drawman
New member
Hi All,
I've been at a fork in the road with my 30 gallon Rimless (24" x 24") for quite some time. It's never really measured up to the tank I've wanted it to be and I'm at a point where I have thought about rebooting the tank.
Here's the history of the tank. I started it about two years ago with the goal of having a mixed LPS/SPS reef. Being busy with work and commuting quite a bit I never really had the attention to detail to allow this tank to succeed with SPS. Things such as high alkalinity, low nutrients, not keeping up with DI maintenance, aiptasia, and nuisance algae have been some of my many issues. Over the past four months I've been able to put more time in the tank, correct most of the issues, and get to a point where I can keep Acros alive and well again.
I have more time to put into this tank and want to reboot it for two big reasons: to get rid of the aiptasia and certain species of algae that I don't want to deal with. My approach will be a more minimal aquascape with holes drilled for pegging Acropora coral. I will use Siporax media in the sump seeded with Aquaforest bacteria for filtration. I don't plan to run the whole aquaforest system but will use their probiotic reef salt, pro bio s, and np pro. At this point, I will only plan to keep Acropora mainly for the reason to reduce the introduction of pest algae and aiptasia.
I also am debating switching to t5. I currently have a Gen 2 radion with 120 degree optics over the tank. If I don't switch to t5 I would want to add another radion to deal with shadowing and get more consistent PAR readings throughout the tank. I have a 4 bulb ATI fixture collecting dust that would be perfect for the tank I just need to figure out how to mount it.
The only thing keeping me from pulling the trigger on this is figuring out how to effectively nuke the tank of aiptasia. I've thought about filling the whole system with Vinegar and water and letting it run for a couple of days but I'm not sure what concentration/time would be needed to completely eradicate them. I will dump all sand and rock, sell all livestock, and start fresh but will be keeping all equipment. Comments/suggestions are welcome!
Here's a link to the old build:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2378417
I've been at a fork in the road with my 30 gallon Rimless (24" x 24") for quite some time. It's never really measured up to the tank I've wanted it to be and I'm at a point where I have thought about rebooting the tank.
Here's the history of the tank. I started it about two years ago with the goal of having a mixed LPS/SPS reef. Being busy with work and commuting quite a bit I never really had the attention to detail to allow this tank to succeed with SPS. Things such as high alkalinity, low nutrients, not keeping up with DI maintenance, aiptasia, and nuisance algae have been some of my many issues. Over the past four months I've been able to put more time in the tank, correct most of the issues, and get to a point where I can keep Acros alive and well again.
I have more time to put into this tank and want to reboot it for two big reasons: to get rid of the aiptasia and certain species of algae that I don't want to deal with. My approach will be a more minimal aquascape with holes drilled for pegging Acropora coral. I will use Siporax media in the sump seeded with Aquaforest bacteria for filtration. I don't plan to run the whole aquaforest system but will use their probiotic reef salt, pro bio s, and np pro. At this point, I will only plan to keep Acropora mainly for the reason to reduce the introduction of pest algae and aiptasia.
I also am debating switching to t5. I currently have a Gen 2 radion with 120 degree optics over the tank. If I don't switch to t5 I would want to add another radion to deal with shadowing and get more consistent PAR readings throughout the tank. I have a 4 bulb ATI fixture collecting dust that would be perfect for the tank I just need to figure out how to mount it.
The only thing keeping me from pulling the trigger on this is figuring out how to effectively nuke the tank of aiptasia. I've thought about filling the whole system with Vinegar and water and letting it run for a couple of days but I'm not sure what concentration/time would be needed to completely eradicate them. I will dump all sand and rock, sell all livestock, and start fresh but will be keeping all equipment. Comments/suggestions are welcome!
Here's a link to the old build:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2378417