That's it! I'm ripping my reef down!

[Zoaelite]

Sometimes starting fresh is what you need to do Mindy, I'm in agreement that this hobby can be EXTREMELY frustrating at times.

You know... flooding the basement, electrocuting yourself, wasting money on fish that jump out of your tank, getting AEFW from big al's...

At the end of the day you enjoy it enough to continue and that's all that matters! Good to see your revamping over throwing in the towel, what doesn't kill us only makes us stronger buddy!

[StirCrazy]

Originally Posted by Myka

Steve, I would LOVE a bare bottom tank, but I have 2 Jawfish in there. I did already remove the majority of the sand, just leaving some deep sections for the Jawfish. I might move the Jawfish out and remove the rest of the sand in the future.

ah, forgot you had sand fish in there. I did sugest that because I found after about a year with a DSB I started getting algae/crap like you were describing and after going to a bare bottom, I didn't thave the problems anymore. I feel there are a couple main reasons for this.. after a while I think the sand bed gets "full" of crap as there is no way in captivity we can keep the amount of different critters required to keep a sand bed healthy, so eventualy as it gets disturbed all that junk is re-released into the water. the second reason is that with out the sand it allows you to creat a much larger flow through out the tank which prevents cyno and other things from acumalation by keeping them suspended in the water which allows more efficient removal by the skimmer.

now when I start up my next tank, it isn't going to be a glass bottom but rather I am going to use travintine tiles(or how ever you spell it) which are a natural lime stone for the bottom. it is porus and will alow corals and what not to attach more easily, and seeing I am going to be setting it up as a very high PAR tank, I will have encrusting SPS and others SPS right on the bottom of the tank, with only a few rocks as show pieces. kinda like a zen style tank.

Steve

[nlreefguy]

gee, do you have to toss them? I'd be more than happy to pay the shipping if you'd ship them to me! Getting corals in Newfoundland is not easy! Maybe all you guys up there in the west have no problems with availability but it's not like that everywhere in the country!

[Slick Fork]

I've always found building/rebuilding is almost a lot more fun then having an established tank up and running!

[Myka]

Thanks for the support guys! Man, it's a lot of work! I have the rock how I want it, and I'm really going to have to give up a lot of coral pieces. I have my top 8 pieces back in the tank. I still have quite a few more to go back in, but they are spending the night in my holding tank. I've been at it for 6 hours now (cooked dinner in between too!)...I'm pooped!

Steve, I totally agree with you! I generally like a SSB, and mine was originally a SSB with a deep end for the Jawfish. Over time the deep end migrated so there was a fairly thick sandbed all over. As I was siphoning out a bunch of sand I come across a whole whack of clumped sand. I know this is a recent occurrence as I vacuum most of the sand monthly. I ended up doing a 30 gallon water change on the tank between filling up a holding tank and siphoning sand out, so I will have to wait a few days before I siphon more sand out. I am going to just make a pile in front of the Jawfishes caves, and that's all they get! I look forward to seeing your new tank - I think the travertine tiles are a nice look!

nlreefguy, I think I will end up with quite a few corals left over. I might set up an auction for them or something.

Slick Fork, I like having the established tank! I like to just be able to look at it and be happy with it, and enjoy it. Lately, every time I look at it I get stressed out, and annoyed. I just hope the pests will get lost. The algae and cyano I can deal with, but the pests - GRRRR!

getting AEFW from big al's...

You can get pests from the most reputable LFS out there...I know I have! The fact is, many corals are wild and all the corals are often in the same system which will nicely distribute any pests! I don't blame pests on any LFS I visit. The most an LFS can do is dip incoming corals, and dip any infected corals. This is precisely what I do, and look - I have pests! Dips don't kill eggs, so eventually any LFS will have pests.

[Alex350]

Hi Mindy,
Give me a shout, I can drop them into my 230, if you like and see what turns out.

Regards,
Alex

[Myka]

Here is my Eunicid worm. He got the one flush salute, but that was after he got a vinegar bath. Poor guy...






This is when he was in my tank:




Most of the corals:




The rock I removed, which ended up being about half of it:




My first design:




Which I modified into this:



That's how it looked when I went to bed last night. The corals spent the night in the holding tank. Today the tank is crystal clear, the Jawfish are fighting over the best spot, and the clownfish is mad because the best Jawfish spot is too close to her anemone!

I will update this afternoon with the final shot of all the corals back in the tank. It is sooooooooooooo refreshing to see the sand!

-------------------------------

Hi Alex, I will call you later today when I have the corals back in, and have decided which ones are staying out.

[MitchM]

Man, when you get to work on something, LOOK OUT!

It looks a lot better. I think you'll have a healthier tank as a result.

Mitch

[Zoaelite]

GO FOR THE GOLD MINDY!!! Might as well upgrade while your cleaning .

[lorenz0]

wow, ya thats a whole re-map. always liked your tanks and i am sure it will look amazing when your done.

and wow that worm is gross, gotta love the creepy crawlers we find dwelling in our tanks