Ideas needed fish only tank

[kesslerkid01]

ok here's the deal got a phone call buisness in dire need of someone to take care of a fish only salt water tank people doing it now have it so green you can hardly see the fish! want to know if i'll help them they are willing to start the tank over clean up use same equipment but not spend a million dollars on tring to get tank running and look descent two and a half year old tank no water changes that they know of buetiful in wall acrilyc tank with wet dry filter no skimmer and best of all they add tap water from the city which is sheboygan lots of tds and who knows what. they have no idea what they have don't know what why to go and are sick of the so called service this company is giving them soooo should a person just go in start over or can i just start off doing a few water changes and see where that goes get the tank peramiters right and see what happens it is in a fancy restaurant want it to be a show peice sooooo what are your thoughts ????they have no live rock in tank now only a peice of corral that this company keeps bleaching and put back in tank

 

[RCS]

PM sent.

 

[Lishoop6]

most definitely water changes maybe a skimmer added by the way what is in that tank and how big
P.S. I am not totally confident that my advise will work

 

[Bri Guy]

They pay for somebody to care for there tank, and it looks like that!!!

Id call the better business bureau and shut them down!

I wish there was an animal cop that cared for fish, not just cats dogs and horses.

Ok im done ramping now

 

[lostdragon]

first do water changes with ro/di and a good saltmix.i would do 20% changes till i got perameters to where they should be. add skimmer and some good cured live rock.JMO
steve

 

[BryanJ]

If it is fish only I would be fairly aggressive and do 25% water changes every other day for 8 days. That should bring you into some normalized parameters rather quickly. First things first get them on at least RO water right away. Is there any substrate on the bottom? If so remove it. Order some chemipure from F&S they have bulk prices on it.

Please provide more details on the tank ie size, lights, is it drilled, how much space is available for a new sump and are the owners willing to participate in monitoring and caring the tank? Also what kind of budget?

 

[jmkarcz]

Duplicate...

but I'll add... I know this guy, who takes care of a tank for someone. he works his a$$ off and invests a lot of time. The owners of the tank can't even walk up to the tank and add freshwater from a bucket that is already prepared, to top off the tank every day. He has to drive over, run in, and add water.

Water changes are just as easy... turn a knob, drain the tank down...because it's plumbed into the sewer... and then refill the tank backup with already prepared salt water. Can the do this? Yes. Do they help him, because it is their tank...NO.

Everyday I see a little more of his energy and will slip, because he is doing someone else's grunt work, and cannot move forward with the bigger things that should be changed out and fixed... Why should they do it... he'll come by.

This story brought to you in the interest of a successful and thriving owner-tank relationship.

 

[jmkarcz]

I think Bryan hit it right on the head... If the owners only want it to run and look good, but not participate in a minimal maintenance way... you are not going anywhere fast. If you make it easy for them to do water changes with ro water on a frequent basis.

(Ok, lets just simplify this... everyone here is going to tell you that ONLY RO water should ever be added... in top off or water changes... ever.)

If the are asking you to visit often, (daily) you need to weigh that against your time, distance and cost...get enough to cover your time, since you will be someone else's "tank bitc#" - And we may read about you in 6 months when your burned out, they don't care about you or want to help with the tank...

Lay down some rules... or guidelines. You will need to TEACH them. Not all at once...

The goal is to transfer responsibility to them over time. Teach a man (or woman) to fish... you know... they should be around when you do the work- to learn and see what you do. If they're no-where to be seen and at the club playing golf.... my price would double. They should learn how hard it is to fight to get it back in order, then they will appreciate the smaller amount of time later instead of letting it go to heck again.

Make sure you sit down and do the math for/with them. If they don't see the numbers... RO supplies... membranes, cartridges, water costs, salt to be consumed with water changes, phosphate sponge, and other consumables and their values... your kidding yourself. This isn't a cheap hobby... and while you may think the last person was not doing their job because they were a "dumb reject" or something... maybe they could not get the funding or support for what they really needed... Sure, water changes are the immediate answer and adding a RO, and a skimmer... but I did not see one person look at that this may be caused by lights beyond their useful life, or overfeeding on the owners part leading to high nutrients...etc, etc, etc... You may need to take a step back, re-analyze the situation, and decide... what's best for them, and the livestock... and can they do what they want, with what they have, correctly, and as efficiently as they want to. You may come to a brutal recommendation that they should go to freshwater... or remove the tank altogether. (or maybe they need a mushroom tank, that is nutrient rich, with actinic light and 3 small fish and a shrimp in the tank... I don't have this answer for you..

We need alot more information.... alot more... from where I stand...I hear someone telling me that they want to climb everest, I don't know or see your expertise, nor do I think you realize how high and far you have to go.

Parting thought to put this in perspective... I did this. I spent nights pulling algae until 1am... alot of us have... to go from this... (and this is after 4 plus hours of cleaning...)

<a href="http://s28.photobucket.com/albums/c205/jmkarcz/Tank%20Photos/?action=view&current=IMG_1933a.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c205/jmkarcz/Tank%20Photos/IMG_1933a.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

to this...
<a href="http://s28.photobucket.com/albums/c205/jmkarcz/Tank%20Photos/?action=view&current=IMG_9524.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c205/jmkarcz/Tank%20Photos/IMG_9524.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

I know you don't have coral... but it's still a battle.

Just a thought... or six


.....if your gonna get paid.... and we're going to be your sounding board.... and give you advise.... I think Bri-Guy is raising funds for a new PAR meter..... to benefit everyone... including those seeking help...Like yourself... you cant buy a subscription to a magazine, for what he's asking...