Time for a reboot? *cries*

[amps]

So my beautiful 180g SPS dominant tank came to a crashing halt over the past 12 months and I'm seriously considering a reboot. I just don't know if this is the right action or if I should consider trying to rehabilitate the tank.

Brown jelly started to take hold last spring and over several weeks I lost 15 euphyllia colonies which (I think) started a chain reaction. At first my more sensitive and thin skinned SPS started to lose their colors and bleach but by the end of the summer, 90% of everything was dead. Nitrates and phosphates were off the charts due to all the die off and algae started to take hold. Snails seemed to die off in waves but never fully and I lost my two cleaner shrimp. Even my coralline started to flake away. Amazingly, all of my fish are still fat and happy

I've sent my tank water to ATI for an ICP test and other than slightly raised Vanadium and Aluminum levels, everything seems ok. I've tested my RO water and holding barrels and it's all perfectly clean, metal/ammonia free and reading 0 TDS. I've tried to look closely at my dead/dying colonies and I haven't been able to spot any particular pests/worms/bugs/etc. Without a smoking gun, I'm left to assume that the die-off last spring was the main cause.

So here I stand, uncertain as to what to do. I'm facing a massive outbreak of tiny turban snails, asterina starfish, an aiptasia infestation that's barely kept under control by my Scat fish, and I'm not 100% certain that the cause wasn't a pest or outbreak of disease. Do I pull all the fish, move them into holding tanks and take the opportunity to reboot the full system? Or do I press on, keep skimming wet, running GFO, keep trying to clean my absolutely filthy sand and try to reintroduce new corals down the road?

What do you think?

Last year:

Now:

 

[Katrina71]

I would rehab it.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

Well, building tanks is pretty fun.
Always nice to move the furniture around. Fresh carpet and some paint.
Probably just a weekend job if you plan it right.

 

[amps]

I'm really leaning towards rebooting to get me pest free for a little while and eliminate the possibility of a hidden contaminate being my source of problems. I also want to try barebottom since I've proven to myself that I'm too lazy to clean my sandbed often enough for it not to become a problem. My big concern is housing my fish in the meantime.

My current live stock list is:

Blue Hippo Tang
Yellow tang
Convict tang
Foxface
Lamarck angel
Scat
2x Royal gramma
2x Picasso clowns
Purple firefish
5x Green chromis
Dispar anthia (he's lonely but schools with the chromis usually)
Mandarin
Yellow head sleeper goby
Green coris wrasse
2x Occelaris clowns in an attached 40 gallon cube

I have a large 70 gallon and a 40 gallon I can use for holding tanks. I know I'll have to split up the clowns and my convict from the scat (the fight a lot). I'm worried that the smaller space and lack of places to hide in a holding tank will stress out my gobies, hippo tang and foxface since they're all very timid. I don't want to re-home them with exception of maybe the chromis.

 

[rkpetersen]

I have a large 70 gallon and a 40 gallon I can use for holding tanks. I know I'll have to split up the clowns and my convict from the scat (the fight a lot). I'm worried that the smaller space and lack of places to hide in a holding tank will stress out my gobies, hippo tang and foxface since they're all very timid. I don't want to re-home them with exception of maybe the chromis.

Maybe put in some egg crate sections to divide up your tanks into smaller compartments to use as temporary quarters.

 

[DHill6]

Possible to get another large holding tank, to include hiding places for the timid ones?

 

[brandon429]

the rock should be reused for sure, its invader free, you have a chance to clean it/evac old detritus w power jetted saltwater, skip cycle setup into the new or rebuilt system. use that base rock it didn't do anything to cause the loss

 

[amps]

Possible to get another large holding tank, to include hiding places for the timid ones?

I'm more or less out of room even with those 2 tanks. I have a tiny basement and no room on the main floor to house more tanks. Any ideas on how to add hiding spots in the holding tanks without going out to buy a lot of expensive rock? Do you think 3-4" PVC fittings will be enough?

the rock should be reused for sure, its invader free, you have a chance to clean it/evac old detritus w power jetted saltwater, skip cycle setup into the new or rebuilt system. use that base rock it didn't do anything to cause the loss

I'd really like to do an acid was of the rock if I'm going through all the trouble. Hopefully that will eliminate my aiptasia and any potential eggs or bacteria like the brown jelly that killed all my torches and hammers.