Has anyone just had to start all over again?

[MikeD]

Don't know if anyone here has just decided to tear it all down and start all over again from scratch. Either from uncontrollable mutant algae, the 'black plague' or what not... What were your experiences etc?

 

[melvinakshay]

Did it twice.. Once when I had to move and the other time when I couldn't find two damsels. Both the times it was a major headache. The first time when I had to move, I lost two fish because of it. A clown tang and a powder blue. Aquascaping is another big headache. The track never looks the same and I always end up moving the rocks and it doesn't seem perfect. The second time I had to do it wasn't that bad but it was still time consuming. Oddly I still can't find both the missing damsels. The ammonia is about 0 so I'm guessing the clean up crew did their job

 

[TheGrog]

I have had to move my entire system 7 times (once from Chicago to Florida) and just did a tear down and rebuild because of algae. I have lots of stories. What do you want to know?

 

[dirk_brijs]

I think everybody in this hobby tore it down at one point to just start all over again for one reason or another.
Its what separates the boys from the real reefer men I think
Me myself did it 6 times by now 3 times for an upgrade once for a broken tank and 2 times just for the fun of it just reshaping everything.
Its normal behavior for most reefers

 

[kn240]

Im about to. Green hair algea is my battle that im losing. Never in my 10+yrs that I had these in any of my tanks.

 

[trackfast]

I've done it twice. Once with a 20G and once with a 55G. Plastic totes and battery powered air pumps are a huge help.

 

[MikeD]

Yeah, I'm about to go through the whole thing now myself. Been in this hobby for a long time and all of a sudden, Bam... Tank got hit with something unknown and sprouted a jungle! Made sure all parameters were in check and maintained for the longest time but still... This will probably occupy the better part of March. Sigh.

 

[ReeferMark]

I just did my 90 Gallon at the end of 2013. I got a new stand so the tank had to be lifted. Re-aquascaped and took out about a 5 gal bucket of sand. Found some real interesting things in the sand that I hadn't seen in years....a Veggie Clip!

 

[alb_56]

i think everybody in this hobby tore it down at one point to just start all over again for one reason or another.
Its what separates the boys from the real reefer men i think
me myself did it 6 times by now 3 times for an upgrade once for a broken tank and 2 times just for the fun of it just reshaping everything.
Its normal behavior for most reefers

+1

 

[Volcano1]

Gone though it a few times, lately with a large tank.Here's what the tank looked like before the crash.






To this





Fairly recent shot, after a year.

 

[MikeD]

Do you have a photo of the dreadful crash? I'm going to have to so some before and afters. I'm always afraid I'll never get to the after though....

 

[Edward Smith]

Did it twice and each time, it was the best thing that ever happened. I got a fresh start, didn't have my previous mistakes shadow me and was able to implement what I learned since setting it up.

That said............ one more major crash...............and I'm done. Too many interests, not enough time or money.

 

[Volcano1]

No,just what I posted.It did get a little barer than that.It was difficult to start over, after I invested so much, time and $$.If it ever gets that bad again, I may just go FOWLR.It took me about a year or so running it that way.I retired in 2013, and had extra time to put in the tank.Spent time going over what I thought contributed and tried to come up with a game plan to avoid it.I did have some DSB's in my sumps.I think they gradually got worse, and held a lot of organics.I got the water quality much better and stayed on testing parameters.I decided to go much more SPS, so that had to be done.It takes a little more time each day staying on top of things,plus I gained alot of knowledge on water chemistry.Even with that there are still bumps in the road.I can relate to not wanting to go though it all, I think most of us that have been in the hobby a while almost expect it to happen.

 

[lexiz1]

Im in the process now. Had a crash a few months ago so I figured it would be a good time to do some maintenance and upgrades.

 

[boxer385]

twice for me

 

[Oblivionis]

I had to do it 3 years ago when I was moving. It was hard because I lost most of my livestock in the move but then I was able to take my time and make the new tank better than the original.

 

[TheReefNinja]

Done it a few times myself. Here is my latest setup. Was filled with rock and water on Jan 10th. I got rock and nems out of a running system and new live sand no issues to date and everything is happy.

 

[MikeD]

Looking good there! I have a 145 gal setup I'm going to be tackling in the next few weeks... I don't know how I'll stay sane...

Done it a few times myself. Here is my latest setup. Was filled with rock and water on Jan 10th. I got rock and nems out of a running system and new live sand no issues to date and everything is happy.

 

[canar]

Tanks that have dumped on the floor. Major crashes... Once your addicted you have to keep trying. Depending on how bad the disaster is it only varies the length of the break you take........

 

[MikeD]

Well, I just pulled the trigger to hit this reset button the last couple of days and am currently in the process of moving the 'good' corals to a holding tub for temporary storage. Unfortunately, they'll have to be without their metal halides (only LPS anyway not SPS) and will have to settle for T5s in the meantime. All rock has been removed as well. Don't know if I still want to do sand substrate in the future or no though...