Pooky's 300

[pookstreet]

kenny- we have never met and i know this is my 3rd post on this site, but i FULLY understand everything you are going through. 3 yrs ago i had a 350 gallon sps/lps tank... running smoothly for 3 yrs.... in a weeks time every sps rtn'd and lps rotted away and over 50 fish gone... to this day i blame my sandbed i had running.... and i left the hobby and never thought about returning until honestly 3 days ago when i decided to just check everything out on this site again.... came across your thread here and im glad everything is slowly turning around for you...

Thanks wireefman. Sorry to hear you had a tank meltdown. I think 3 years is enough of a torture and it's time to come back

 

[pookstreet]

Dan, things are all right at the moment. The Acros situation is holding steady. Nothing new died and the few pieces I put back are still alive. Colors are still way off.

QUOTE]

Nice to hear everything is ok now. Hope all thing turn around quickly so your tank can be one of the best tank again out there.. Its been awhile but so good to hear that all is well..

Thanks P3n0Y! I don't think my tank will ever be one of the best. There are just too many amazing tanks out there. Haven't talked to you in a long time, bud. Hope things are all good with the family.

 

[pookstreet]

Keep the faith, my brother.

Yep, yep. Always gotta have faith no matter how bad things get. Ain't life a wondrous thing??? :dance:

 

[pookstreet]

:sad1::sad1::sad1:

Sigh!!! What am I going to do???

The Acros left in the tank appeared to be doing well for about a month and a half, with good growth and even some colors coming back on a couple of the remaining pieces. I even added back some pieces that were taken out and they seemed to be doing fine so far. But then about 3 days ago, one of the remaining colonies, a 7-8" deep water Acro, started RTN/STN and is now completely dead. It was growing on the rocks and I couldn't take it out In hindsight, I should have just ripped it out, at least part of it would still be alive.

RIP!!!

My next step is to try and completely remove all of the remaining sand. I've already removed around 50%. It would take several very large water changes to accomplish. Don't really want to do it all at once since I am afraid of what might be released into the water. If that doesn't work, my last option is to take everything out and redo the tank. The rocks will either be scrubbed/rinsed or replaced. I would like to reuse the rocks due to cost and to avoid another cycle. My main concern with tearing down and rebuilding is the fish. I have many very sensitive and expensive fish currently in the tank that I would hate to lose. That would be the last straw for me :mad2:

 

[mpoletti]

Wow Kenny, I am sorry to hear that you are still having troubles

 

[Dejavu]

Man that sucks! I sure you thought about this alot but would it be safer if you waited alittle while to see how some of the other corals do. Seeing how thing where going well for awhile. It just seems that the next steps would mean major changes.

 

[spleen93]

Wow, that was a gorgeous deep water acro too.

 

[Ian]

I hate to say it Kenny but if you can figure out something with the fish, maybe the best thing would be to start it over. Im sure there are things you would like to change and that would give you the opportunity to do so...

 

[pookstreet]

It just sucks that the tank would play me like that :lol: Thought my wife had a solid grip on that, then my daughter proved me wrong. Now the tank too :crazy1:


Brian, I've been wanting to replace the sandbed for a while. Looks like now is the time. I'll do it slow so whatever I stir up won't crash the tank further.


Ian, the tank was already perfect. There is nothing to change :rolleye1: But if I had to, that would be a major suckage.

 

[stunreefer]

Dang dude, sorry for your loss Kenny!

FWIW, I've removed sandbeds in basically one foul swoop. You need a larger diameter hose, start a siphon, and suck it out into buckets/rubbermaid/whatever. This way whatever it's going to "release" is also siphoned into the bucket. Of course, make sure you have lots of water on hand to replace what is siphooned out with the sand.

Hope all turns around for you soon!

 

[DanW]

Kenny, If you get to that point give me a call and I’ll drive out to help. Not sure what I can do except run around in circles and say “Oh man, oh man” but I’m willing to help. Then again maybe I’ll just take pictures to document it. (My wife wants to go to Ontario Mills anyway, I can just drop her off.)

 

[Ian]

Ian, the tank was already perfect. There is nothing to change :rolleye1: But if I had to, that would be a major suckage.

Just tryin' to help you smell some roses on a crappy situation...

 

[pookstreet]

Dang dude, sorry for your loss Kenny!

FWIW, I've removed sandbeds in basically one foul swoop. You need a larger diameter hose, start a siphon, and suck it out into buckets/rubbermaid/whatever. This way whatever it's going to "release" is also siphoned into the bucket. Of course, make sure you have lots of water on hand to replace what is siphooned out with the sand.

Hope all turns around for you soon!

Thanks for the tip, Austin. I am just a bit worried about all the crap that's trapped in the sand for the past 2+ years. It would be ideal to get everything out at once but getting behind the rocks is gonna be a major PITA. Well see what happens. I plan on getting a length of straight acrylic tube to attach to the hose so I don't have to deal with that stupid curve that every hose comes with and can never be straightened out :hammer:

 

[pookstreet]

Kenny, If you get to that point give me a call and I'll drive out to help. Not sure what I can do except run around in circles and say "œOh man, oh man" but I'm willing to help. Then again maybe I'll just take pictures to document it. (My wife wants to go to Ontario Mills anyway, I can just drop her off.)

Thanks Dan. If anything, it would be cool just to BS and take the stress out of the day :fun4:

 

[pookstreet]

Just tryin' to help you smell some roses on a crappy situation...

Dude, the only roses this time of the year will be at the Rose Parade. All of mine wilted with the recent cool weather. So I am stuck with a crappy situation. Thanks for trying :love2:

 

[pookstreet]

OMG!!! I did a 90+ gallon water change this past weekend and TRIED to remove as much sand as possible during the process and I barely made a dent. I either have way too much or it's just not as fast as I thought it would be. I think I only got about 1/8th or 1/10th of the sand out. It was deeper towards the back also and made the removal process harder. Boy, this is gonna be a fun process :hammer:

 

[mpoletti]

Kenny, What size hose are you using? I used a 3/4" in hose when I was doing mine.

 

[pookstreet]

That's what I used and it's the inside diameter. I connected it to a 2' length of 3/4" straight acrylic tubing and it can reach further back without having to deal with that curve all hose come with and can never straighten out.

 

[DanW]

...OMG!!! I did a 90+ gallon water change this past weekend and TRIED to remove as much sand as possible during the process and I barely made a dent...

My back hurt just reading that.

 

[pookstreet]

LOL.........unfortunately, my options are limited at this point. It's either break my back or break down the tank.