62G Starfire Reef [40x18x20]

[JDigital]

Well I have decided that I am going to restart this tank. I'm going to pull all the marco dry rock I started with out, re-home most of the fish to my 180G tank at the office, and start from scratch. New water, new rock, fresh start. There is just something not right in this tank that I can not put my finger on. This tank has been up and running for nearly a year with absolutely ZERO progress and hundreds of dollars in coral down the drain. I have lost EVERY SINGLE piece of SPS I have tried in this tank. Everything from easy to keep montis/digi's, red planet, to harder to keep stuff that was doing very well in MUCH younger, less mature frag tanks at the LFS.

I tried feeding Oyster Feast and Live Copepods per some conversations with a fellow reefer on NR.com that yielded no results with regards to improved coral vitality (SPS specifically). None of my fish are coral nippers so I can rule them all out. I've inspected and dipped all frags before putting them in my tank (although still could have missed something, the procedure was still there and I have no seen bugs or pest of any sort). Carbon and GFO made no difference in my tests with them.

I got 2 things that seem to do ok in this tank. The fish and a few (4) acans. Zoas don't grow (or gradually disappear), ALL SPS dies, I'm not interested in softies for this tank so haven't even tried putting them in.

So I'm gutting it and starting fresh. Maybe in a years time I will actually have something to show off in this tank, because as of right now after nearly a year hundreds of dollars in dead coral, I basically have a handful of fish and 4 small acan pieces (which are for the most part less than 6 weeks old). Something clearly isn't working/right/balanced in this tank and no test kit new or old can give me any indication to the problem as they all point to average readings for Ca/Mag/dKH, low PO4, no trates/trites/ammo.

[kien]

good to see you back at it. If you're losing pretty much everything that you put into your tank then something is definitely up. Especially if your water parameters are in check. Good luck! The only suggestion I can think of to give to you is to maybe invest in a Prayer Reactor.

[lastlight]

That sucks Josh but a fresh start might do wonders. Good luck.

[Skimmerking]

Josh I was having problems too man. and once I moved my tank from the old house to the new house and with a fresh new water like 98% my tank is looking amazing. I feel for ya bro I have had crappy luck but now with the new house new girlfriend, new water completely the tank is doing amazing. the wallet isn't doing good thou lol corals are flourishing thou so im happy. the Red Algae is all gone. I really think the Mitras Light has helped with the Algae. It has to be i have checked everything that I can think of. the rocks are all purpling up really nice too.

[JDigital]

whooooo!!! more good luck... My skimmer overflowed AGAIN last night... Awesome!

[gqlmao]

Damn man, I have been following this thread on Nano-reef and Canreef. It seems like this hobby is throwing quite a bit of curve balls at you. But you got the grapes to last this long and to even willing reset the tank. Therefore more reason to give her because when something good happens it will be that much better!

I have a SRO in my tank, I found that playing with the gate really messed with the skimmer water levels. So I left mine all the way open, built a little egg crate stand to raise it so it has about 5 inches of water. I think the key to mine running was to allow the open gate to be above the water line so there isn't any back pressure running back into the exit. When I had it below the water line even the slightest, it would flood every 3-4 days, it would gradually creep up while I was at work and when I got home the skimmer would of emptied it self back into the tank.

Stanley

[JDigital]

Originally Posted by gqlmao

Damn man, I have been following this thread on Nano-reef and Canreef. It seems like this hobby is throwing quite a bit of curve balls at you. But you got the grapes to last this long and to even willing reset the tank. Therefore more reason to give her because when something good happens it will be that much better!

I have a SRO in my tank, I found that playing with the gate really messed with the skimmer water levels. So I left mine all the way open, built a little egg crate stand to raise it so it has about 5 inches of water. I think the key to mine running was to allow the open gate to be above the water line so there isn't any back pressure running back into the exit. When I had it below the water line even the slightest, it would flood every 3-4 days, it would gradually creep up while I was at work and when I got home the skimmer would of emptied it self back into the tank.

Stanley

Oh I have the egg stand too.. has helped with skimming (as it dumped about half a cup of BLACK skimmate back into the tank last night) but I don't think I can get the gate valve above the line and still get the performance out of it.

My office tank is basically on auto-pilot right now. I feed the fish, clean the skimmer cup once a week, and scrape the glass every few days. Although it is due for a water change, but otherwise nothing to complain about *knocks on glass*... This tank at home has been a constant headache for 11 months.

[denny_C]

just do it!!!


im off thurs and fri so we can do it anytime then if you like , weekend im can do it to if its later in the day

what do you have to lose right?

[lastlight]

Originally Posted by denny@concept

just do it!!!


im off thurs and fri so we can do it anytime then if you like , weekend im can do it to if its later in the day

what do you have to lose right?

are you guys eloping or working on the tank. stop being so mysterious Denny!

[denny_C]

you know my thoughts lol :P:P:P