35 gallon tank help

[DLreef]

HI:wave:

I have been working on a 35 gallon reef tank for the past year (never really got anywhere) Any who
Nitrates:60
Ammonia 0
Nitrites0
PH 8
KH 10
Ca 600+

So here is my main Issue is the calcium (nitrates are going down from water changes) My calcium is going through the roof, I got fallout everywhere :uhoh2: So think im going to break down the tank, clean the rock and put it all back together. Currently there is 1 clownfish and some snails. The reason I want take it down is because the rock is full of calcium fallout and detritus. Is there any reason I shouldn't do this? It shouldn't re-cycle my tank right? Planned on take out the sand, rock, and 75% of the water to put back in the tank.

 

[DLreef]

Also when I say clean the rock I mean put it in a five gallon bucket of water and blow out all the crap that's in them out.

 

[edinphilly]

Use a turkey baster and blow out your live rock to get all the debris off, then big water change. I use the turkey baster for every water change and it keeps the rocks in good shape.

As far as the chemistry of the calcium, I will leave that to others more knowledgeable.

 

[popsock]

You can clean out the rock with a Turkey baster, it's more likely that muck comes from critters burrowing through the rock anyway. Just do it, then use water changes to get your levels sorted out (both calcium and nitrate). Breaking a tank down is rarely worthwihle.

How did you calcium level get so high?

 

[DLreef]

I don't really know how it got that high but I think its because of Kent reef salt. And I also wanted to turn the tank around because the front has a lot of scratches/marks. Thought this would be the best time before I get any coral

 

[Reefer4evaa]

I think disturbing the sandbed is going to lead to bigger problems.i would switch salt mixes and leave it be..learn from my mistakes ..that sand is probably filled with dead bacteria which is going to lead to the tank cycling again

 

[edinphilly]

I think disturbing the sandbed is going to lead to bigger problems.i would switch salt mixes and leave it be..learn from my mistakes ..that sand is probably filled with dead bacteria which is going to lead to the tank cycling again

+1

Although if you want to start over now is definitely the time. But you're getting good advice as to what you're in for.

 

[DLreef]

Hmmmm don't really want to deal with a cycle but I do want my tank turned around lol.

 

[DLreef]

Ok, I think I have decided. Im going to go through with it. This is a tank im going to be looking at a lot for the next couple of years so I want it to be perfect. Hopefully I wont get another cycle but il prepare for the worst.

 

[edinphilly]

What about Craigslist or a local clubs sale forum? Lots easier to justify if you're upgrading size a bit

I'm a little over a year in with a 29. If I was doing over I'd only go up a little in size but would use a different stand that allowed me to do a sump.

 

[DLreef]

Update: After cleaning out the 35 I put the sand/live rock back in but I put the clownfish in a 10gallon with 15 pounds of live rock. Just incase I get a mini cycle. IMO everything went great so far.

 

[edinphilly]

Good luck!

 

[crusoe]

Why is it bad to disturb the sand bed? Is rinsing the sand a bad thing?

 

[DLreef]

It can cause dead bacteria in the sand to surface causing a mini-cycle.

 

[edinphilly]

Disturbing the sand bed can bad as mentioned. I would thing if you pulled the sand out completely and rinsed it good that could be a good thing. Just make sure it's a saltwater / RODI rinse. Freshwater or tap made saltwater could kill your bacteria and/or add things like nitrate or phosphates.

 

[Reefer4evaa]

What alot of people don't realize with sand is all the bacteria that thrives in it are accustomed to the water paremeters that are present.if you removed all the sand to clean it and use fresh made saltwater mix (that isn't established as what the sand was in )you run into problems with killing off all the live benificial bacteria.to me personally it's the same as adding a new fish to an established tank rather than adding a new fish to a fresh batch of saltwater mix...the paremeters will be way off from both of them.

 

[crusoe]

Ah ok, that makes a lot of sense.