Gonna break it down, start it over..

ShawnSaucier · Dec 21, 2015

ever find yourself looking in the mirror and think "are you serious." Here is where I am today. My tank has been rocking for the past year, though i have been a bit dissatisfied with the whole set up. I want to redo the plumbing, the electronics, switching to apex from RKE, and start with dry rock that is more porous than what I have. When I put this system together, I rushed a bit, and that has bit me a few times over the last two years. I was moving out of one tank into this new system and did not have the room to keep both set up for a smoother transition. All of the livestock went into a 100g tub for a week, and I sustained a few losses.
So here I am today trying to figure out if I sell or trade all of my livestock and rock. Which ever direction that I go, the money will be going into the rebuild. I have 165 lbs of dry pukani, shelf and branch that just arrived and is waiting for me to clean and cement. And yet I look across the room and think "am I really doing this ?".

AlexG · Dec 21, 2015

I would make sure you cure that pukani rock for a few weeks. I have seen lots of posts about phosphate leaching if this is not done. I would consider keeping some of the live rock to seed the dry rock. If you are not happy with the setup I would not be against a break down to make it the way you really want it.

tigerdragon · Dec 21, 2015

Agreed on the pukani cure it it is not a clean dry rock although it does have a lot of holes and such easy to shape but comes with a lot of dead organisms in it

ShawnSaucier · Dec 21, 2015

The plan is to take the next few months to rebuild. If I decide to go wet, within the year, I will be looking at just letting the rocks mature, try to keep from adding any coral. I want to start with micro fauna ( pods, worms,ect.)and really give it time to establish in the tank. I have a bunch of travel booked for next year, so this should help the urge, and make things easier on my wife. I'll keep the lights low for the first few month, run gfo in a reactor. Not sure about skimming 24/7. I want to have passed all of those difficult stages (NTS) before I place my first piece of coral. I'm hoping that this will also help me plan my layout and be a bit more decisive in which corals I choose. I've found that at the moment, there are things that have become more dominate in my tank, and I should have chosen a bit wiser. But that is what this hobby is about. Making mistakes and learning.
Another deciding factor in all of this, we plan on moving towards the end of next year. I find that it will be much less of a head ache to move a tank of matured rock, than a matured reef.

ShawnSaucier · Dec 21, 2015

There will be an acid bath for the rock, and I may run the system with just fresh ro/di water for a bit, before I add salt and start a cycle. Sand is a question at the moment too. But no rush, which is a nice feeling

tigerdragon · Dec 21, 2015

Sounds good dont rush it. And i just went through a move and had to shift to a much smaller tank wound up selling off a bunch of very nice sps and fish and gear along with my 200 peninsula because i had to downsize living space as rent was getting out of control and i really didnt need the size of house iwas in as it is just me and my son

ShawnSaucier · Dec 28, 2015

Update from last week: So the plan is still moving forward. Today I found a 60 gallon rimless frag tank for $200 with the stand. I think this is gonna be my option to save most of my coral and fish. I'll try to remove all of the coral on my rocks and build a rack on one side of the 60 gallon. The other half I'll leave open sand for my wrasses and lps.
So here is where I need all of your ideas crew... Lights, skimmer, sump and dosing... Now this setup is going to be used , for now, to house what I want to keep from my main display while I rebuild a new aquascape, re plumb the system and fix any mistakes I made in the original build. I'm considering using my ATI LED Powermodule over the 60g to maintain the moved coral, but while the new aquascape is cycling and maturing in the main display there will be no light on the system. Once light is added, would I be looking at an algae bloom? Dinos., GH ect.. Even if lights are added after a full cycle and all parameters are in check?
Second, I have a 75g Rubbermaid stock tank that I'm thinking about using for the sump for the 60g tank. I'm thinking about using the skimmer from my main system (tunze 9415), but will have to use some type of stand to keep the skimmer at a certain depth. Can I use cinder block or will that leach phosphates? Any ideas for a stand? And will it be a detriment to the main system to cycle and run with no protein skimmer until I move all of the corals and livestock over?
Lastly, I am thinking about putting the frag tank in my garage. This is next to my RoDi tanks and also my mixing station. This will make water changes easier, and also not having to make space in our living area for 4-6 months for another system. But I live in FL, and the garage can get hot. Never having used one, what about a chiller? What size for a 120g system? I like to keep things running at 78*, and I can only guess that the garage must get close to 100* during the summer.
Please give some thoughts or advice...