Bananafish
Member
Posted a thread last week saying I'm back. Thanks for the warm welcome, folks. Still cannot believe I've been dry for almost four years. Never thought it would take this long to restart - especially with that empty tank sitting in my living room as the ultimate eyesore.
A bit of history - When I lost the reef after Sandy, I pulled all my rock and put it in a tub in the basement with a heater and a power head. I fed it every now and then (for 4 years) with some flakes or other dry food. My objective was to save the bacteria. When I cleaned out the tank I filled a salt bucket with sand and sealed the bucket so the sand would stay moist, hoping I'd keep the good stuff. I scraped corallines off the glass and saved the dust. My intention was to reboot after the new year (would have been only a few months), but there was a long string of long stories that kept me putting it off.
Reef Reboot - I filled the tank about half with freshly mixed water, stirred up the sand that sat dry in the tank, and ran a power head. After three days, I put all my rock in the tank, added my coralline dust, filled the tank, installed a heater and 2 powerheads, and set up the filter with only a foam block. I let that run a few days. Then I took everything out, added the bucket of sand, and put everything back. Three days later, I set up the skimmer. After about 2 weeks (16 days) total time, my water is crystal clear. None of the nitrogen compounds spiked anywhere near as high as when it was a brand new tank. Everything is already on the way down and almost normal. Looks like the bacteria just needed to wake up a bit. The corallines are growing. No orange or green yet, but there are at least 3 shades of pink and some purple. Every day I keep looking for green and orange, but so far nothing. I'm also a little annoyed that not one single worm of any kind is visible. If anybody close to Huntington would like to donate some worms I am more than happy to come pick them up and thank you in advance. Just bought a few small pieces of rock and haven't seen too many hitchhikers other than a few Asterina.
Bottom line - I think I'm almost good to go. I'm supposed to get back a pair of clowns that I hatched six years ago from a friend who is moving. I'm supposed to pick them up this weekend, and I think I can do it. That will mean full tank cycle in less than three weeks! If the tank's not ready, I will put them in my office tank, but I think I'll make it.
A bit of history - When I lost the reef after Sandy, I pulled all my rock and put it in a tub in the basement with a heater and a power head. I fed it every now and then (for 4 years) with some flakes or other dry food. My objective was to save the bacteria. When I cleaned out the tank I filled a salt bucket with sand and sealed the bucket so the sand would stay moist, hoping I'd keep the good stuff. I scraped corallines off the glass and saved the dust. My intention was to reboot after the new year (would have been only a few months), but there was a long string of long stories that kept me putting it off.
Reef Reboot - I filled the tank about half with freshly mixed water, stirred up the sand that sat dry in the tank, and ran a power head. After three days, I put all my rock in the tank, added my coralline dust, filled the tank, installed a heater and 2 powerheads, and set up the filter with only a foam block. I let that run a few days. Then I took everything out, added the bucket of sand, and put everything back. Three days later, I set up the skimmer. After about 2 weeks (16 days) total time, my water is crystal clear. None of the nitrogen compounds spiked anywhere near as high as when it was a brand new tank. Everything is already on the way down and almost normal. Looks like the bacteria just needed to wake up a bit. The corallines are growing. No orange or green yet, but there are at least 3 shades of pink and some purple. Every day I keep looking for green and orange, but so far nothing. I'm also a little annoyed that not one single worm of any kind is visible. If anybody close to Huntington would like to donate some worms I am more than happy to come pick them up and thank you in advance. Just bought a few small pieces of rock and haven't seen too many hitchhikers other than a few Asterina.
Bottom line - I think I'm almost good to go. I'm supposed to get back a pair of clowns that I hatched six years ago from a friend who is moving. I'm supposed to pick them up this weekend, and I think I can do it. That will mean full tank cycle in less than three weeks! If the tank's not ready, I will put them in my office tank, but I think I'll make it.
