Have you ever considered/done a tank reset

[gregzz4]

I've seen some threads recently covering the topic of tank resets, and I've also considered one myself
I'm thinking about adding a larger sump to my system, so am planning a big sump room revamp
I'm going through a GHA cycle right now and it's got me thinking about cleaning my LR

As far as my plans go, I guess it's no different than a tank transfer/new build transfer/package purchase, but lets hear your experiences anyway

[gregzz4]

I'll start it off with my plans ....

I have a 75g that's only 2 years old, but I haven't turkey-basted the LR enough, and other stuff has happened recently, so now I have a GHA issue that is close to out-of-control
Regardless of the GHA, I want to redo many things, so it looks like it's time for a change

I plan on putting my fishies in a 33g, my salvagable corals in a 20g, and my LR in some tubs to be cured
My fishies are all less than 4" and will do fine in the small tank
My corals will have to live with the T5 lighting I have for their tank, and the LR is going to be semi-cooked to the point that it's all clean

All this will allow me to gut and re-vamp my sump room and will require a big plan

I plan on it being a Fall-Winter project and am looking forward to an improved sump room, with some nice changes to my WC routine and better sock/skimmer usage

[WarDog]

Sounds like a wee bit of work. Good luck! I only wish I had the space for a sump room. I look forward to your re-build thread. Ever considered a secondary display/frag tank?

[straightrazorguy]

It's perfectly doable, Greg. I recently completed an upgrade, which is not that dissimilar with what you are referring to. The only difference is you will be reusing your old tank.

From my experience, I can only say it will take 5 times as long as you think and the budget will be exceeded dramatically. Unless, of course you don't plan on upgrading any hardware....

Good luck!

[Aquattro]

Would you not consider ditching that rock and getting real rock?

[Proteus]

I just recently redid my tank. Though it was due to aefw it gave me a chance to change a few things. I painted the tank as well during this time. I was able to get a few pieces of kick ass Lr from lfs. I put my coral and fish into a large Tote and proceeded with tear down and revamp. It took about 9 hours total mostly from paint drying. I also had nsw made and ready. It was easy to do and am happy with results

[asylumdown]

I say go for it. about 75% of what's fun for me is setting things up and watching them develop. Plus there's so many things you learn through running a system. The best part about a reset of a system you know is that you get a chance to fix the things that aren't working while leaving the things that are alone. When you build a totally new system, you can plan as best as possible but it's always the things you didn't really think about or expect to be an issue that you end up hating the most as time goes on.

On my tank, the things I'd like to change the most about the way it's set up can't really be done with water in it (remove internal overflows, completely change the plumbing, etc.), so it's a perfect way to do it.

It will be a cr*p ton of work, but so is setting up a new tank from scratch.

[gregzz4]

Originally Posted by WarDog

Ever considered a secondary display/frag tank?

My budget doesn't have room for it, even temporarily

[gregzz4]

Originally Posted by Aquattro

Would you not consider ditching that rock and getting real rock?

It's do-able, and I have time to buy the rock now and cook it before I start the teardown
I'd still want to keep the true LR I have, which is about 1/3rd

[gregzz4]

Originally Posted by straightrazorguy

I can only say it will take 5 times as long as you think and the budget will be exceeded dramatically. Unless, of course you don't plan on upgrading any hardware....
Good luck!

I do plan on it taking quite a few weeks

Originally Posted by Proteus

it gave me a chance to change a few things

I have many things I want to redo ...

Originally Posted by asylumdown

I say go for it. about 75% of what's fun for me is setting things up and watching them develop. Plus there's so many things you learn through running a system. The best part about a reset of a system you know is that you get a chance to fix the things that aren't working while leaving the things that are alone. When you build a totally new system, you can plan as best as possible but it's always the things you didn't really think about or expect to be an issue that you end up hating the most as time goes on.

It will be a cr*p ton of work, but so is setting up a new tank from scratch.

Exactly why I'm considering it
I have things about my setup that irk me;
Wiring, plumbing size, skimmer/sock locations, and size of running WC capacity

When I do a WC, I have to unplug the fuge, both reactors and the skimmer
I want to incorporate the fuge into the drain plumbing to remove it's individual pump, and place the reactor pumps in a section that will never drain down
I also want the ability to perform a 25% WC without disturbing the DT;
Right now I can do 10%

I get more buss errors than I should; I need to rewire my controller to get the buss cables away from the power cables, and insulate the wires that can't be separated

I'm sure there's more and I need to start putting all the ideas on paper