Official Sand Rinse and Tank Transfer thread
- Thread starter brandon429
- Start date
- Tagged users None
IME, a 30g is too small for a Sand Sifting Goby as it will soon run out of benthic infauna.
I maintained (2) Oscellaris Clownfish in a 12g for a few years until they got too big, but I had to be very diligent with maintenance. (5) similarly sized fish in a 30g is doable with mindful feeding and sufficient waste export to offset the nutrient inputs from feeding.
I maintained (2) Oscellaris Clownfish in a 12g for a few years until they got too big, but I had to be very diligent with maintenance. (5) similarly sized fish in a 30g is doable with mindful feeding and sufficient waste export to offset the nutrient inputs from feeding.
HazMatreefer7
New Member
I am running a DIY 3 section sump made from a 20long. It has the Bubble Magus Curve 5 skimmer, small reactor I'm running for carbon and GFO and my heater in it. I did build it with a small fuge section but never utilized it as such. It houses rock rubble and my heater at the moment. Thanks again for everyone's input. I appreciate it. Here is a picture.
xiholdtruex
Well-Known Member
Week 3 update everything is still looking good. A two tiny patchs of cyano showed up on the sand and some specs on a rock next to it. Gravel vacd it out and brushed it off the rock and siphoned it out. Would not have noticed it if I was not looking for it lol
Diyd a skimmer to see if it eliminates the small patches from being formed from any organics or detritus in the water column. I am currently feeding my anemones 2-3 times a week. Sand has no detritus drop test it every week. My nassarius snails have been doing a good job of sifting through the sand. I see them every day, opposed to seeing them every week.
Peramiters
Ammonia 0 ppm
Nitrite 0 ppm
Nitrate 2-5 ppm
Phosphate 0.03 ppm
pH 8.0
Sg 1.026
Diyd a skimmer to see if it eliminates the small patches from being formed from any organics or detritus in the water column. I am currently feeding my anemones 2-3 times a week. Sand has no detritus drop test it every week. My nassarius snails have been doing a good job of sifting through the sand. I see them every day, opposed to seeing them every week.
Peramiters
Ammonia 0 ppm
Nitrite 0 ppm
Nitrate 2-5 ppm
Phosphate 0.03 ppm
pH 8.0
Sg 1.026
HazMatreefer7
New Member
Quick update. It has been almost a week since I rip cleaned my sand and it's looking great. Thanks again Brandon for outlining the process and making a case for it to be a solid option for us reefers. After about 10 seconds of my "siphon filtering" it was clear it wouldn't work without a 5 or 10 micron sock so I just tore the whole thing apart and did it your way haha. I have a tiny bit of the algae showing back up but since my parameters are all stable I am just going to roll with it. Given the current situation here on the NC coast Staring down a CAT 4 Hurricane the algae is the least of my worries haha.
xiholdtruex
Well-Known Member
Quick update. It has been almost a week since I rip cleaned my sand and it's looking great. Thanks again Brandon for outlining the process and making a case for it to be a solid option for us reefers. After about 10 seconds of my "siphon filtering" it was clear it wouldn't work without a 5 or 10 micron sock so I just tore the whole thing apart and did it your way haha. I have a tiny bit of the algae showing back up but since my parameters are all stable I am just going to roll with it. Given the current situation here on the NC coast Staring down a CAT 4 Hurricane the algae is the least of my worries haha.
Good stuff! Stay safe. Has irma hit us down here last year it was rough. If you see algae I would manually remove it. So it slowly begins to snuff itself out without nutrients. Did your sand pass the drop test after wards?
OP
OP
Along with really good documentation from these two updates above, that portion about the hurricane is very much applicable to us here
Having detritus in a sandbed is the #1 oxygen tax you have have in a functioning aquarium system during a power outage, its my opinion that any decent aged sandbed commands more oxygen per 24 hours than the sum of the fish load. clean is safer in power outages too
Having detritus in a sandbed is the #1 oxygen tax you have have in a functioning aquarium system during a power outage, its my opinion that any decent aged sandbed commands more oxygen per 24 hours than the sum of the fish load. clean is safer in power outages too
HazMatreefer7
New Member
Yes it did and still does to an extent. It's a fine grain sand, so some of it does float for a second or two but no cloudiness like before. The worst part about this whole storm; For me anyway, is I won't be home to address issues with the my apartment during the storm. Being a firefighter I am being called in to work the duration of the storm from tomorrow evening until Monday. So the fish will be on their own until I get off duty Monday morning.
HazMatreefer7
New Member
Update: I am happy to report that all my livestock survived the storm minus one snail. I only had a battery powered air pump and not sure when it quit but everything lasted the 4 days without power. I am fortunate enough to live in a part of town that was not hit so hard by the wind so my electricity is back and all is well with the reef. Hopefully I can keep nutrients at bay until I can get a water change. We are looking at a week minimum to recover enough where things can get remotely normal. The northern side of town was torn apart and is now flooding from all the rain, the river will crest today or tomorrow so given my 48hr on 12hr off rotation going out and helping people evacuate the flood it may be some time before I can do that.
xiholdtruex
Well-Known Member
You could dose some prime to be on the safe side till you can get around to the wc if your worried
Glad you are ok!
