Old Tank Syndrome

[Reverend Reefer]

well, i guess i've been reefin for around 8 yrs now and have recently decided to properly aquascape my tank with that acrylic rods method. took out all my LR and LS (shallow). replaced the sand with dry aragonite, among some other long awaited improvements with plumbing etc. etc. i was definitely experiencing old tank syndrome as i've found many clumped up sand that's turned black and the LR that was submerged also had black spots, which i plan to remove. this leads me to my question:

some areas of my live rock, particularly the underneath/unexposed to light areas(top sides covered with coralline), are RUSTY colored. does anybody know what the source of this is and whether i should be concerned to the point of chipping all those parts away as i re-aquascape? thanks for all the expertise here on RC.

- rev.

 

[Nano sapiens]

Sounds like you had some hydrogen sulfide pockets going there. Rotten egg smell when you cleaned up, I'd assume. With a shallow SB, periodic detritus removal (especially under the LR) is very helpful in maintaining good conditions. In general, the smaller the tank, the more frequent the vacuuming (reduced water volume to bio-mass as tank size decreases, usually).

Rusty coloration could very well be iron deposits due to advective forces directing pore water up into the live rock. Shouldn't be a problem, IMO. I would use the rock 'as is' after thoroughly blasting any old detritus out of it with a powerhead in a separate container.

 

[Subsea]

I would not consider what you described to be "Old Tank Syndrome". My best analogy for old tank syndrome would be a climax forest that has out competed the other trees in the forest with one predominate species. In the marine environment of our reef aquarium, it would start with loss in diversity of bacteria, then micro fauna and fana.

You were given good advice by nano sapiens for your tank issues.
Happy reefing,
Patrick

 

[Aquarist007]

IMO old tank syndrome is not a noun put a verb.. Maybe a gerund?
It's a series of actions that you don't take or you take them with less regard, diligence or dedication.