Thinking of starting over. What would YOU do differently?

[beesnreefs]

@beesnreefs ever run an icp test?

Things I'm working on doing on my 270 build
-oversized uv sterilizer
-nice large skimmer
-well cycled rock
-adding coral and fish slowly
-cable management
-taking my Time.

I have an ATI ICP awaiting results right now as I've decided to try Moonshiner's. Looking forward to the results

Just love the patient, thoughtful approach you're taking to your new 270 build. Best of luck with it!! I hope it turns out to be a source of joy for you

 

[j.falk]

this new system should be sandbed free for about 2 years to ensure stability, then, if you want sand, add in fully rinsed/prepped sand. delay sandbed addition on the next round. if the tank wasn't so big you could just keep it clean early on but that's a monumental task in a 200+ gallon setup. sand management is a top headache unless you're very lucky and skilled at it, delayed use of sand is ideal considering your opening description.

I completely agree with Brandon on this. Every time I try to add a sandbed to a newly set up tank, I always end up with problems. When I finally decided to go barebottom and got rid of all the sand...all of my problems went away. Coincidence? Maybe...but I doubt it.

 

[McPuff]

Wish I could share some coralline with you if it would help... I have sheets of it coming off my back glass. In fact, I need to scrape some of it off about every two years. It just starts to peel away.

For me, I wish I would have changed the overall from a more standard peninsula style (i.e., large box that goes all the way to the bottom) to a ghost-style. It would have meant patching and drilling which I didn't want to deal with but I think it would have been worth it.

My recommendation is to keep going, and NOT start over. I went through some pretty long ordeals with my system and in a couple cases, it took about a year to turn back around. Such a slow process but that is the only way to make sure that you are heading toward a stable system. Fast changes will just lead to cycling back and forth between two sub-optimal states.

Adding a refugium will certainly help so that would be my first suggestion. I would also suggest checking out an oxydator. This is pretty cool "tech" that will help to increase oxygenation and water clarity, etc. I have one in my 300DD (size W) and it seems to have made a difference over the years. Not too common in the US but can be found.

The ICP will be helpful and you'll want to probably do it once every month or two (especially with Moonshiners... I do that too). This really helped me to get everything under control as it removes most of the guesswork.

Good luck!

 

[Sump Crab]

Got my dream tank last July. Tried really hard to take lessons learned and “do it right” this time. Well, the dream is turning to a nightmare and I’m thinking about starting over.

First I had bad dinos. Then unexplained fish loss (half the fish died in a few days and we have no idea why) Then horrible cyano. Then dinos came back. And awful GHA everywhere at the r cyano disappeared. Torches I grew to 25 heads in the last system are melting away overnight in this one. Some hammers too. Sticks are bleaching out.

And now I have ich. Lost a blond naso last week and expect more losses in the coming days.

Wife and I spent 2.5 hours yesterday scrubbing algae off the rocks and siphoning the sand. It’ll look just as bad again in three days.

Seriously considering tearing it down, cleaning it all up, and starting over.

Anyone ever done that?

If you started a large (225g in my case) mixed reef over, what would you do differently?

In your case I would use ocean live rock from KP aquatics or similar.

 

[nuxx Verified Sponsor]

I'd do a much smaller tank and also make sure that everything was automated including feeding.

Leaving for a few days or a week or two required people to stay at our house (well they looked after our dogs too...).

I had a lot automated including water changes, but never got to food. Also with the size tank I had, it pretty much became another family member, not sure I'd want that again.

 

[beesnreefs]

I'd do a much smaller tank and also make sure that everything was automated including feeding.

Leaving for a few days or a week or two required people to stay at our house (well they looked after our dogs too...).

I had a lot automated including water changes, but never got to food. Also with the size tank I had, it pretty much became another family member, not sure I'd want that again.

Excellent points. It's definitely a source of stress for us around taking vacations...it's been tough enough finding someone comfortable taking care of 2 dogs, a cat, and 3 parrots...but this tank seems overwhelming to me sometimes, how can I ask a housesitter to overlook it all?

We've definitely been trying to automate as much of it as possible to make it easy on the housesitter.

 

[beesnreefs]

Wish I could share some coralline with you if it would help... I have sheets of it coming off my back glass. In fact, I need to scrape some of it off about every two years. It just starts to peel away.

