reef tank reset question?

Grimreefer89 · Jul 12, 2020

Could i just put all livestock (coral, fish and CUC) in my QT 10 gallon and replace sand bed pressure wash or scrub rocks and fill the tank with new saltwater. should that "reset" my parameters? ive got dinos mostly on my rocks and honestly a reset seems to be the fastest most affordable way to get rid of them? i would like to be able to reuse my live rock (which wont be when im done pressure washing it) just to save a little money but id also like to get my creatures back in the tank asap. any suggestions??? or should i just go for it use some fritz turbo start and put coral back and wait a week or so to add fish.

Spare time · Jul 12, 2020

It could sneak back from a few cells in the QT. I would just keep nitrate and phosphate within a reasonable range (above 0 so you don't keep getting dinos) and add a UV sterilizer if possible.

Crustaceon · Jul 12, 2020

You don’t beat dinos by cleaning your tank.

Grimreefer89 · Jul 12, 2020

UV sterilizer will be here today and my nitrates are definitely above 0 and phosphates have stayed at 9 ppb with a hanna checker. crustaceon i understand you cant clean them away im not sure if you read the entire post im trying to reset the parameters as quickly( i know but i cant keep a CUC alive) and safely as possible. im losing snails like crazy and i feel like its just a matter of time before they get the shrimps too. i know a full reset is what some folks have done to correct their water parameters to beat the dinos so its an option just not sure about how to go about it successfully. ive also got some dino x that im just a little nervous to use, i may go that route before i try the reset. was just trying to get some clarity on how to pull it off. thanks spare time im gonna let it run with the sterilizer for another week or so if that helps ill stick with that. i feel like if i have dinos that are susceptible the sterilizer it should take care of it and if it knocks it back pretty good maybe dino x and time will be the finishing blows.

Grimreefer89 · Jul 12, 2020

UV filter is in all i can do now is wait.

Uncle99 · Jul 12, 2020

I like everything but killing the rock thing.
Try soak and scrub them in saltwater, I would like to keep those cycled rocks.
You can wash anything else you wish

Grimreefer89 · Jul 12, 2020

i could do that... but wouldn't the dinos still be there? i need to get a microscope so i can identify what dinos i have exactly. i cant even get a good pic of the boogers. i know how i got them and i have corrected the nitrate and phosphate issues but they arent receding they seem to be doing better actually. i work the next four days then i off for seven. if i dont see the UV doing something by then im gonna try a blackout i think. then dose something to compete with the dinos, this is a last resort but i want to have an idea of the best way to do this without losing anymore of my livestock thank you for the advice!

Uncle99 · Jul 12, 2020

it’s been a long time since I dealt with these PITA.
Mine was 100g. I spent a whole day with brushes, worked them over good, kept them wet all the time, and back in they went, 95% new sand.....never taken hold thus far.......but my tank is very mature.....so the assumption is that it worked.

I could not kill my bacteria. I would have no safe (cycled) home for them.

Grimreefer89 · Jul 12, 2020

mines only a 40 gallon and i just upgraded to it in april so its still new. i scrubbed the crap out of them in the tank to get them waterborne so the UV filter could do some work on them. i may regret that though but i like the idea of pulling them out and really scrubbing them down and swapping the aragonite sand bed for some new sand. i usually take things SLOW but this doesn't seem like one of those things you just wait out. but i could be wrong

Grimreefer89 · Jul 13, 2020

i think the UV sterilizer is working i bought the one spare time suggested and my tank looks amazing! best 80 bucks ive spent in a long time. no boogers on my rock but i still have some in the sand bed i need to siphon out. im hoping this did it it is looking promising thanks for all the replies i really appreciate it. i havent been in this hobby long i was looking forward to all the frag swaps and just meeting people and learning new things but COVID hit. what i know about reef keeping has come from this forum (folks like y'all) and brs tv.

Grimreefer89 · Sep 6, 2020

just wanted to give a little update. the UV sterilizer worked i did have to scrub the rocks to get the stuff waterborne and used a canister filter to remove the top layer of my substrate. i ran the the Sterilizer for 2 weeks constantly and since then i run it for 3 hours a day from midnight to 3 am. cyano did show up after the dinos died but ive been doseing stability with my water changes and cleaning the substrate and i have about got the cyano wiped out. tank is looking better than ever!