OP
OP
WOW Hazmat
those are harrowing updates/blessings and thank you for being out there as well helping brothers and sisters
additionally, you are demonstrating a form of tank CPR as well... doing what you can do against the known oxygen sinks which are the first to cause distress in tanks too/loss of one snail is amazing and it shows your hedges are working. thank you for the updates we w stay tuned
those are harrowing updates/blessings and thank you for being out there as well helping brothers and sisters
additionally, you are demonstrating a form of tank CPR as well... doing what you can do against the known oxygen sinks which are the first to cause distress in tanks too/loss of one snail is amazing and it shows your hedges are working. thank you for the updates we w stay tuned
xiholdtruex
Well-Known Member
So it had been 4 weeks almost since I have performed the rip cleaning and sand rinse. I removed one rock and placed it in a 5g tank with a hang on back filter flowing over it. The bottom of the tank is full of detritus from the rock even after giving it a deep scrub and flush with fresh saltwater. Did 100% water change and scrubbed rock again and flushed it. Placed it back into the 5g tank with new saltwater and I'm going to keep it under observation.
I have been drop testing the sand once a week and blowing the rocks with a turkey baster ever 3-4 days. Hand guiding out any time patch of cyano that may form. I have been placing a piece of 50 micron filter pad and replacing it every 3-4 days. Added a diy protein skimmer and it is dumping out putrid skimmate tea and foam.
I am feeding 3 times a week. Two times reef roids spot feeding and one time a frozen food mix.
Do you think I may have to rip clean again sooner to rescrub all the rocks? Or keep doing what I am doing to hand guide this problem away.
I have been drop testing the sand once a week and blowing the rocks with a turkey baster ever 3-4 days. Hand guiding out any time patch of cyano that may form. I have been placing a piece of 50 micron filter pad and replacing it every 3-4 days. Added a diy protein skimmer and it is dumping out putrid skimmate tea and foam.
I am feeding 3 times a week. Two times reef roids spot feeding and one time a frozen food mix.
Do you think I may have to rip clean again sooner to rescrub all the rocks? Or keep doing what I am doing to hand guide this problem away.
hotashes
Well-Known Member
The rock in separate tank with bare bottom will constantly release detritus which is from microorganism living within the rock, this is their excretion/waste from their lifecycle. I believe this will be a constant pattern.
Be carful the skimmer doesn't strip the water column totally as I believe can happen if you don't have enough fish waste/degradation of other organic matter etc.. I added a skimmer to my nano, purely as I wanted to add fish.. REMEMBER: the skimmer makes us lazy and we don't keep the hands on approach, so I advise you keep up the rip cleans to keep in front of the reset.
I would rip clean again, this way you are using the best way of removing this detritus/waste out of the tank in no time.
For the problem to go away, it's a precise process using strict husbandry regime
Unless @brandon429 corrects my analogy.
A.
xiholdtruex
Well-Known Member
The rock in separate tank with bare bottom will constantly release detritus which is from microorganism living within the rock, this is their excretion/waste from their lifecycle. I believe this will be a constant pattern.
Be carful the skimmer doesn't strip the water column totally as I believe can happen if you don't have enough fish waste/degradation of other organic matter etc.. I added a skimmer to my nano, purely as I wanted to add fish.. REMEMBER: the skimmer makes us lazy and we don't keep the hands on approach, so I advise you keep up the rip cleans to keep in front of the reset.
I would rip clean again, this way you are using the best way of removing this detritus/waste out of the tank in no time.
For the problem to go away, it's a precise process using strict husbandry regime
Unless @brandon429 corrects my analogy.
A.
My RFAs and snails poop up a storm. There was a point where I was feeding once a week and you could see a bunch of organics floating in the water. When I would do the water change the water was clear but you could see the organics in a white bucket.
Even with the skimmer my filter pad is getting a putrid green color and obstructing the flow every 3 to 4 days. Have you seen this much waste before?
Currently stocking 6 rock flower anemones, 2 headed Duncan, 2 favia, 2 turbo snails, 3 nassarius snails and a clown fish.
xiholdtruex
Well-Known Member
xiholdtruex
Well-Known Member
Tested water today it's been around 4 weeks since rip cleaning.
Ammonia 0 ppm
Nitrite 0 ppm
Nitrate 25 ppm
Phosphate 0.1ppm
pH 8.0
Sg 1.025
Started feeding 3 times a week two weeks ago and now using reef roids so it explains the elevated nitrate and phosphate. Going to do a 50% wc and back down to feeding twice a week. My clown fish looks like a baloon because apparently he is eating too much , going to have tonfast him. One time with reef roids and once with frozen foods and see how that does. Notice a little bit of green algae on a rock and a tiny spot of cyano scrubbed bottom rock in tank and too rock removed and scrubbed in a bucket. Did not see much detritus. Blew all my rocks with turkey baster and there was tons of detritus and organics picked up by my 50 micron filter.
Ammonia 0 ppm
Nitrite 0 ppm
Nitrate 25 ppm
Phosphate 0.1ppm
pH 8.0
Sg 1.025
Started feeding 3 times a week two weeks ago and now using reef roids so it explains the elevated nitrate and phosphate. Going to do a 50% wc and back down to feeding twice a week. My clown fish looks like a baloon because apparently he is eating too much , going to have tonfast him. One time with reef roids and once with frozen foods and see how that does. Notice a little bit of green algae on a rock and a tiny spot of cyano scrubbed bottom rock in tank and too rock removed and scrubbed in a bucket. Did not see much detritus. Blew all my rocks with turkey baster and there was tons of detritus and organics picked up by my 50 micron filter.
Similar threads
