Rubbermaid tub and tank regrets...

R

Reefugee

New member
Hello All -

Anyone have one of those rubbermaid tub that I can borrow for a few weeks. I been having so much problem with my current tank, that I have been debating to tear it down and do some work on it.

First on my list of items to do is to replace the sand bed with some CaribSea ArgaLive Fiji Pink or possibly even going bare bottom. I am still leaning towards a sandbed though. The current sand has tightly clumped together. Now I am wondering if the sand could be leaching out anything.

Second: I am going to build a canopy. Replace the Lumenarc with Lumenarc Minis with A/C option. http://www.pacificgardensupply.com/ Add actinic light. And add in some moonlights. Everything looks so boring under 10K without actinic.

Third: Redo some of the plumbing.

Although I probably won't change it - I wished I had gone with two Tunze PH instead of the closed loop system. It would have allowed me to push my stand flush against the wall - this reducing the amount of noise coming from my tank. I think the cost would have been roughly the same once you factor in the cost of plumbing, pump, and OceanMotion 4way.

Anyway - if anyone has a large rubber maid tub that I can borrow, that would be great.

Thanks
Minh
 
Tim,

Well - the sand is currently all clumped together. I have not seen any life in the sand at all - even thought the tank is like 7-8 months old.

My SPS aren't really gowing. In my old 55G, the digitata grew even though I had no skimmer and only T5 lightings. Even though now I have a skimmer (ASM G3), Ozone, Phosban reactor, and calcium reactor - things are doing worse in this tank than in the 55G. Part of it is due to my learning curve with all the equipment.

Now I am dealing with a cyano bacteria outbreak (that's why I am wondering if the sand might be leaching out anything). I am using RODI water with TDS reading of 0 or 1. I run both carbon and Phosban.

I had problems with some hermit crabs eating almost all of my snails. Now I am only going to use scarlet hermit crabs. I will replenish my cleaning crew when I get in a new sandbed.

Some of the problems were just dumb stuff that I did - like not dipping my corals before adding it to the tank (hence the zoa eating nudis and red bug). Also part of the frustration is the learning curve - like learning that I really need to put the ozone generator on a timer otherwise my corals will bleach reall fast. :P Other problems were with stuff like my Ca Reactor going nuts while I was on vacation and raising my alk problem to 16+. I have since put in a CO2 controller that will hopefully help prevent this from happening again.

I just think it's time for a change. I'd rather do it now that later. I'm at the point where I am not enjoying my tank. But hopefully some of the changes will make things better. :D

Minh
 
Minh,

Talk to Arlan, we have a rubbermaid garbage can that we are using at the moment we might be able to loan you.

Rian
 
Hi Minh, I have a 60 gal Rubbermade watering trough that you can have. The only problem with it is a 4 inch hole near the top where the inflow was when I used it as a part of my Koi pond filter. It could easily be patched with a piece of plastic and some silicone. It is yours if you want it.

Sorry to hear you are having problems with your tank. It always seems that I could do something better on mine. I keep oscillating between Tunzis and a closed loop with an Oceans Motions for the new tank I want to set up. I will be real interested in talking to you about your experiences.
 
Sorry to hear about the tank issues, Minh. All of our tanks are a 'work in progress'. Some kinks just take a little longer to work out;)

I don't have any large rubbermaids, but I do have a very shallow fiberglass bin that you can use to house your corals. Just LMK!

Karl
 
minh,

if you want you can borrow my 100 gallon acrylic tank for as long as you need!~) hey if you need a hand i am more than willing to come by and lend one!~) i'll help you get that old sand out and add the new and what ever else you want to do just lmk!~) i am free today!~)

shawn!~)
 
minh, sometimes change is good! :) sorry to hear about all the equipment issues but now uv got a good handle on the intricacies of them. and trust me...we all make mistakes ;)

my experiences with alk fluctuations is that i can take 1-2 months for the coral to settle back in and show growth and coloration. and the thing is, each of my corals would respond differently to an alk change and for some it becomes a waiting game :(
are your corals currently browned out or extremely light or just off-colored?

