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Jimroth's Big Ol' Tank
- Thread starter jimroth
- Start date
The only things left in the reef at this point are a flame angel and an anthias which avoided capture, a very sad emperor angel, and a bunch of inverts.
All the other fish went to Radiata's and Mike-and-Nikki's systems for the duration. And again thanks to all of you for your hosting of fish and your hospitality.
Why does the last 10% always take as long as the preceding 90%?? It was very hard to catch all the fish. Not to mention the emotional impact. I had to remove almost all rockwork to net them. Quite a mess, and some of the rocks had fused into 30-40lb structures. It all went in a barrel to rejuvenate.
After the rest of the critters are removed, next step is to remove all the substrate and PVC and clean the system as best as can be accomplished.
All the other fish went to Radiata's and Mike-and-Nikki's systems for the duration. And again thanks to all of you for your hosting of fish and your hospitality.
Why does the last 10% always take as long as the preceding 90%?? It was very hard to catch all the fish. Not to mention the emotional impact. I had to remove almost all rockwork to net them. Quite a mess, and some of the rocks had fused into 30-40lb structures. It all went in a barrel to rejuvenate.
After the rest of the critters are removed, next step is to remove all the substrate and PVC and clean the system as best as can be accomplished.
The Phoenix shall rise again!
Glad to see you're staying in the game Jim with your re-do.
Glad to see you're staying in the game Jim with your re-do.
Thanks Paul. I think once I have the whole thing empty, and have the plumbing and pumps re-done, I will soon be enthusiastic to resume reefing!
Still getting the last few critters out.
So, the last critters are out. I removed the PVC framework my rockwork has sat on for all these years (See beginning of thread for pictures) and I was annoyed to see it was almost completely full of mud and gravel, despite the many holes drilled in the PVC. This cannot have been helping my water chemistry. I have started to give the setup a thorough cleaning and remove all substrate. I ordered a new return pump and I am making a list of new plumbing parts.
Red flatworms have exploded in the bare tank, they are having a golden age. Imaging how surprised they will be when I fill the system with TAP WATER.
Red flatworms have exploded in the bare tank, they are having a golden age. Imaging how surprised they will be when I fill the system with TAP WATER.
I am gonna avoid ANY substrate. That said I need to try to elevate the rock off the bottom. so I will probably have some PVC in there somewhere. Plus I have these PVC towers I made and stacked rock on, that worked pretty well. Any PVC I put in this time will be open at both ends!
Progress report: I got started cleaning out the tank and couldn't stop! To my surprise, I was able to remove ALL substrate from the bottom, even the large fused sections of gravel. The dead water under those was doing me no favors! When the whole thing was clean-ish, I filled it with tapwater. That that, red flatworms! Want some salt??? Sadly, I forgot to check the sump for critters and ended up killing a few snails who made it down there.
The drain must be clogged at some point; the siphon is barely working and the drain is not choked at all.
The drain must be clogged at some point; the siphon is barely working and the drain is not choked at all.
One other observation: There was an amazing amount of MUD accumulation, particularly in the corners and under the automatic feeder. I'm talking 5 or 10 pounds total. Mostly I was using the shop vac to suck it out. I lost my sense of smell a few years back, but my wife tells me it STUNK..
No, not too many using star board or cutting boards on the bottom of their tanks on RC. A few of us have used egg crate...not against the bottom but elevated to keep detrius from collecting under LR. Cut 2" legs from 1" pvc pipe and use zip ties to keep them connected to egg crate. Egg crate floats and having the pvc pipe zip tied helps while placing your rock work
I had some Starboard in my previous 'big' tank. Running nanos now. I throw down 1/2" of grade #1 sand then put in rocks and press in, then drop in aragonite special grade reef an additional 1- 1.5".
Then again, my rockwork isn't tall enough to worry about.
That Starboard is waaay expensive now a days. I probably still have a few good size cuts. I can dig for them if you like and they're yours (they covered the bottom of a 90g).
Then again, my rockwork isn't tall enough to worry about.
That Starboard is waaay expensive now a days. I probably still have a few good size cuts. I can dig for them if you like and they're yours (they covered the bottom of a 90g).
reefsandrotts
NJRC Member
Boatoutfitters.com $7/sq cut to fit,im sire alot of other places on line
I run my tank without a substrate. It is cleaner, I run marine pure blocks in my sump for additional surface area for filtration.
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Thanks guys, I just don't wanna crack the bottom glass at this point! It's gonna look maybe weird for a while, because my tank is eurobraced on the bottom, so the black starboard is going to be surrounded by a glass border! TAP Plastics still cuts starboard to order, I will check boatoutfitters.com. Thanks.
mud, gravel with holes to allow water to circualte? Sounds like a biological filter to me! But I have been called the Sandman!
I'm a little stalled on my rebuild. The return pump I want is out of stock everywhere. Plus I'm lazy. I have dry-fit most of the plumbing but it needs to be given some final trimming and fitting. I've been dry-aquascaping out on the deck, which works well.
One big problem is that I got an infected wound on vacation. It was painful, and it is taking a long time to heal. The antibiotics cause a lot of fatigue, which doesn't help. Did I mention that I'm a lazy bastard? I need to play the theme from Rocky like full time to get this done.
I have to decide what to use for a sump, the easiest thing would be to just clean my (undersized) existing sump and re-use it.
One big problem is that I got an infected wound on vacation. It was painful, and it is taking a long time to heal. The antibiotics cause a lot of fatigue, which doesn't help. Did I mention that I'm a lazy bastard? I need to play the theme from Rocky like full time to get this done.
I have to decide what to use for a sump, the easiest thing would be to just clean my (undersized) existing sump and re-use it.