reefnjunkie Posted April 16, 2010 Share Posted April 16, 2010 I think the title is fitting. I am seriously thinking of tearing my tank apart-DOH! I have gone back and forth, yes, no, then yes, then no. I am back to yes I am and pretty certain that I am "all in" I really had no idea what I was doing initially and nearly 2 years later I am telling myself I have a better idea of how things could/should be. I am going to have some really ticked off corals, and some torn Ricordia, torn Acans, plus all the unforeseen fragging that will take places as I inadvertently break all my prized pieces, as small as some may be. That was the obvious negative, the positive, I am going to finally be able to rid my tank of that neon Dottyback, my Maroon Clown, and the 2 Yellow Tail Damsels-that helped cycle my tank in the beginning. The other positive is I will be able to do my rock work in a manner that the corals that really thrive in the intense light get it and the ones that prefer low light get that. Right now it is a wall of rock with highs and lows and I think I have done a good job, but I am always wanting "better" I am sure there is a lot I have not even considered so I am posting this up for any insight that I might or should know. I want to remove at least 2 inches of the sand bed which I can imagine will release all kinds of nasty. Should I remove all the sand, rinse it, and then put it back? Anybody have input as to what I have not considered, I am sure there will be a lot of-"Dang, I wish I would have thought of, or known that" I don't want to be kicking myself after the fact with the would have, could have........ Here is an idea of the task at hand present tank-bad pics but you get the idea of the size of project; TIA Oh, and I want to be able to get this done in a single day, start at 8-9 and be done by beer thirty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gradth Posted April 16, 2010 Share Posted April 16, 2010 Sounds like the perfect time for an upgrade. I saw a couple 125's all the way up to a 180 on CL's yesterday. Bunch that were going for cheap. Just a thought. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael7979 Posted April 16, 2010 Share Posted April 16, 2010 UPGRADE!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jgf86123 Posted April 16, 2010 Share Posted April 16, 2010 Brad, if you need help, let me know, we'll work something out lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reefnjunkie Posted April 16, 2010 Author Share Posted April 16, 2010 If I could do the upgrade, I would, no place to put anything larger than what I have. Just trying to get ideas from those that have moved tanks, done a tear down rebuild etc. I know there are things that will pop up that I have no idea about. Thanks for the offer Mick-I'll let ya know but it should be an "easy" process. See I think it'll be easy, that's why I have to be missing something- Nitrate cloud form the sand being removed, cyno outbreak from nutrients, I dunno-need some input Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stylaster Posted April 16, 2010 Share Posted April 16, 2010 I personally did a deep sand bed in my sump and only have one corner of my tank with sand in it... still lol maybe try that? btw you still got plenty of room Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alterego Posted April 16, 2010 Share Posted April 16, 2010 If it ain't broke.................... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tanktop74 Posted April 16, 2010 Share Posted April 16, 2010 From my experience, tank breakdowns and set ups take at least a full day if not a day and a half. Although I have never taken out everything to put it right back in the same tank.... this is when I would "UPGRADE!!!" Are you really wanting to go through cycle? You have to be prepared for that. Then there is the broken this and that that will happen.... Beth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reefnjunkie Posted April 16, 2010 Author Share Posted April 16, 2010 btw you still got plenty of room Do I sense sarcasm???(scratch) You have to be kidding-(threaten) From my experience, tank breakdowns and set ups take at least a full day if not a day and a half. Although I have never taken out everything to put it right back in the same tank.... this is when I would "UPGRADE!!!" Are you really wanting to go through cycle? You have to be prepared for that. Then there is the broken this and that that will happen.... Beth no room for the upgrade, I am not going to remodel my F/R and that is the only way a upgrade can happen. I dont think I would experiance a cycle-but I am curious, I have all the L/R that has been set up for about 19 months. And if I have a chance of a cycle, that is a deal breaker-(flame) I'll see what all peeps have to say;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pds802 Posted April 16, 2010 Share Posted April 16, 2010 I just did a breakdown on a much smaller scale. I put the liverock in a tub, transplanted everything else into my sump and refugium, after shutting all the valves, saved most of my water and when I got down to the last few inches I scooped the sand I wanted to save then sucked all the grime out with a shope-vac. I rinsed the sand with some of the water I saved, added back the water and sand let things settle then put the livestock back and did a water change. I had no adverse effects but again this was a total of 40gal. Took me all day! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pds802 Posted April 16, 2010 Share Posted April 16, 2010 I must also add: I dont have a ton of Acro so I have no idea how they will react. