NUKE it or let it eventually kill everything?

[See Gee Sea]

Been there done that last week. Have an empty frag plug that once had a coral to prove it and remind me to NEVER do that again.

 

[NS Mike D]

I've been in the position of and done the same as the OP. I was losing a year long (maybe more) battle that included not only GHA but also cyano worse dinos. Once the dinos and the constant disturbances to rid the tank of the unwanted, started to kill off the corals and defeating me I decided to nuke the tank and restart (just hours before I had decided to nuke and shut it down for good).

While I am not sure if that was the best course of action, I do know I am enjoying the hobby again and off to a much better start and better equipped husbandry-wise to the point that in just three months my clowns are spawning and I am confident to put sps in the tank.


After nuking three months ago kind of sums up the empty feeling I had at the time

today FTS, ready to start mounting the back wall frags to the rock.

Your mental state is a big part of the hobby. Nuking a tank might be needed to get you back to the point you are enjoying the hobby.

 

[reefruss]

Nuclear option you say, why yes and thank you. I just finished what I would call a close attempt at a nuclear option (cleaning). My tank has been up and running for 3.5 years and recently had a hair algae breakout, again. This time my nitrates were high and it got totally out of control. After awhile attempting to bring down the nitrate level using several methods including vinegar dosing I had it back to 2.5 however the damage was done. The hair algae was everywhere and there was no option in my opinion but to take everything out and clean it with a tooth brush. I set up a separate tank and moved the fish , only when I could catch them while removing the rock, and the cleaned rock to the tank. I removed the sand bed which had calcified together and cleaned the entire tank. I also removed both my sumps and completely cleaned them and then reset up the tank using a small amount of the original water and newly mixed water for the rest. I know I wiped out some corals and lost one fish, my heater stuck on in the temporary tank. It's an extreme options I agree but I couldn't stand to look at the tank anymore and it was my only option. Of course I didn't get all the algae but I introduced a fresh cuc after setting everything back up so hopefully I can keep it under control from this point forward.

 

[Backreefing]

I wouldn’t have done all that . Your aquarium your way .
if your sand calcified together then you can’t be vacuuming the gravel. Could be part of your troubles.
Good luck

 

[Tahoe61]

In 2015 I pulled my rock and submerged it in strong Kalk bath. Removed corals to temp tank prior, removed sand as well.
Nuked the rock and tank to kill Majano.

Still using some of that rock today, granted it was in totes for 2 yrs.

Yup I would nuke it, but I would first 1st run a ATS, and a UV to see if that helped. But if it is weighing on you I say go for it, look at it as a step forward.

Note: My tank was only 30 gal.

 

[Crashnt24]

NUKE may be a strong term but it's what I'm calling it.

Have you ever battled algae so much and so long that nothing and I mean nothing has worked besides an all out onslaught that may hurt or even kill coral? Let me refer to this as "nuking" your tank. By that I mean using whatever means necessary to eliminate the algae.

In my case I think I have recently done that and have lost most of my acropora. The relentless hair algae had already smothered several acros and it was either pull out all the stops or let the algae KILL EVERYTHING! For me I'm finally beating the hair algae and it's white and almost gone from most places. The frag tank is almost 90% clear now and the main display about 75% clear.

What did I do? I made a cocktail of Reef Flux, Vibrant and GFO and hit it hard. I still have a few acro colonies that look to be doing fine and my other corals show no signs of distress so nuking may be a strong term but let's think about it. If you try every natural means necessary to remove algae, to no avail, do you continue to just let your tank turn into a swamp and kill everything or do you take extreme measures to save what you can? Let's talk about that today!

1. Would you take drastic measures to kill algae even if it means killing coral?

2. Have you ever had to "NUKE" your tank to save it?

I'm getting to that point. I'm on a constant cycle of cyano>dinos>Gha. Everytime I fix one, the other emerges. I have been on this wild ride for 3 years! I'm pulling out all the stops this time, and if it doesn't cure my tank of nuisance algae, I will nuke it. Corals are only great looking when your tank doesn't look like a dirty swamp.

 

[DeniseAndy]

I have found more issues with the dry rock than live rock. I have pulled them all out of my 210g three times over 2+ years. I just ordered live rock, but currently only have limited rock in display waiting for live rock in qt. My old tanks did not have this same issue as I began with live rock. UHHHGGGG! I feel your pains.