For me, I wish I would have changed the overall from a more standard peninsula style (i.e., large box that goes all the way to the bottom) to a ghost-style. It would have meant patching and drilling which I didn't want to deal with but I think it would have been worth it.

My recommendation is to keep going, and NOT start over. I went through some pretty long ordeals with my system and in a couple cases, it took about a year to turn back around. Such a slow process but that is the only way to make sure that you are heading toward a stable system. Fast changes will just lead to cycling back and forth between two sub-optimal states.

Adding a refugium will certainly help so that would be my first suggestion. I would also suggest checking out an oxydator. This is pretty cool "tech" that will help to increase oxygenation and water clarity, etc. I have one in my 300DD (size W) and it seems to have made a difference over the years. Not too common in the US but can be found.

The ICP will be helpful and you'll want to probably do it once every month or two (especially with Moonshiners... I do that too). This really helped me to get everything under control as it removes most of the guesswork.

Good luck!

Thanks, @McPuff. It is helpful having people like you cajole me to keep going. Sometimes I feel all alone in this.

I've actually signed up for a subscription to have an ATI ICP kit sent to me every month. My plan is to do monthly tests and really stick with moonshiner's for at least 6 months.

Would you be open to sharing what drew you to moonshiner's? How long have you been doing it? What are the benefits you've seen?

 

[GarrettT]

I hear you on the live rock. Seems like so many first-year issues come from the extensive use of non-live media.

When you say longer tank, how much longer in comparison to what you already have? And what makes you want the additional length...more space for fish to swim? More aquascaping options? Something else?

Mine is 54”. I’d prefer 96” for the fish. The 54 works out really well for the corals tho.

 

[Mysterious_waters]

Automated testing for me, Today i got home to a tank full of white sps and lps tucked in due to a cracked heater and a doser out of calibration. 3yrs of acros gooone. I guess now i can redo my lame rock work.

 

[beesnreefs]

Automated testing for me, Today i got home to a tank full of white sps and lps tucked in due to a cracked heater and a doser out of calibration. 3yrs of acros gooone. I guess now i can redo my lame rock work.

I’m really sorry to hear about all that coral loss. Must feel devastating.

 

[Reefvision]

Wish I could share some coralline with you if it would help... I have sheets of it coming off my back glass. In fact, I need to scrape some of it off about every two years. It just starts to peel away.

For me, I wish I would have changed the overall from a more standard peninsula style (i.e., large box that goes all the way to the bottom) to a ghost-style. It would have meant patching and drilling which I didn't want to deal with but I think it would have been worth it.

My recommendation is to keep going, and NOT start over. I went through some pretty long ordeals with my system and in a couple cases, it took about a year to turn back around. Such a slow process but that is the only way to make sure that you are heading toward a stable system. Fast changes will just lead to cycling back and forth between two sub-optimal states.

Adding a refugium will certainly help so that would be my first suggestion. I would also suggest checking out an oxydator. This is pretty cool "tech" that will help to increase oxygenation and water clarity, etc. I have one in my 300DD (size W) and it seems to have made a difference over the years. Not too common in the US but can be found.

The ICP will be helpful and you'll want to probably do it once every month or two (especially with Moonshiners... I do that too). This really helped me to get everything under control as it removes most of the guesswork.

Good luck!

Love my oxydator as well (w size) although really be careful with the peroxide ratio - it can wipe out a good system if too strong.(I use 35%) and dilute with ro to “try” and get no more than 12% strength as recommended by others here at r2r.

 

[j.falk]

Hoooooowwwwwwls for some updates!

 

[beesnreefs]

Hoooooowwwwwwls for some updates!

Still going!

The peroxide dosing has been incredibly helpful with the ich. Believe it or not, we haven't lost anymore fish since the naso succumbed. In fact, the ONLY fish to show signs of ich is our WTBT tang....and even he is improving significantly. Everyone is active like normal, eating like champs, and looking good. I'm hopeful the peroxide dosing plus our new UV is going to kick the ich.

We've dialed back our lights - reduced intensity by about 10%, duration by an hour, and cut out the whites. It's definitely slowed the algae growth. We still scrub for a good 90-120 minutes once a week but I'm more hopeful now that we might defeat the GHA in a few weeks (maybe a couple of months).

Moonshiner is definitely helping our LPS. Torches and gonis look better than ever! Still looking for the few sticks we have to rebound but it's only been 2 weeks.

All in all, we're feeling more optimistic....slow and steady, patience and time. Thanks for asking!