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClayTheSavageFraser Posted April 16, 2010 Share Posted April 16, 2010 Ok, here's what I would do! I would get one of those gravel cleaners and suck out as much crap as you can from the top! Then take out the sand you want, just the top layer! I would definitely empty 30 percent of the tank water into a rubbermaid with a heater and power head and then put your corals in these rubbermaids! After that put your rock in another bucket then use that gravel cleaner to sift out the top layer of the sand you will be removing. Then build a big pile of cleaned sand then use a cup to remove it! Then I would put the rock back in and fill it back up with 20 percent of the water and let the stuff settle and turn on your skimmer and I would borrow a canister filter and put poly fiber in it and use a power head to stir up the debris again and let the canister do its job! I would repeat this until you see everything clean and clear! Then I would remove the canister and do another 20 percent water change. and then check your peramiters and proceed from there. I would run some carbon at this point too! That should do the trick! And then tadah less sand and new aquascape! Woohoo! No damsels and time for some nice pretty peaceful fish! Have fun buddy! Clay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saltfinsax Posted April 16, 2010 Share Posted April 16, 2010 Brad, isent that wall you got the tank on baked up to the garage wall. Just think if you put a tank in the wall and the rest of the tank out in the garage you would get more room, and you could get a bigger tank and make a fish room out there as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chewie Posted April 16, 2010 Share Posted April 16, 2010 Plan on at least a 40g waterchange. Use the old water to rinse the sand/swish LR with, as PDS mentioned. You will have a cycle, but it should be fine with the W/C. You may get a cyano outbreak but if you stay on top of it, it will be fine. Just be prepared to spend the next few weeks monitoring, aquascaping, and testing. If you want some help shoot me a PM. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tanktop74 Posted April 16, 2010 Share Posted April 16, 2010 I dont think I would experiance a cycle-but I am curious, I have all the L/R that has been set up for about 19 months. And if I have a chance of a cycle, that is a deal breaker-(flame) I'll see what all peeps have to say;) Brad, When I took everything out of my 55 gal tank, all live rock, corals and inhibitants, I put them in big rubbermaid tubs with powerheads and heaters. I cleaned the sand really well. Set up my new 150 tank and put everything back in. I did go through a cycle, although it was minor, nothing like what my FOWLR just did. Just on an added note, the only thing I lost was a fire shrimp. Hopes this helps! Beth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emerald525 Posted April 16, 2010 Share Posted April 16, 2010 personally I don't think it's worth doing unless you do an upgrade. 75 gallons just isn't enough for you. I've seen your tank. We bought a used 29 gallon nano tank and our first was a used 55 gallon and in the move there was a bit of a mini cycle with all the crap that got stirred up. The 150 reef we have that you saw also had a bit of a mini cycle when we upgraded as well but everything did fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsoz Posted April 16, 2010 Share Posted April 16, 2010 I moved my tank a total of 6 times in the first year that it was up. Didn't loose anything, but it was still a new tank and not a lot of gunk in the sand yet. There wasn't really any cycle to speak of except a small nitrate spike because the bottom of the sand went aerobic and stopped denitrating for a bit. A couple of weeks and it was back to work just fine. +1 on save as much water as you can, but be prepared to replace a bunch because it is inevitable that some will spill and be lost. Keep the rocks underwater as much as possible in a big rubbermaid tub and they should be fine. It will be a LOOOOOONG day, and maybe some of a second day. When you are re-setting up the rock there will probably be a sand-storm that makes it so you can't see anything. You will just need to stop and wait for the water to clear. Otherwise you won't get the rocks "just right." Good luck dsoz 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chewie Posted April 16, 2010 Share Posted April 16, 2010 It will be a LOOOOOONG day, and maybe some of a second day. dsoz +1 And you might want to postpone beer thirty till about 10 (laugh) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Posted April 16, 2010 Share Posted April 16, 2010 You will definately have a tank cycle to go through. Whether it is significant or not remains to be seen. By removing part of the sand your changing the current bio balance of the tank. Even if you keep from releasing anything nasty the tank will still need to balance out to the new conditions. (Less sand to process the nitrates) FWIW, I made several tank changes last year and all of them did start a new cycle however the only things I lost were due to getting buried under the sand bed and not realizing they were there until too late. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grassi Posted April 16, 2010 Share Posted April 16, 2010 Upgrade only when your sps are touching :-) Kidding... I would suggest, if you can, to start another temporary tank, let it run and move your stuff when you are ready with the "restyling". Kinda risky to do all in one day and release all the nasty stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reefnjunkie Posted April 17, 2010 Author Share Posted April 17, 2010 Well, I am moving all 34 of my chalices-(nutty) tonight to my 20 gallon tank I set up 4 months ago. These are the most precious and where (are) my biggest concerns. The 20 gallon as 4-24 T5's so all is good. I have never tested the water, it was a tank I grew xenia, and mushrooms etc. so I did not care to bother with water tests. SG-1.025 Ca-440 Mg-1340 KH-9 PO4-.05 LOL thats funny, almost better than my dispaly-anyway after going back and forth, and then even as of this morning saying no not gonna, I am gonna and have already started. See ya all Sunday-I'll post pics as to whats left-:eek: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jgf86123 Posted April 17, 2010 Share Posted April 17, 2010 Brad, I may be able to talk Jess into a drive into town tomorrow if you need some help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reefnjunkie Posted April 17, 2010 Author Share Posted April 17, 2010 Brad' date=' I may be able to talk Jess into a drive into town tomorrow if you need some help.[/quote'] Talking with Frank presently-and this will not take place-(flame) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jgf86123 Posted April 17, 2010 Share Posted April 17, 2010 HUH????? lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mytshall Posted April 17, 2010 Share Posted April 17, 2010 baby sit I'll baby sit the chalices for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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