thenanoreef
Active Member
So I have had my Innovative Marine 24 gallon tank running for the past 2 years now and not once had it been "easy" either. I have invested quite a bit of time and and especially money into the tank and yet I never feel satisfied with how it looks. I remove huge chunks of algae one week and a few weeks later it is back and thicker than before. I have tried for months to no avail. Further more, my rock scape or perhaps its just the tank in general has prevented my reef from looking "full" or "complete". At this point I don't want to just keep buying corals to attempt to fix this problem only to still be unsatisfied with the look of the tank. Does anyone else struggle with this? Now would also be the time to tell you all that I am a sophomore in high school. As you can probably imagine, I am now being faced with the fact that time is running out before I go to college. I had the idea a while back, to downsize to a ten gallon that I already have. In fact, I have every thing I need for a smaller tank. I will just transfer everything (Apex, ATO, Jeabo RW-4, heater) over to the smaller one. My plan is to keep the Zoa island rock that I have and my large frogspawn. I would also move over my gorg and some shrooms to really fill it in nicely. This should, in theory, fill up my tank where it won't look so "empty" and with a fresh start, I can also prevent that pesky algae by doing everything right. Remember, my first shot was a little, well, sketchy to say the least. Oh, and last but not least I have two true perc. clowns that would also be transferred over.
Does this sound like a viable plan? What are other peoples experiences with a 10 gallon? Is it easier to manage? Does my move make sense now? or should I wait another year? I really do still love the hobby, but at times I feel in over my head. I think a smaller tank would give me more control over the whole thing.
Lastly, assuming I do go ahead with the switch, what is the best way to do it. The last thing I need is a mass extinction. I was thinking about setting up the tank right next to my existing one, and filling it with old 24 gallon tank water when I do a WC. I would then add my ZOA rock in a week after, followed by the frogspawn and the other corals, then week 3, or when everything is looking stable, I would add the clowns. I do think I would as new sand however.
Any advice is very much appreciated.
Thanks, thenanoreef
Does this sound like a viable plan? What are other peoples experiences with a 10 gallon? Is it easier to manage? Does my move make sense now? or should I wait another year? I really do still love the hobby, but at times I feel in over my head. I think a smaller tank would give me more control over the whole thing.
Lastly, assuming I do go ahead with the switch, what is the best way to do it. The last thing I need is a mass extinction. I was thinking about setting up the tank right next to my existing one, and filling it with old 24 gallon tank water when I do a WC. I would then add my ZOA rock in a week after, followed by the frogspawn and the other corals, then week 3, or when everything is looking stable, I would add the clowns. I do think I would as new sand however.
Any advice is very much appreciated.
Thanks, thenanoreef
