Preparing 29 gal and 20 gal for move

[LittleFidel]

Hi friends. I have a 29 gal and 20 gal that have been chugging along for about a year now. Unfortunately, I will be moving in the next few months and am wondering what the best plan of action is.

The 29 gal has coarse substrate from a leftover freshwater planted tank that is beginning to load up with detritus. I have never gravel vacuumed it, since I did not want to disturb the caulerpa that is growing directly on the substrate. The 20 gal has no livestock, just leftover macroalgae that I was too wimpy to throw out. They are both beginning to look a little lackluster to me, so I am wondering what the best plan of action is to srpuce them up before, during, and after the move. All advice greatly welcomed.

 

[Fish Think Pink]

Hi friends. I have a 29 gal and 20 gal that have been chugging along for about a year now. Unfortunately, I will be moving in the next few months and am wondering what the best plan of action is.

The 29 gal has coarse substrate from a leftover freshwater planted tank that is beginning to load up with detritus. I have never gravel vacuumed it, since I did not want to disturb the caulerpa that is growing directly on the substrate. The 20 gal has no livestock, just leftover macroalgae that I was too wimpy to throw out. They are both beginning to look a little lackluster to me, so I am wondering what the best plan of action is to srpuce them up before, during, and after the move. All advice greatly welcomed.

Moving their houses, leave their septic tanks behind.

If you take that substrate, then rinse, rinse, rinse with tap, then final rinse with RO, then try to get extra RO out but be mindful it IS RO so before adding livestock double check salinity to ensure no salinity shock when moving back to their old house in new location... Surprisingly, things may stop looking "lackluster" and thrive for a while due to this move-caused deeper cleaning. You might have to move more often if this happens (giggle)

 

[LittleFidel]

Makes sense to me. This is the same procedure I did with my old freshwater planted tank when I moved last time. That’s how I ended up using the same substrate. Normally, I would be gravel vacuuming the substrate with water changes, but since the caulerpa is growing in the substrate, I haven’t done this. Is there a sure fire way to get it to grow on my rock work? That way I could remove the substrate entirely and collect all detritus with easier water changes. Or should I just stick to this rip-clean system every year or so? @brandon429 talks about it all the time....

Moving their houses, leave their septic tanks behind.

If you take that substrate, then rinse, rinse, rinse with tap, then final rinse with RO, then try to get extra RO out but be mindful it IS RO so before adding livestock double check salinity to ensure no salinity shock when moving back to their old house in new location... Surprisingly, things may stop looking "lackluster" and thrive for a while due to this move-caused deeper cleaning. You might have to move more often if this happens (giggle)

 

[brandon429]

hey that's really neat and rare


if someone wants to preserve that unique setup without rip cleaning they could drain down all the way and lay in wet paper towels or real towels in layers to stop the sloshing back and forth and uprooting during the relocation, then removed and filled back up. unique setup there

 

[Fish Think Pink]

Makes sense to me. This is the same procedure I did with my old freshwater planted tank when I moved last time. That’s how I ended up using the same substrate. Normally, I would be gravel vacuuming the substrate with water changes, but since the caulerpa is growing in the substrate, I haven’t done this. Is there a sure fire way to get it to grow on my rock work? That way I could remove the substrate entirely and collect all detritus with easier water changes. Or should I just stick to this rip-clean system every year or so? @brandon429 talks about it all the time....

Nothing is sure fire.

Don't have water plant experience, but garden as well as reef husbandry hobbies. Suspect if you tried same things that work for flowers & plants in yard... uproot ones growing where you don't want, and resettle them where you do want (on rocks). Some may not make it, but enough will overtime. Expect you'll happily be gardening in your reef for years to come

 

[LittleFidel]

hey that's really neat and rare


if someone wants to preserve that unique setup without rip cleaning they could drain down all the way and lay in wet paper towels or real towels in layers to stop the sloshing back and forth and uprooting during the relocation, then removed and filled back up. unique setup there

I like the caulerpa carpet, but I don't think I want to preserve it. First, that would preserve the detritus trapped within the substrate, which I don't think is beneficial for the long-term health of the tank. I would have to tear down and rebuild once a year, it seems, in order to minimize detritus and its negative effects.

Nothing is sure fire.

Don't have water plant experience, but garden as well as reef husbandry hobbies. Suspect if you tried same things that work for flowers & plants in yard... uproot ones growing where you don't want, and resettle them where you do want (on rocks). Some may not make it, but enough will overtime. Expect you'll happily be gardening in your reef for years to come

Last night I tried you "uproot and resettle" approach. The caulerpa keeps a lot of substrate with its holdfasts... it is ugly, but I think I can remove most of the substrate, and "resettle" the caulerpa after it is removed. That way, I can have easy access to the tank bottom in order to remove detritus.

 

[LittleFidel]

An update:
The 29 gallon did not fare well after uprooting the caulerpa and disturbing the sandbed. Many years of detritus were sent into the water column. I do not have interim pictures to share, but it was not pretty. Lots of Cyanobacteria and yellowed water. The solution was to remove the substrate entirely and do a 100% water change. I replaced live rock and livestock after the maintenance and the tank essentially looks new.

The 20 gallon had undergone a similar transition a year or so ago, but I took the time to clean the tank thoroughly while removing the substrate in the 29 gal. I am much happier with the way it looks, and corals are happier too. I find that a bare bottom allows me to manage detritus more effectively which contributes to the long term health of the tank and it’s inhabitants.

If anyone has suggestions for macroalgae to add to my 29 gallon, I would appreciate it. I like the fact that I can remove rocks, algae, and livestock very quickly in order to drank the tanks and perform essential maintenance.

 

[LittleFidel]

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