ur mileage may vary...but heres what i'd do if you don't want to fully restart:

if ur happy with ur sand granularity, just keep it and remove the clumped up portions. i'd take the time to vacuum it up good during 10% bi-weekly wc's. i'm not sure what kinda sand ur using or the depth, but i'd go with a heavier grain that wont get tossed around with higher flow. i'm having pretty good luck with a 2" ssb that i vacuum partly during wc's.

regarding ozone...i'm having good results keeping my orp at a meager 340 (peak) and the water is very clear. i'm also using about 500ml of rowa in a fluidized reactor but it took me months to get up to that amount. remember...slow flow thru the media is important.

regarding the cyano...check out this link without using chemicals! i did a 30hr blackout and it worked for me. if u try it, slowly ramp up ur photoperiod. many have reported good results with red slime remover or chemi clean.

i've got a couple other recommendations but my post is gettin' long...

also, if they are frags you got from me, lmk when ur ready to start over with colored ones :p
 
Minh,

Just stick with it man, these things take time. I have had a lot of setbacks recently but I have a vision for my tank which will take a few more years to achieve. I finally learned my lesson about keeping my arms out of the tank. Time will take care of things, if you keep starting over you'll keep comparing your current tank to your 'ideal' tank and frustrate yourself. Have you noticed how many reefers have gotten out lately due to frustration with their tanks? You gotta have a long term plan to keep things in perspective. JMO
 
Just curious what the benefits with BB instead of a DSB or a 3inch Sandbed . I thought sand help control ph and aspects of the water?
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7297682#post7297682 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Nu2SW
Just curious what the benefits with BB instead of a DSB or a 3inch Sandbed . I thought sand help control ph and aspects of the water?
Click to expand...

IMHO a question in a very complicated area of Reef keeping. Some think a DSB can accumulate various nutrients (like phosphates) and then after a period of time start releasing them back into the water column (old tank syndrome). There is also a problem with high flow tanks blowing the bottom substrate around and over the corals and such.

On the other side of the story is the DSB supports de-nitrification. It also supports all sorts of organisms that are beneficial to a Reef tank. Some just use the argument that there are no bare bottomed oceans.

In any case, this question is like many in Reef keeping, there is no real correct answer and it is up to the aquarist to do the research and decide for him/her self.

In the book The Reef Aquarium: Science, Art, and Technology, Vol. 3 there is a section on bottom substrates and it is a complicated subject. If you are interested in doing the research I would start there.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7297317#post7297317 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by mothra
...I finally learned my lesson about keeping my arms out of the tank...
Click to expand...

man jacob...i wish i could keep my arms outta the tank but i just spent the last 5 hours scraping coralline off the acrylic :mad:

talk about a chore :mad2:
 
Tim, I still have to do that one too, and yes I feel your pain. As far as changing things though I'm done.... I swear :)
 
Thanks everyone for your suggestion and support. I removed most of the sand from my tank. The only sand left are those underneath the rocks and behind the rockwork. During the process of removing the rocks, I realized how much detritis is trapped in the rock. Now I am debating whether I should just go bare bottom. If I do decide to do that, where can I order starboard from? What is the approximate price for starboard? My tank size dimension is 48" x 24".

If I decide to keep any sand, I will just leave the sand that is there alone and add in new sand.

Minh
 
If you like the look of sand you probably won't like bare bottom. I really didn't like it when we had it in our tank. It looks great at first but then stuff starts to grow on it and it looked crappy to me.

Rian
 
Help with tank

Help with tank

Minh,
If you need help or some extra sand, let me know.
I have a few bags of southdown, as well as some used southdown that I use when setting up new systems. I have used the old sand in three systems now and it has worked great. I just wash it out a little bit and have had no problems with it. It had very little use before being removed, washed, and stored.
Let me know if you need any help.
Donovan
 
Minh -

I say go for the BB (course I'm biased)!! An SPS dominant tank with lots of flow is perfectly suited for a BB tank,allowing you to direct your flow throughout the tank. And it's easier to add sand than it is to take it out should you decide the BB look isn't for you.

I got my starboard here:

http://www.cuttingboardcompany.com/custom.asp

As I recall I paid about $140 shipped for the size your looking for.

Just do it Minh!!
 
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