Tank Reset and New Rock Project

[Davehla]

Hi all,

I am about to start on a project to rock out and restart my 120 gallon tank. I have been dealing with a turf algae outbreak that I can’t control anymore and has taken over my whole tank killing all my coral.

I want to do a full start and was wondering if anyone has done this before and has suggestions on the best way to kill everything including the Turf algae. I have been told a vinegar bath for the tank or bleach.

Don’t worry, I will be giving my all my fish, anemones and coral to my LFS to hold for me until the tank recycles.

I am going to be using real reef rock for the tank. Anyone have any comments on what I should add or use for my new reset?

Let me know if you have any suggestions.

David

 

[brandon429]

Here’s a thread on tank surgery it’s the exact procedure you are preparing for/ cracks knuckles

Let’s surgically kill the algae and keep the rock biology and skip cycle re arrange it into a new tank with no detritus clouding anywhere at all

 

[brandon429]

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/s...r-a-full-rework-skip-cycle-reassembly.525310/

 

[brandon429]

Highlights if you want it done strategically right:

Don’t start with the rip clean, end with it. Start with rock pre modeling

Take out a couple target infested rocks and apply three different levels of action to the target, we upscale during the rip clean only the working action

put rocks back and watch regrowth characters so we learn something specific about the invader causing this big of a job

Better than guessing


Better than applying perhaps the weakest action after all the work, and getting growback


Make a test rock (s) comply in your current tank using targeted controls, and I guarantee you applying that to the rest of the tank when the sand is cleared and the rocks are dislodged of detritus is certain to work

We model the proof before applying it. Your new tank doesn’t recycle and you don’t have to cook your rocks in a bin for nine months, we just make the current rocks comply.


Get some 35% peroxide from a health food store for the job...I can tell you aren’t playing around here and neither am I lol we collect tank surgery works. The stuff is causing doom be careful with it, best tool in the industry for your job however. I use a quart a year on my one gallon setup and associated household fun stuff.

Test rocks x 3

1. Experiment with how you want to do it. If you want to test water treatments, then put it in a bubbling sw bucket and apply the fluc or the med of your choice to the water and wait for it to work, on the bucket rock. Tank runs as normal till it’s time for surgery.

2 second rock is take a steak knife and surgically rasp and scrape and dislodge the algae using the knife tip. Take out it’s roots. Apply 35 peroxide to the cleaned areas only after knifing, rinse, put back and watch for re growth.

3 rd rock is just pour the peroxide across the target and scrape nothing off. Rock #2 had no target left on it when put back, it was rasped clean. Rock 3 gets its target put back in tank we watch it die or not

The rip clean comes when you know something about the growth characters of this invader. Cloudless perfect rinsed sand goes back in the new tank only.

 

[brandon429]

If the job is too big and you want to redo the rock with the bath, yes any of those will work to strip it.

Get some alternate surface area into the tank cycling up and ready so you can rip out the rocks and cook/bin them a few months. Seems like we need to prep you new surface area as the removal and cook option is easy. Bleach is fine, if you are going to redo them I’d still manual clean, then vinegar shortly, then bleach and then re curing in open bins not sealed ones

 

[MnFish1]

Hi all,

I am about to start on a project to rock out and restart my 120 gallon tank. I have been dealing with a turf algae outbreak that I can’t control anymore and has taken over my whole tank killing all my coral.

I want to do a full start and was wondering if anyone has done this before and has suggestions on the best way to kill everything including the Turf algae. I have been told a vinegar bath for the tank or bleach.

Don’t worry, I will be giving my all my fish, anemones and coral to my LFS to hold for me until the tank recycles.

I am going to be using real reef rock for the tank. Anyone have any comments on what I should add or use for my new reset?

Let me know if you have any suggestions.

David

I would try to figure out why you cant control it - Even if you sterilize the tank etc - wouldn't it come back - unless you change whatever you're doing to cause it? Or I would try a cleaning method like @brandon429 recommended?

 

[brandon429]

Agreed we've got to demo some aspect of command to make the reset job worth it

And a change of approach to invasion controls in general. Direct target action/make a tank you can always lift out rocks and steak knife them is key to not having to repeat

All big jobs started with one normal spot a parrotfish would've bitten off, had he been there

No parrotfish, a reefer with a knife and willingness to act independent of nutrients

Water nutrients never caused this although that tufting starts to wick in detritus then it self feeds fast.

 

[Davehla]

That is exactly what is happening. I took a piece out and put it in the sun and all of it died. I also did peroxide and it died, but it is literally on all my rocks, so I have to go with the full restart. I am thinking this has to do with my lights. I bought the tank used and the lights aren’t the best. Since the TOP of the tank is sealed i have a feeling that the light coming through the acrylic with crappy lights caused this.

I am probably going to upgrade to two leds and tank the cover off the top, yes i will have more evaporation, but it will hopefully Deter the issue.

I am also making a cheoto reactor to hopefully aid the eating of nutrients in the water. :-)