Re-Booting 10 Year Old Tank.

[Johnic]

Tank is coming up on 10 years and the current rock has been overrun with coral I don't want and I really don't like the design of the custom porcelain rock in there now so I want to start over.
What is the recommended rock to use for mix reef and some fish in my 75 gal and where can I purchase it ?
I also need to figure out how to keep the 3 fish and 2-3 corals alive while I reboot ?

Note that I plan on saving all of the existing salt water - will this help with just adding the dead rock and expedite the curing process?

 

[cdbias5]

I believe the two opposite ends you have are: land mined dry rock (sterile) to Tampa Bay live rock that is full of everything.
Everything else is in between that.
There is that Australian live rock but I think it's well over $20 a lb wet, plus shipping.
What are you wanting and how much money do you have?

 

[reefing102]

While I agree with the above, I should ask what kind of start over are we talking about? Brand new tank or just replacing coral covered rock with new rock? If just replacing rock, I’d definitely go live and likely go with a base version of the live rock. I know KP offers base rock (minimal algaes) and I think Tampa Bay also has a base version of their rock too.

If starting brand new, I’d still go with live because that’s my preference but you can also do dry rock. I’d likely still get a piece or two of live for the bacteria boost.

The Aussie rock mentioned above is pricey but I’ve seen some pretty nice looking pieces. Soo there’s that

 

[Johnic]

I was looking at Marco Rock and keep alot of my live sand to jump start the Marco Rock. I don't mind waiting the 1-2 months for the dead marco to go live. I want build a nice negative look aquascape.

 

[Johnic]

What's the best way once I add the dead rock and leave some of the live sand in there to re-cycle the tank ?

 

[reefing102]

I have never used Marco rock before so I’m not sure on the cycle part but if you keep your live sand, it shouldn’t be too long of a cycle. Be advised, if you’re essentially doing a complete reboot, it’s recommended to rinse your sand very well as disturbing an old sand bed can cause issues

 

[Johnic]

I have never used Marco rock before so I’m not sure on the cycle part but if you keep your live sand, it shouldn’t be too long of a cycle. Be advised, if you’re essentially doing a complete reboot, it’s recommended to rinse your sand very well as disturbing an old sand bed can cause issues

Gotcha. I plan on keep about 1/2 of the existing sand and then add Fiji pink live sand to top it off.
I really need to work quick and not have the tank down too long so I can keep the fish and coral alive as well as all the coraline algae..
I want to get the water back in asap

 

[jjmg]

Remember that if you use 10 year old sand in your new tank you will likely bring anything bad from you old tank into the new tank along with anything good unless you rinse and sterilize the sand. Youtube has hundreds of videos about cycling new tanks with dead rock and sand. Once you start to remove the sand from your tank I think you discover that it is pretty disgusting.

I'm currently putting a new tank together and plan to use some matrix biomedia that I have been running the dark portion of a HOB filter to seed the new tank. I will also add some bacteria in a bottle for good measure.

There are methods for instant tanks that you can add your coral and fish to immediately if the fish are smaller species and you keep on top of your testing and are ready to do water changes if required. Probably not optimal but very doable.

 

[reefing102]

I do agree with @jjmg. I think you will find your old sand very disgusting (I did this with my 65 after I bought it from the old owner and it took a couple hours of rinsing small quantities to get it to run clear.

I believe @Dr. Reef has a method of instant cycling. I just don’t remember what product he uses

 

[Vinny Kreyling]

If your plan is a quick turnaround then I would go with some Live Base rock from either Tampa Bay Saltwater or KP Aquatics to help with the Marco rock. Both places offer live sand, I would get some of that also. There is not much pink in Fiji sand.
An old sand bed is a hassle.

 

[Johnic]

Remember that if you use 10 year old sand in your new tank you will likely bring anything bad from you old tank into the new tank along with anything good unless you rinse and sterilize the sand. Youtube has hundreds of videos about cycling new tanks with dead rock and sand. Once you start to remove the sand from your tank I think you discover that it is pretty disgusting.

I'm currently putting a new tank together and plan to use some matrix biomedia that I have been running the dark portion of a HOB filter to seed the new tank. I will also add some bacteria in a bottle for good measure.

There are methods for instant tanks that you can add your coral and fish to immediately if the fish are smaller species and you keep on top of your testing and are ready to do water changes if required. Probably not optimal but very doable.

Very good point. I ordered more sand and I will remove the old 10 year sand and start fresh. I bought Dr Tim’s bacteria start up as well.

 

[Johnic]

If your plan is a quick turnaround then I would go with some Live Base rock from either Tampa Bay Saltwater or KP Aquatics to help with the Marco rock. Both places offer live sand, I would get some of that also. There is not much pink in Fiji sand.
An old sand bed is a hassle.

Yup. Going to add some of my old rock. Very small piece just to jump start and then remove it. It’s clean with no critters.

 

[Johnic]

Question. Will my coraline algae built up nicely on the rear of the tank live through a few hour dry period ?

 

[reefing102]

Question. Will my coraline algae built up nicely on the rear of the tank live through a few hour dry period ?

Not likely. You will likely see it die off and then regrow. Happens when I do a water change on my tank you can’t clearly see the difference from where I took the water out vs didn’t.

 

[Johnic]

Not likely. You will likely see it die off and then regrow. Happens when I do a water change on my tank you can’t clearly see the difference from where I took the water out vs didn’t.

Uggg. That sucks. 10 years of coin sized coraline build up gone. Bummer

 

[reefing102]

Mine usually grows back pretty quick though soo I wouldn’t fully count it out.

 

[Johnic]

Cool..thanks.
Was thinking of soaking a towel and let it hang on it while I work on the tank.

 

[mtnbike101]

If you use MarcoRock or similar, begin working on your new aquascape well before you start the breakdown. You'll be surprised how long it takes you to create something that you really like.

 

[Johnic]

If you use MarcoRock or similar, begin working on your new aquascape well before you start the breakdown. You'll be surprised how long it takes you to create something that you really like.

Yup, I plan on taking my time and build it on a sheet of wood then glue it up and then install.

 

[reefing102]

Also watch your sizes. One large connected aquascape will be quite heavy so maybe consider multiple smaller pieces that fit together but aren’t all connected