Greetings fellow reefers, I have been in the hobby for years but am having a problem now that is almost a year old. For years I had a 75 gallon tank with an HOB refugium. It was live rock, fish and corals. It also had a lot of hair algae. Eventually the 75 sprung a leak so I bought a used what-I-thought was a 135 gallon tank. I loaded all my stuff in it and added some live rock and some more corals, fish (you know how it is when you suddenly have extra room!). That was in 2017. Last year the tank sprang a leak. No one in the Houston area had any tanks that I could afford. My LFS had a used 90 gallon, so I bought that, moved the fish and important corals into it and put all the rest of the rock and stuff in a tub with a powerhead. It was 2 months before I found a 125 gallon tank that was affordable. I moved it into place and discovered my 135 was actually 160. I put some fresh substrate in the new tank and moved all my stuff in. To my chagrin I found out I had a die-off in the tank that didn't manifest until the 125 was going. It manifested in the form of massive cyanobacteria outbreak. I have been unable to get the nitrates down and I have finally decided that everything that worked well in the 160 is too much for the 125. In a recent test I found I have ammonia, nitrites and nitrates. I watched a video on Mad Hatter's Reef about Microbacter7 and a brick, so I bought a brick and the Microbacter. Nothing changed. I saw a video for Dr Tims and bought both Refresh and Waste Away. Some of the cyano disappeared but a lot more remained. I tried Vibrant because the guy at a different LFS recommended it. I found out after my corals started wilting that the Saltwater version if for a FOWLR tank only and not for reefs. The guy I bought the 90 from told me to use a product called Remediation (also live bacteria). For the most part, the cyano is gone from the rocks and there is a faint outline of it on the substrate. However, I still have ammonia, nitrite and nitrates.
Here is my idea. Please share with me your thoughts. Since I have that 90 no one wants to buy, and since I have a leftover HOB refugium, I was thinking about putting some substrate into it, filling it and cycling it. Then I could move some rocks into slowly to give it time to recover, and finally to put my fish and important corals into it (why does this sound familiar???). Once that is complete I can break down the 125, remove and replace the substrate and do the same thing. Cycle the tank, and then move stuff back into it slowly. Once I have the fish and important corals as well as some rock in it, I will stop and leave everything else in the 90. Then I could see if maybe I could put use the tank as a FOWLR tank, or (if the water quality is good), to grow something like acro that I would probably lose in the 125. What are your thoughts? Or does someone have a magic cure????
Here are some pictures.
Here is my idea. Please share with me your thoughts. Since I have that 90 no one wants to buy, and since I have a leftover HOB refugium, I was thinking about putting some substrate into it, filling it and cycling it. Then I could move some rocks into slowly to give it time to recover, and finally to put my fish and important corals into it (why does this sound familiar???). Once that is complete I can break down the 125, remove and replace the substrate and do the same thing. Cycle the tank, and then move stuff back into it slowly. Once I have the fish and important corals as well as some rock in it, I will stop and leave everything else in the 90. Then I could see if maybe I could put use the tank as a FOWLR tank, or (if the water quality is good), to grow something like acro that I would probably lose in the 125. What are your thoughts? Or does someone have a magic cure????
Here are some pictures.