From break everything down and sell to restart

[vriserva25]

So I currently have a 4 year old 90gallon FOWLR with a 20gallon sump i have gone very slow with the tank and tbh i really was starting to loose interest as we now have 2 children under 16months old ive neglected the tank in that time and now the questions comming up as to what am I doing with this? It's in the middle of living room my wife and I want to keep it but im tired of seeing it the way it is I had blacked out the tank to clean up GHA outbreak and honestly all work stopped there. Now as I'm back on R2R the motivation for my mixed reef tank is back but I need some help getting there.

 

[Jeffcb]

Welcome to Ree2Reef !

 

[Dkmoo]

Welcome back. I just went thru (or still going thru..) the same thing. With a toddler now your priorities def are changing. A couple of pointers to think about as you set up your new tank

1) toddler proof the sht out of it - they climb and they are curious. You have no idea now many times my toddler climbed onto my stand and reached into the tank to play with Nemo

2) get a lid - ever since he saw the blippi video on "will it flow or sink", he's been dumping all kind of stuff into my tank

3) still keep it accessible - toddler curiosity is also a good thing. And the tank is a great educational tool. I've taught my son so many different things about colors, fishs, animals, shape, etc from the tank. Occasionally they'll even do things that will amaze you - ie i recently got a cardinal, and without me teaching him, my 2 year old pointed to it and said "zebra fish"

Your reefing journey is now shared with your children, be prepared for all the good and bad bit its all worth it.

 

[vriserva25]

Currently housing
-Sand
-rock
- bangai cardinal
- 2 clown
- goby
Equipment
- 2 xr30w
- current usa wave pump
Sump
-filter sock
-skimmer (maybe broken)
-return pump

 

[CarltonCay]

Start with figuring out what you'd like to do with the tank - Basic maintenance, Fish only, Easy corals and some fish?

Update your Clean Up Crew and a big water change with some pruning can clean up the algae. RowaPhos will remove the phosphate.

I've seen very simple canister filters on large tanks. Simplify your goals.

 

[fishguy242]

hi welcome back to the reef !!!
lots of fun/info/fun/help/fun..
ask away..pic's too...

 

[vriserva25]

Welcome back. I just went thru (or still going thru..) the same thing. With a toddler now your priorities def are changing. A couple of pointers to think about as you set up your new tank

1) toddler proof the sht out of it - they climb and they are curious. You have no idea now many times my toddler climbed onto my stand and reached into the tank to play with Nemo

2) get a lid - ever since he saw the blippi video on "will it flow or sink", he's been dumping all kind of stuff into my tank

3) still keep it accessible - toddler curiosity is also a good thing. And the tank is a great educational tool. I've taught my son so many different things about colors, fishs, animals, shape, etc from the tank. Occasionally they'll even do things that will amaze you - ie i recently got a cardinal, and without me teaching him, my 2 year old pointed to it and said "zebra fish"

Your reefing journey is now shared with your children, be prepared for all the good and bad bit its all worth it.

Haha that's great and man I do wish one day they would be able to take part and enjoy it with us and yess as we put the locks on all drawers and doors the stand got them as well luckily I have a canopy so nothing on top

 

[Dbichler]

I have 3 kids and all have medical conditions and play competitive sports. The key to happy reefing with all of these things going on is keeping it simple. Is my tank perfect by no means. I fight algae as like anyone else currently battling a tank full of multiple types. Get utility fish and clean up crew. Make sure you have some way of growing algae outside of your dt, wether it’s a refugium or algae turf scrubber.( no it doesn’t have to be the $300 units I made mine for $) Is it as effective probably not but does it work yes. Biggest thing is take 10 mins a day or an hour every weekend and manually remove it.

 

[vriserva25]

Start with figuring out what you'd like to do with the tank - Basic maintenance, Fish only, Easy corals and some fish?

Update your Clean Up Crew and a big water change with some pruning can clean up the algae. RowaPhos will remove the phosphate.

I've seen very simple canister filters on large tanks. Simplify your goals.

Simplify your goals is what I need to keep in mind i get so sidetracked on things that really might not be realistic

 

[vriserva25]

What is more important to you guys Chaeto in the refugium or algae scrubber?

 

[vriserva25]

I am looking to add a uv sterilizer as well

 

[fishguy242]

What is more important to you guys Chaeto in the refugium or algae scrubber?

scrubber vote

 

[ocpondpoacher]

I suggest shooting for an ultra low maintenance reef. My son is almost 3 and he is just passing the point of being a danger to the tank. Unfortunately, my reef got move to the garage over a year ago during a move and it has not made it back into the house. At least the coral is thriving and I haven’t lost any fish.

My tanks have moved far down the priorities list so low maintenance is key. Automate as much as you can and keep the bio load low.

 

[vriserva25]

I want to be more on the offense and able to manage as problems may occur with equipment or tank stability any added advice is definitely welcomed and appreciated

 

[vriserva25]

I suggest shooting for an ultra low maintenance reef. My son is almost 3 and he is just passing the point of being a danger to the tank. Unfortunately, my reef got move to the garage over a year ago during a move and it has not made it back into the house. At least the coral is thriving and I haven’t lost any fish.

My tanks have moved far down the priorities list so low maintenance is key. Automate as much as you can and keep the bio load low.

I have my mixing station in the garage right under my tank i was thinking about throwing a pump right in the container to send the water up rather than carry buckets to and from for water changes that will definitely help me do it more often especially if it's connected to a smart outlet

 

[vriserva25]

I suggest shooting for an ultra low maintenance reef. My son is almost 3 and he is just passing the point of being a danger to the tank. Unfortunately, my reef got move to the garage over a year ago during a move and it has not made it back into the house. At least the coral is thriving and I haven’t lost any fish.

My tanks have moved far down the priorities list so low maintenance is key. Automate as much as you can and keep the bio load low.

Do you atleast get to enjoy it from the garage??

 

[fishguy242]

what is current params? pic? using rodi water?

 

[LegendaryCG]

This is a hobby that you can get lost in. Some folks seem interested in the fish, others the inverts, many the coral, some the gadgets. My suggestion is to give some serious consideration on what part interests you and focus on that. No point stressing or wasting money on something that isn't gonna result in something that excites you.

 

[NYCMAN]

I recently rebuilt my 200 gallon. It was process that took about a week, but the live rock and corals were only outside of the tank for 8 hours or so.. My tank was only 3 years old and was growing SPS rapidly under MH/T5s. My problem was different, I originally started with softies, like GSP and Xenia that became invasive. After a year of pruning, I lost the battle and so got some new cycled rock and removed all the contents of my display tank and placed in a kiddie pool with LED Lighting and massive flow. My display tank was entirely emptied and dried, washed with RO/DI water. My sump was unchanged. It sat full of old tank water during the process. I filled tank with freshly mixed salt water. I then inspected everything in that pool, using a chisel and hammer, and contractor garbage bags, salvaged what I could. Now a week or so later, am seeing some NTS issues, like diatoms, corals losing color, LPS closing up. I tried to do it right, by doing it fast, and dumping a lot of nitrifying bacteria in there, along with salvaging most of my live rock and getting new cycled rock to replace that which I could not salvage. Time will tell if a quick restart works.

 

[vriserva25]

This is a hobby that you can get lost in. Some folks seem interested in the fish, others the inverts, many the coral, some the gadgets. My suggestion is to give some serious consideration on what part interests you and focus on that. No point stressing or wasting money on something that isn't gonna result in something that excites you.

Very true ive atleast gotten a small taste when the tank was at its best and the beauty in the fish/invert/coral interactions really are most interesting and what brought me to wanting my own slice of the reef