by 20g needs some serious help!

[Moonstream]

my 20g needs some major help. their is HA everywhere, and the display tank's sand bed is nasty and in need of cleaning. the tanks is about 6 months old, the specs are
20g long display
29g fuge
96 watt T5 display lighting, no light int he fuge
about 55 lbs of rock in the entire system
about 60 lbs of sand in the entire system
2 koralias and a very weak return pump for circulation
some sponge in the overflow, as well as a small bit of carbon in the fuge

I am planning to move all of the livestock I can find into the 29g fuge, turn of the return pump, and start attacking the HA that has become the dominant force in the tank. I will be moving the clean rocks into clean buckets with tank water in them, and them draining the entire tank. I am going to take out as much of the sandbed as possible, replacing it with a coarser grade sand only about .5" deep, but putting all the rocks back first.

Ill refill the tank, and replace all of the livestock, with exception of the clown who will stay shortly in a temp tank and then be traded at the LFS for something else.

after the tank is stable, I will restart stocking. my plan is to get as many corals as I can, stock the tank completly with those, then start on fish. I am planning to have the tank be mainly an LPS and zoa tank, with some softies and SPS thrown in for variety. everything will be bright and colorful and everything will be showy and pretty.

any ideas for stocking or thought would be helpful!

 

[chrismunn]

well it seems as if you have some water quality issues...

how often do you change your water?

how much water do you change at a time?

do you use tap water, or do you have a RO/DI?

do you use a skimmer?

your hair algea problem is most likely due to excessive nutrients, and possibly insufficient flow. ripping the entire tank apart wont help much if you dont get a handle on your nutrients.

you should add some cheatomorpha to your refugium and add a light to it. you can keep the light on in the refugium 24/7, or on a reverse photo period from the display lights.

 

[chrismunn]

also, i noticed your thread turned from "my tank needs help" to, "help me stock it" pretty quik... focus on nutrient export first! it will help your success rate go up.

 

[Moonstream]

thanks. I am planning to redo the fuge, and make it into a baffled one. it will be changed to a 20 long with eggcrate baffles, a 5" or so sand bed, and TONS of cheato. I am also going to add in a coralife super skimmer rated for 65g. I am going to make 2 sections in the tank. the first for the fuge, the second for the skimmer, carbon, sponges and return.

I am going to trade in the clown, star, toadstool and maybe even the frogspawn at the LFS and get some thigns I need in return.

to answer your question, I do a WC very raely and will start doing them more frequestly. I use bottled water, dearpark stuff, and I have no skimmer, but like I said I am adding one ASAP.

 

[Moonstream]

I am going to call the LFS tomorrow and see if theyll let me trade in the livestock I listed so that I can redo the tank. Ill probably be getting everything that I need either tomorrow or next weekend, so hopefully within 2 weeks I can get my tank up and running again.

how does this plan sound for the fuge? the tank will have the water entering the sump on one side, with the skimmer, carbon, ect. that section will be 12 by 12 by 5, the second section will be 20 by 12 by 12 and will have a 2-3" sandbed, some rocks, and then lots of cheato at the very top. the last secion will be 12 by 12 by 5 and will have the return.

I am planning to get a mag 5 for the return, and to use plexiglass for the baffles. I am planning to plumb the tank so that I can do water changes very easily, and I plan to make the tank so that no detritus will be left behind. unfortunatly I will probably lose most of my cleanup crew, but will be geting a new one soon.

if the LFS refuses to exchange the corals and fish for credit, then Ill be keeping them. any ideas on where to keep them?