Ok, Wednesday before Thanksgiving I put all my corals in a big plastic bin. Ice chest did not have quite enough foot print.
I originally thought I would be able to remove the sand, and keep the water, and just clean the sand. No way I could do that once I stirred it up and saw the water turn muddy brown with about a 3 inch visibility.
So I drained the tank and removed the sand with a plastic cup and put it into three 5 gallon buckets about 2/3 full each.
I had about 40 gallons of salt water ready, but now I needed another 170. I had turned on the RODI about 5 am, but at 90 gallons per day it would take a couple of days to make enough.
Then I realized I needed more salt mix.
I made the 2 1/2 hour round trip to the LFS that had the salt in stock and was open on Wednesday and made it back home with abox of salt.
I then proceeded to rinse the sand really good with a garden hose until the water ran clear. It took a couple of hours, but less time than I thought.
I had taken all the rocks out of the tank a couple of weeks back and soaked them in a weak muriatic acid and water solution to remove all the vermetid snails. There were so many on each rock it was impossible to pick one up without touching a snail shell.
After the acid bath, I rinsed them off real good in the driveway and let them sit a couple of days in the sun to dry, and then I soaked them all in a weak solution of bleach and water. I followed this up with a soak in water with Prime in it, and then again onto the driveway to dry.
Once I had the sand clean, I started playing around with the rocks. They are all really white, and it reminded me of when I first set the tank up.
This is what I ended up with for the layout of the rocks. I have more room for corals, and have a few taller pieces too.
Here it is being filled:
And full:
It is hard to tell from the pictures but the taller piece in the back left is not connected to the arches in the front left. It is in the corner by itself. I did one in the back right behind the overflow too to try to keep my clowns out from behind the overflow. They always stayed hidden and laid eggs on the back glass or in the corner. I am hoping they will be a little more visible with this layout.
The water stayed very clear. It never really clouded up much at all.
I left the rocks in the sump and did not drain it, so hopefully my bacteria in the sump will take care of any mini cycle that will occur.
The ammonia alert badge is more for my curiosity than concern. I really don't expect any ammonia problems.
I have started putting the corals back where I think I want them. They are all back in the tank now, but some are still on the sand bed awaiting placement.
