Thanks for the love guys,
First off, the corals again are not suffering, they are colorful and vibrant, this is why I am confused. I have been dealing with a weird whitish/clear slime that resides on the top of the tank, which made it's way to the sump, so was in multiple spots. It seems to be non life threatening, at least to corals, I suspect it is a bacterial slime, which may have caused fish to be stressed.
Next, I lost my sand sifting goby a few weeks back, it was spooked and jumped the overflow, it ended up dead in the sump. Since it's death, the tank has gone unsifted, I have noticed an egg smell/sulfurish, so I am thinking that I am dealing with a funky sandbed now. I also have had red slime, and increasing hair algae too, so I know phosphates are present.
Solution 1: Today I am pulling my sump and all equipment, and giving all of it a thorough cleansing. When I re-install and hook the equipment back up, I will be using filter socks. I have a huge amount of sludge in the sump, this is likely a contributing factor to my problem. This will also include 15 gallon fresh water change, which will replace the water tossed from draining the sump.
Solution 2: Later this week I will be removing the sand bed, I plan to do this by siphoning areas at a time, by moving corals into a holding bin and again, using replaced water to force another water change. First round I want to remove 1/3 of the total sand, I estimate another 15 gallon water change. I will repeat this process until I am 100% bare bottom.
Solution 3: I will be holding off on any new fish until first 2 solutions are complete. After this, I plan on keeping my fish down to the remaining 5 until I can confidently know that whatever funk has caused me to go awry is in check. I will monitor colors and use aminos to keep colors going, should I become too nutrient limited.
Thoughts:
I have unfortunately temporarily lost my job, the place of employment caught fire, so I will not be returning to work for a spell. I will likely take on odd jobs, and be Mr. Mom for some time, so no better time to essentially re-boot, and fix some weaker points within the system. Luckily, I have fresh RODI filters, new bucket of salt, and everything I need for a good spell, so the loss of income will not break me too bad, at least to keep my reef going, lol... So, as you can see, I should have no problem with time, so I will take this unfortunate mishap, and apply energy to my reef, and getting my house in good order, the outside landscaping could use a touch of love too
Thanks again guys for all the love, I will keep you posted on my results, here's to a nice break from work, and some fun playing with the tank
Cheers!!!
