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

How many of you have felt this way?

This year has brought a lot of reefing grief for me. I haven't been around my tank much this year due to working out of province. Montipora Eating Nudibranchs, Red Bugs, Acropora Eating Flatworms. Not to mention overdosing Zeovit and ending up with a cyano plague, and out of control Cauplerpa and Halimeda. These are things that would have been easier to deal with had I been around to catch them early, and keep on them before they really became an issue.

Today I'm checking out a cool new frag, and I notice that this stupid green Digitata that's been growing on my frag rack for a year (and now big enough that my frag rack is overweight and falling off the magnet) has Monti Eating Nudibranchs. I fought MEN (lol) almost a year ago when they came in on a new Monti I bought, but now? Where did the little bastards come from?

And this stupid black cyano that showed up when I ditched Zeo and started running GFO again? Wtf is up with that? Why isn't it gone yet? Oh, and how the heck did my tank get so dirty anyway? Where was I? Oh ya...working.

Dang thing is so crowded...I need to get rid of some corals, but all these stupid bugs...I can't sell any corals with a clear conscience to anyone who has SPS. So...there they sit....taking up space...restricting flow...creating more issues. :evil:

I have Acros spread from end to end on the sand from when I had to pry them off the rocks and dip them. My Emerald crabs, urchin, and snails knock them all over. They sting eachother. Grr!:evilbat:

Oh, and don't forget the Eunicid worm I saw last week that I haven't dug out of the tank yet. :vamp:

So...I'm rolling up my sleeves and gutting the tank. F 'em all I say!!!!:drinking:



















Ok, ok...truth be told - I'm going to rip it down, but I'm going to redesign it. :D I'm going to grab a garbage bag, bite the bullet, and toss a bunch of corals. I hate to do it, but my stress level will go down!

Anyway...I had to vent! And scare you guys into thinking I was tossing in the towel! :lol:

Toss the unwanted corals out in the sun if they're infested. Reactor media for later!

Oh no
 

Do you have to toss them?

Can't you find someone willing to deal with and "treat" the corals for the bugs? Maybe a local LFS has a hospital tank or something???

If you are already killing them... why not give them away to others with the knowledge of the issue?

Hey Brett! I don't have a calcium reactor, so I don't have much use for the dead corals. Only 3 or 4 of them might have "bugs" on them, the rest are just corals I'm no longer interested in. I just can't sell them because of the "possibility" that something bad might tag along.

Paddy...SPS are SPS are SPS. The ones I'm tossing are cultured corals that have little value. People could buy them pretty much anywhere. Treating them is not worth it. The ones that DO have value I am keeping. ;)

Here are some pre-renovation shots of the tank in all its dirty, disgusting glory:

http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k4...Sept102010.jpg

http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k4...ept1020103.jpg

http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k4...ept1020102.jpg

http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k4...ept1020104.jpg

http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k4...ept1020105.jpg

http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k4...ept1020106.jpg

http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k4...ept1020107.jpg

hey, if you don't mine the look, try a bare bottom tank, or use a travitine tile type bottom. i think you would be surprised by the results.

Steve

I personally don't think the tank is that bad. Nothing a little work can't fix...syphon out the substrate, suck out some of the unwanted algae...could look tip top soon? Though i'm still a newbie at all this, but I don't know that starting all over again would solve anything if your work schedule is going to be the same? Anywho, just my two cents. ;)

I totally know how you feel. couple weeks ago i found flat worms in my old tank while i was caring for it at my parents. wasnt to happy to say the least and its been a tough year as well. but in my case they are happy with it (gosh who wouldnt be after getting a free tank that has eaten me alive) and i am just going to deal with the issues since they are happy with it.

how do you plan on going on with the reno?

Well, I am now mid-reno. Taking a break right now to look at the rock 'scape with fresh eyes. The corals are mostly all out of the tank in a holding tank. I finally got the chance to move the Blue Assessor into my 20 gallon which I have been wanting to do since spring, but I couldn't catch him. I also moved the large male Banggai into a spare tank I have with other random fish (lol). I got the 7 1/2" Eunicid worm out (eeeeeeeeeeeeeeew!!!!). I took out most of the rock. I'm going to go for a less is more approach this time, but that will mean space for a lot less corals. So I have to find a happy medium.

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. :lol:

Wingin It...well, I've already done that. A few months back I did a renovation in there, removed a bunch of sand, added a couple powerheads. The tank really needs a renovation to make it easier to keep clean...it's been needing it for many months.

Lorenzo...keep posted! Pics to come. My fingers are wrinkly from being in the water so long! Oh, and ugh on the flatworms.

im doing the same keeping the best of what i got and gone are the rest starting new, keeps it exciting its been a long time coming and now with rock going i can finally catch half of the fish i couldnt catch in forever like my goby's lol good luck myka!!:)

Good luck Mindy! I am looking forward to seeing the end result!!!

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!

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

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!

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

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! :lol: 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!

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.

From Saskatoon
 

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

Regards,
Alex

Here is my Eunicid worm. He got the one flush salute, but that was after he got a vinegar bath. Poor guy...
http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k4...ept1020109.jpg

http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k4...pt10201010.jpg



This is when he was in my tank:
http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k4...Aug2620104.jpg



Most of the corals:
http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k4...pt10201011.jpg



The rock I removed, which ended up being about half of it:
http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k4...pt10201012.jpg



My first design:
http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k4...pt10201013.jpg



Which I modified into this:
http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k4...pt102010-1.jpg


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.

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:smile:

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

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

Haha! Ya, when I get onto something I am pretty thorough! So, I still have some rampant frags hanging out in the sand that I haven't made my mind up on yet, and my frag rack still have some pieces on it, but it is much tidier in there!

The "stuff" on the back glass on the left half of the tank is GSP, but it was closed when I took the pics. So that makes the glass look dirty. Anyway, here's the pics!

http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k4...ept1120105.jpg

http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k4...Sept112010.jpg

http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k4...ept1120102.jpg

http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k4...ept1120103.jpg



My loner Picasso awaiting her Platinum buddy:
http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k4...ept1120104.jpg

Back to looking great already!:biggrin:

Thanks! Now I just have to wait for a few of the corals to color up from dipping or being strewn about on the sand! :eek:

Tank looks better in person
 

The tank looks better in person
Mindy thanks for the corals, they are doing well for now on the frag shelf.

Thanks again,
Alex.

You're welcome Alex, and thanks for the comment! I am not good at taking FTS.

Looks fantastic!!!! Nicely done, and very rewarding I bet!