Ready to tear down my tank

[PghReef]

If I can figure a way to make it appealing to the wife I'm about to try and start over. Get a new 72 gallon bowfront, drill it myself and plumb a sump for the first time, setup with dry rock and let it cycle in the tank this time while getting some true LR for the sump so all the bad hitchhikers will be confined down there and going slow.

 

[PghReef]

that's the RO membrane, not DI resin.

Couldnt find any instructions on resin installation and rinse

 

[SeaDweller]

Couldnt find any instructions on resin installation and rinse

there isn't, which I why I wanted to point it out, that the other poster may have mistaken the membrane for the resin. I've never had to rinse my DI RESIN when I install it.

 

[PghReef]

I did too much I hadn't done before. I read and researched and thought I was making the best decisions. I tried to stand back so I could evaluate my interventions but as things would continue to decline instead of improve or even stay stagnant I found myself in a tailspin trying whatever I could to save the tank.
I will set up another tank this one was setup with the purpose of growing out some corals and establishing some healthy rock for the next build once I refinish the den. Itll be close to a year before I'm ready to get that going though. In the meantime my fish are healthy and I hope this tank can right itself so I have coral to transfer

 

[Peter SVK]

I see you have lot of experiences but do you test NH4 and NO2 ? even though the other parameters seem to be ok these two are poisons that will first kill corals then crustaceans and eventually fish at high concentration

 

[ReefGrammie]

I hate that you're going through all of this!! I have been working through a "reboot" of my 90-gallon tank, which sounds a whole lot like your situation. I was thinking I was taking the tank down eventually and just kept my fish alive with a CUC for probably close to 2 years. When we decided to keep the tank and made some changes (I thought for the better), I went through a terrible GHA outbreak, which is finally better after 4 months of torture. I don't know what's happening with your tank, but just know you're not the only one!!

 

[ScottB]

Started with h2o2, then fluconazole, then vibrant as well as start dosing acropower and reefroids.

Hard to guess what the initial stressor was, but these levers in succession, or in combination, can upset the biome that was sustaining your coral health. Algae grow outs test our patience for sure. But aside from bryopsis, it is much safer to adress early, but go slow with nutrient reduction so the whole biome can adjust.

Pretty safe to say nearly all of us have tried to play a quick catch-up on our reef problems. And we are all still learning; some for decades now.

 

[PghReef]

I see you have lot of experiences but do you test NH4 and NO2 ? even though the other parameters seem to be ok these two are poisons that will first kill corals then crustaceans and eventually fish at high concentration

I havnt tested nitrite since cycling as from my understanding nitrite toxicity is a FW problem and not a SW problem, just the presence of it indicates other problems. I have tested ammonia off and on and it seems to be 0. I use api for ammonia since I only test in fish less systems usually and it should never be there. I do have a dwarf angel and they seem to be super sensitive IME and if you have ammonia they are dead and floating like a canary in a coal mine.

 

[Dj City]

Good luck my friend.
I'm not going to tell you not to give up. You have to take the road you are prepared to walk down.

From what you are describing, it sounds like you have dinos.
You should get a microscope and look at a sample of the "dust" on the glass and other funky stuff to get a positive ID of what you are dealing with.
Once you KNOW what you are working with, you have options and ways forward.

I was trying to get control of diatoms for 4 years before I discovered that I did not have a diatom problem. I had dinos.

 

[PghReef]

Good luck my friend.
I'm not going to tell you not to give up. You have to take the road you are prepared to walk down.

From what you are describing, it sounds like you have dinos.
You should get a microscope and look at a sample of the "dust" on the glass and other funky stuff to get a positive ID of what you are dealing with.
Once you KNOW what you are working with, you have options and ways forward.

I was trying to get control of diatoms for 4 years before I discovered that I did not have a diatom problem. I had dinos.

I am 99% sure I have dinos know. I think early on it was some gha and mild dinos. The other nuisance algaes have all pretty much diminished leaving prime real estate for full out dino bloom. Gets worse at peak daylight, diminishes at night, grows amd looks like snot with air bubbles. I used dry rock and did suffer from low nutrients that is common in a lot of dino threads.
I'm confused as to why my snails arent dying I thought dinos killed snails? My trochus and dwarf cerith are all doing great.

 

[Dj City]

My hermits and snails were fine the whole time.

Pick up a microscope to see which type of dinos you are dealing with so you can have an idea of how to attack.

 

[PghReef]

My hermits and snails were fine the whole time.

Pick up a microscope to see which type of dinos you are dealing with so you can have an idea of how to attack.

Where is the thread regarding dino id and treatments? Do dinos kill corals by smothering them or toxicity because the dinos covering everything is jusy a couple weeks problem. Early on was gha but it was in areas mostly away from the corals.

 

[Dj City]

Have you tried the elegant corals method?

trust me.. this is the ONLY thing that worked for me in the end

I'm going to look for the dino thread for you.

 

[Dj City]

Dinoflagellates – Are You Tired Of Battling Altogether?

I've never seen anything move like that. If you look closely, there are flagellum or tentacles on one end. I hope someone can tell me if they are friend or foe. ;) My best guess on the green organisms would be euglena.

www.reef2reef.com