Starting over with live rock

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reef’r

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Would starting over with live rock be a smart strategy? If you were able would you do it? My system is coming up on six months old. It was started with dry calcium reactor media as substrate and about 95% dry Marco rock. I did purchase a few pieces of some good live rock from an lfs. Everything was going great but over the past 2-3 months maybe the algae battle has been on going. Mind you, it’s a very mild battle, nothing compared to some of the stuff I’ve seen, thankfully. Currently I have GHA and Dino’s, again. Question is, I live in central Florida and close to TBS, the majority of the rock in my tank still has no corals attached to it so could easily be swapped out. Would it be a clutch time to remove what I have and somewhat “start over” with rock from TBS? Or am I far enough along in the process to just ride this out. The tank is growing coralline and is moving through the process well, but man I hate algae
 
BRS
reef’r said:
Would starting over with live rock be a smart strategy? If you were able would you do it? My system is coming up on six months old. It was started with dry calcium reactor media as substrate and about 95% dry Marco rock. I did purchase a few pieces of some good live rock from an lfs. Everything was going great but over the past 2-3 months maybe the algae battle has been on going. Mind you, it’s a very mild battle, nothing compared to some of the stuff I’ve seen, thankfully. Currently I have GHA and Dino’s, again. Question is, I live in central Florida and close to TBS, the majority of the rock in my tank still has no corals attached to it so could easily be swapped out. Would it be a clutch time to remove what I have and somewhat “start over” with rock from TBS? Or am I far enough along in the process to just ride this out. The tank is growing coralline and is moving through the process well, but man I hate algae
Click to expand...
Do you have pictures of what your tank looks like?
 
Top Shelf Aquatics
Definitely add some live rock, but I wouldn't necessarily ditch the existing rock unless it's just out of control growth and easier to just swap out and reset.
 
Gumbies R Us said:
Do you have pictures of what your tank looks like?
Click to expand...
IMG_5658.png
I’m sorry I know it’s a terrible picture. Are you wanting to see just the tank in general or the algae?
 
Does not look bad at all to me from this pic.
 
Nutramar Foods
BRS
MDAquatics said:
Looks pretty good in the pic. Is that a 20? many of them hit the sweet spot at one year in.
Click to expand...
It’s a 38g icecap. Yeah like I said it’s definitely not as bad as some I just want to stay ahead of it. Manual cleaning of the substrate is crazy, it’s hundreds of pieces of crushed coral
 
reef’r said:
It’s a 38g icecap. Yeah like I said it’s definitely not as bad as some I just want to stay ahead of it. Manual cleaning of the substrate is crazy, it’s hundreds of pieces of crushed coral
Click to expand...
I'm more referring to manually cleaning the coral itself, not the substrate. The ugly stage wears itself out if youre doing everything right
 
MDAquatics said:
I'm more referring to manually cleaning the coral itself, not the substrate. The ugly stage wears itself out if youre doing everything right
Click to expand...
Yeah no worries! I didnt mean to say anything posted above is “crazy” lol I just mean in general if I was going to try and do that it would be a tough process. I feel like stirring/siphoning sand is a much easier process. I did some manual removal the other day followed up with a water change and it seems to have made it a little worse at least what’s on the substrate. LFS seems to think the GHA is consuming my nutrients, which is opening the door for the Dino’s. N03 currently sitting between 2-5ppm, trying to raise that up
 
Avast
reef’r said:
Would starting over with live rock be a smart strategy? If you were able would you do it? My system is coming up on six months old. It was started with dry calcium reactor media as substrate and about 95% dry Marco rock. I did purchase a few pieces of some good live rock from an lfs. Everything was going great but over the past 2-3 months maybe the algae battle has been on going. Mind you, it’s a very mild battle, nothing compared to some of the stuff I’ve seen, thankfully. Currently I have GHA and Dino’s, again. Question is, I live in central Florida and close to TBS, the majority of the rock in my tank still has no corals attached to it so could easily be swapped out. Would it be a clutch time to remove what I have and somewhat “start over” with rock from TBS? Or am I far enough along in the process to just ride this out. The tank is growing coralline and is moving through the process well, but man I hate algae
Click to expand...
Hiya,
No need to start over, tank just needs some micro diversity to give it a boost.
I'd consider a Sand & Rox box, Jar Package or Pico Package. Check out options in the Treasure Chest category HERE.
Flat rate UPS shipping in Florida is $23.
*if you decided to order, mention this conversation in the order notes.
 
LiverockRocks said:
Hiya,
No need to start over, tank just needs some micro diversity to give it a boost.
I'd consider a Sand & Rox box, Jar Package or Pico Package. Check out options in the Treasure Chest category HERE.
Flat rate UPS shipping in Florida is $23.
*if you decided to order, mention this conversation in the order notes.
Click to expand...
Would you recommend one over the other? I noticed the jar and pico packages say small daily WC will be needed for a week but that is not mentioned for the sand and rox box.
 
reef’r said:
Would you recommend one over the other? I noticed the jar and pico packages say small daily WC will be needed for a week but that is not mentioned for the sand and rox box.
Click to expand...
Most likely recommending a daily water change to combat any die off that comes from introducing established elements to your tank. You may not even have die off but I'm sure it is a disclaimer...
 
Deltec
Went ahead and ordered the sand and rox box as I don’t really need anymore snail and hermits. I put a note in the order notes section as well
 
Deltec
reef’r said:
Would you recommend one over the other? I noticed the jar and pico packages say small daily WC will be needed for a week but that is not mentioned for the sand and rox box.
Click to expand...
Hiya,
For your application, Sand & Rox or Pico.
We suggest small daily WC when the Jar or Pico Packages are used to start a brand-new uncycled tank.
Jar and Pico Pcks added to established systems are no problem, proceed with your normal WC schedule.
Sdoutreefer said:
Most likely recommending a daily water change to combat any die off that comes from introducing established elements to your tank. You may not even have die off but I'm sure it is a disclaimer...
Click to expand...
We mention daily WC for folks using the Jar or Pico to cycle small tanks.
 
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