Tank reboot

[lefkonj]

Ok folks at about 10 years I feel like my tank can you use a reboot. From an equipment perspective I think things are good, new lights, properly sized skimmer, sump etc etc. It really is my fish. I have a 180Gallon tank and several of my fish have just grown too big to continue with. My Vlamingii Tang, Rabbitfish and Hippo tang are all about 14" and just bull doze any coral I place or create so much waste it is impossible to keep up with.

What I am thinking about doing is 2 things:
1. Removing the large fish to reduce the bio load and prevent 'bulldozing' of corals
2. Removing old rock that has been there since the tank was first built and going with real reef rock to replace it.

Of course I would be adding new fish but they start off small and this way everything can sort of reboot... Thoughts?

 

[NeonRabbit221B]

Why would you remove old rock?

 

[Ghost25]

Why would you remove old rock?

Agreed. Just sell your big fish and keep going.

 

[Azedenkae]

Agreed with the others. XD Though if I was to guess, I presume there are algae growing on them and you kinda wanna reset that?

Either way, imo, sell the large fish, get small fish.

 

[lefkonj]

Removing the old rock because it is just a major trap for crap and has growth on it I don't want at all. Figured it would help to get things back towards a steady state. Not all the rock just pieces of it that are not ideal.

 

[Azedenkae]

Removing the old rock because it is just a major trap for crap and has growth on it I don't want at all. Figured it would help to get things back towards a steady state. Not all the rock just pieces of it that are not ideal.

Ah gotcha, thought so. XD Yeah that works, only thing I am afraid of is upsetting some sort of balance, but hey a few pieces should be fine.

 

[lefkonj]

Just thinking it all through. What if I took a 40gallon and water from display tank to put the new rock in for a few weeks. Then swapped out the old rock for the new. That way the new rock is seeded from the tank. Removing all the bad rock should be fine then, just thinking out loud.

 

[Fishnut]

How about a third option, get a bigger tank.
If not I vote for giving away the big fish and starting over with smaller ones. I like the idea of starting to add some newer rock now to seed it but if your getting rid of the big fish it is probably not necessary due to lighter bio load. I always had trouble finding new homes for large pet fish. I always ended up reluctantly giving them to a LFS. If you decide to sell be sure to contact aquarium service companies in your area. They may know people with huge tanks willing to give them a good home.

 

[lefkonj]

Even if I got a bigger tank these 'tanks' wouldn't be moved over. I would start with very few things from this system, other than some of the gear.