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

[Myka]

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.

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!

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

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



















Ok, ok...truth be told - I'm going to rip it down, but I'm going to redesign it. 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!

[lastlight]

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

[paddyob]

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?

[Myka]

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:

[StirCrazy]

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

[Wingin It]

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.