Need perspective on things

[Guillo]

Ok, ive been reefing for just over a year now but do still consider myself a newbie, with that being said i posted here because i thought it would be more appropriate, so if it sounds like a newbie question, sorry. Ok i got a biocube 29 that i would like to convert to DSPS. Now, i would like to keep my sand bed, and on sunday i started cooking rock, fiji, and when its all said and done i guess i would be getting rid of current rock/corals (except for my current sps) and putting in the "new". The cube has a main pump (maxijet 1200), tunze 9002 skimmer, coralia 2, coralia nano at the immediate moment and the sps is doing fine, my question is am i on the right track? Yes, my current rock has pests in it and thats why i want to swap out ie: pesty starfish. I finally want just a clean set up, i have a quarintine tank standing by for when i start and i forgot to mention im upgrading pumps to. I need someone to give it to me straight, what im i forgetting? Should i just start another tank? I will be getting a chiller and a phosphate reactor as well, maybe even a carbon reactor. One of the keywords i keep telling myself is "WASTE" and how to get rid of it efficiently, is the tunze cutting it? seems like it is. N/e way, any help on this would be greatly appreciated, i want to succeed, Thanks.
-G

 

[saltygeek]

Sounds good to me. I use the tunze 9002 and it seems to do a descent job.

 

[saltygeek]

By the way, what pests do you have that you want to swap out rock? It would be best not to do that.

 

[Cultivatedcoral]

Personally, I think the only way to have a really clean set up (minimal waste, nitrates, P04) is to get rid of the sand.

 

[Guillo]

thanks for the info, greatly appreciate it, i really like my sand bed, gonna have to think about it, i got time, rock is gonna cook for a while

 

[Guillo]

as far as pests, i got these really small looking light blue looking starfish, and i got slight bigger ones that kinda look like brittle stars, i think i got rid of some sponge as well the other day, but have bad feeling it will come back, thats why i want to swap rock

 

[neoalchemist74]

Sponge is really good brittle stars are really good and as for the asterinas (amall blue stars that sometimes 1234or5 legs the jury is still out. harliquin shrimp will destroy them quick but will starve soon if you dont feed them and they only eat sea star tube feet.
By swapping out the rock you might just trade those for worse pests like briopsis or vermitid snails which will survive "cooking". What is your lighting going to be like those bio-cubes don't come with very strong lighting unless you have the HQL model?

 

[buy_baff]

Sponge is good. Micro stars are good.

 

[Guillo]

I got 14k 150 watt MH with 80w actinics, as far as the sponge, gotta be completely honest, i thought that was something you didn't want in tank, nevertheless, im constantly siphoning it out because it spreads, i don't like it, i could live with the tiny blue ones though, as far as the little tube snails i got thosse too, but the rock that im cooking has been sitting outside for almost a year now, its all dead, thanks though, great feedback

 

[sdietz2469]

if you dont start with a clean sand bed, the larve and babys can be in the sand bed, andn unless you start a completely sterlile tank and cook Everything from dead, let it cycle you cant keep these things out.

you then have to fully quarantine everything, dipping everything several time, and then still there is no guarantee...

when a problem arrises correct things accordingly starfish= harlequin shrimp, algae= snails crabs cucumbers fish, aptasia= peppermint, kalk, copperband, filefish. etc

 

[Guillo]

that is what i thought, definately puts perspective on things. Ill keep cooking the rock and see if im gonna start another tank or not, but im definately not going to convert and risk the new rock. Thanks sdietz

 

[divewsharks]

what are you intentions for introducing all the beneficial things that live in the rock? micro brittles/amphipods/copepods etc? it sounds like you are looking for a sterile environment? and that is nearly impossible. for example, all it takes is a single sponge spore (which you cannot see) and you will have more sponges (which really are a good thing).

 

[Guillo]

Wow, you know, i guess my biggest issue then is my xenia, because if all that other stuff is good to have, im keeping it, but my xenia is spreading over my rock and besides trimming it during water changes, don't know how to get rid of it.

 

[Dadekster]

Sponges are great water polishers from what I understand. Some people even set up dark tanks just to encourage them.

 

[neoalchemist74]

If they are the black sponges with fingerlike growth they can grow fast and be a pain to control but there is a school of thought that the reason there is such good sps growth in established tanks is that the cells that sponges constantly shed provide an ongoing food source for the corals

 

[Guillo]

one of the biggest reasons i also wanted to swap the rock is because of my xenia, its everywhere, i trim and siphon, then it comes back like a weed. im afraid its gonna attach to the sps and then be a bigger pain in the butt

 

[neoalchemist74]

There are ways to crash xenia colonies. Do athread search on xenia melted or xenia crashed and see if you can't get some ideas.