My first crash back in hobby....

[SicZ06]

Well, I am ready to throw in the towel. But I won't!! Let me know what I should do for my biological filtration....

Back in the hobby after 5 years....My tank has been running for about 10 months. I have been having a few random issues and thanks to R2R am pretty sure more biological filtration is whats lacking and I wasn't feeding enough. I thought I had that under control and then out of the blue my skimmer went CRAZY. (Only items added to tank are daily reef roids and food - but I have a 2.5 year old and I'm wondering if he got his hands in there.....) Luckily my wife came home and turned off the power before the entire tank poured out. (See pic) I didn't get home until late and I lost both my clowns and most my coral. I was exhausted, added salt water to get the tank going and went to bed. Did a big WC over the weekend and tested. (info at bottom)

Luckily, some zoa's are showing signs of life and our shrimp survived. I figure, I have nothing to lose, what should for biological filtration / rock? Do I get some good LR and do it right? Should I order more reef saver? I think the best bet is to redo my scape...I have enjoyed BRS TV but wanted to get all your opinions for what to do with a tanks thats been running for 10 months / best steps to take. Thank you!

FYI I have not been running my fuge light / I just turned it on to help w pic.

Nitrite 0 Nitrate 0 Ammonia 0 PH 8. Calcium 385 Alk 7.0 Phosphate ULR PPM .02
1.026 , 78 temp

 

[Peace River]

Let's see if we can get some help and/or additional thoughts...

#reefsquad

 

[CasaReefer]

Hang In There... First years is the hardest.. We all have to go through the tough stuff I am right now... It gets Better and Easier... You made the right call raising your hand for help.. You came to the right place. People in here are " Wicked Smart "

 

[ScottB]

Sorry about the losses. Did your animals die because the power was off and no flow? Or do you think there was some kind of contamination that killed them and sent the skimmer into fits? I've had a skimmer go nuts a few times, but nobody gets hurt by that (except the hardwood floor). I have since installed an optical sensor in the cup that will shut the skimmer off and save the marriage.

As to filtration:
How many gallons is your system?
How many pounds of rock are in it?
Is that Marine Pure or Brightwell media block in the sump?
What is your fish list?

As to old live rock, yeah it is valuable stuff. But after 10 months, your rock has plenty of bacteria in it now to safely run your system. In fact your tank looks almost too clean with limited nutrient.

 

[reef lover]

Lots of mishaps happen within the first year...maybe go through the system with her so if it happens again shell know to jusy unplug the skimmer and not the whole tank.