Out With the Old, In with the New

[blackcat]

Setup my first reef tank earlier last year. It was a 33 gallon nano tank with fish and corals. Made the common beginners mistake of rushing the process in the initial setup and always had problems with algae. Also started running into an outbreak of Aiptasia. I've had problems with some of the pumps in the system failing and got to the point where I'm done with this tank and am upgrading to a new 75 gallon system that will be here today. I'd like to transfer my live rock and obviously the corals and fish to the new tank but I don't want to bring over any of the problems of the current tank. Namely the algae and Aiptasia. Would it be possible to treat the rock when I remove it and hit the spots that have the visible algae and Aiptasia with some sort of solution? Or am I better off just bleaching them all and just starting from scratch? I'd prefer not to get rid of my current rock if there's a good chance that I can somehow treat the current issues before transferring them over. Would prefer to keep the good bacteria of the rock if at all possible but if the best solution is to just kill it all and start from scratch then I'll do that. Open to all suggestions. Main priority over everything else is to do it right this time and take my time and have a clear and beautiful tank. Last thing I want is to transfer over any problems. Thanks everyone!

 

[Dom]

Setup my first reef tank earlier last year. It was a 33 gallon nano tank with fish and corals. Made the common beginners mistake of rushing the process in the initial setup and always had problems with algae. Also started running into an outbreak of Aiptasia. I've had problems with some of the pumps in the system failing and got to the point where I'm done with this tank and am upgrading to a new 75 gallon system that will be here today. I'd like to transfer my live rock and obviously the corals and fish to the new tank but I don't want to bring over any of the problems of the current tank. Namely the algae and Aiptasia. Would it be possible to treat the rock when I remove it and hit the spots that have the visible algae and Aiptasia with some sort of solution? Or am I better off just bleaching them all and just starting from scratch? I'd prefer not to get rid of my current rock if there's a good chance that I can somehow treat the current issues before transferring them over. Would prefer to keep the good bacteria of the rock if at all possible but if the best solution is to just kill it all and start from scratch then I'll do that. Open to all suggestions. Main priority over everything else is to do it right this time and take my time and have a clear and beautiful tank. Last thing I want is to transfer over any problems. Thanks everyone!

Yes, rushing in this hobby is never a good thing.

Problems with algae are not necessarily from rushing; there is a phase in new tank setups that we call the "ugly stage". While you may be able to control the severity of the outbreak, I don't believe you can avoid it entirely.

Aptasia was likely on something you've added to the tank; perhaps on a piece of live rock or a frag plug.

In theory, it would be nice if you could move the inhabitants over without all of the problems. But algae is something we deal with in the hobby and don't believe you can ever be completely algae free.

Where Aptasia is concerned, I don't see how you could salvage the good bacteria on the rock without risking the introduction of Aptasia to the new tank.

It has been my experience that eliminating Aptasia comes with pulling the rock and allowing it to completely dry out so that all life in the rock dies off. Then cycle the rock and start over. To my knowledge, there isn't a product that allows you to apply it to Aptasia, killing it, and then allowing you to immediately placing it in the new tank.

Lastly, as hard as you may try, I wouldn't expect that the new tank to be problem free. I would expect that some of the issues of the 33 will end up in the 75.

 

[TX_REEF]

Are you also transferring corals and fish to the new tank from the old? If not, I'd start fresh by drying out the rock to kill off everything you don't want.

If you aren't able to do that because you're transferring fish and corals, I'd surgically remove as many aiptasia as possible using a razor blade or scalpel, and then introduce a handful of berghia nudibranchs to remove all unseen or recurring aiptasia. The nudibranch population should sustain itself until all aiptasia are gone, or indefinitely to keep it under control.

 

[Craigsin]

Agreed with Dom, the single biggest piece of advice IMO for any new reefer, is DO NOT RUSH things. And don't worry about a "clear and beautiful" tank too much. In my experience so far, the best thing to establish a good, healthy tank is just time. keep your parameters in check, manage the little issues, don't fuss with things too much, and over time your ecosystem will establish itself!