thread (glb’s 40g upgrade). It’s got a lot of great info about building a stand, cycling with dry rock, equipment and testing kits and a whole lot more. I hope you find it helpful!