SPS Shallow Reef Tank Build Thread

[grimmjohn]

It looks bacterial, like LR hit with copper or antibacterials, or bacterial populations in flux, like it has been scrubbed or bleached or something.
I think your tank would have worked through it, it should have at least been skimmed out instantly by the BK

Reminds me of a friend of mine, he got into cars pretty heavy, bought an Evo, it ran great, fun to drive. But he bought a bunch of JDM stuff and bolted it on, put stickers all over his car cuase he was all about his mods, changed his tachnometer like 4 times, every mod introduced more error and complications, by the time he added the laptop computer to his center console and switched his body kit the second time to account for his new suspension and fix all his persived problems his car was not even drivable on the street and was only a second or two faster than when he bought it stock. Instead of tinkering with what he had and just driving his car and getting to know it by putting a few thousand miles on it he bought a set of magnesium rims.
It sits in his garage now, worth half what the stock model is despite the thousands invested in it.

 

[ClownReef®]

The equipment has nothing to do with anything. I could have bought cheap *** crap and this could have happened as well.

Im gonna get rid of the rock..try luck with new live rock..

 

[ClownReef®]

And down it goes... This crap was EVERYWHERE today.. Thats all goo along the walls. Thick, goo..

Ill be back someday..

The end.

 

[klondike4001]

Probably a stupid question, is there enough oxygen in your system? It might be caused by new organic matter dying off(colorless due to the lack of lighting).

Good luck.

 

[tigerarmy40]

diego let the rock dry out in the sun for a few days then start it back up with some fresh salt water...dont throw in the towl yet!?!?

 

[melev]

That is way too wierd. It is like clear jelly, right? It would really be nice to get a conclusive identification.

 

[ClownReef®]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13551800#post13551800 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by tigerarmy40
diego let the rock dry out in the sun for a few days then start it back up with some fresh salt water...dont throw in the towl yet!?!?

Tiger,

I did. Thats exactly what i did. I took out everything a week ago.. scrubbed everything, cleaned everything with vinegar.. I really dont have the energy to do it again.. Im just gonna clean everything again..throw away that ****ing rock and store all my equipment.. I hope nobody has to go through what i judt did. Its extremely frustrating.

 

[melev]

Vinegar would explain it. Remember when you were asked if you dosed any vinegar? I bet it wasn't rinsed out nearly as much as you thought.

I'd stick the rock in a huge vat of rinse water with powerheads, shaking it out well each day. You don't have that much rock to where this is a huge task.

The rock could then be put in the same vat (after it has been rinsed out) with saltwater and powerheads until you want to run the tank again. Or you could buy new live rock from the LFS or a local hobbyist.

 

[ClownReef®]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13551844#post13551844 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by melev
That is way too wierd. It is like clear jelly, right? It would really be nice to get a conclusive identification.

Exactly..clear jelly. It came out of nowhere. Right now im flushing the system with tap water..gonna throw in a few bottles of distilled white vinegar and let it run for a few days. Im gonna dry it up and might set it up again someday..


EDIT: Marc,


But where did it come from the first time?..

 

[melev]

If you want to just run it clean (full system minus sand and rock), maybe add 3/4 of a gallon of muriatic acid instead. Might as well get it super clean, right? Just be careful around that stuff, as it can sting as well as stain wherever you drip it (including concrete).

Still, it's my favorite cleaning solution.

 

[tigerarmy40]

does muriatic acid have any affect on silicone?

 

[ClownReef®]

Muriatic acid sounds like too much..LOL.. I dont wanna burn the glass off of it..LOL

Im gonna let it run with a **** load of white vinegar.. then dry it off and store it. Seriously, it is exhausting..

 

[rutz81]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13551898#post13551898 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ClownReef®
Exactly..clear jelly. It came out of nowhere. Right now im flushing the system with tap water..gonna throw in a few bottles of distilled white vinegar and let it run for a few days. Im gonna dry it up and might set it up again someday..


EDIT: Marc,


But where did it come from the first time?..

Very sorry to see this happen, clown.....

If it helps I have a bunch of cured, ready to go live rock(Marco Rocks-that has been in a salt water vat for months), that I would send you if you just paid for shipping.

PM me if you're interested; you put WAY too much into this to give up now. Just some words of encouragement.

 

[melev]

I don't know where it came from the first time, but then again I don't know where your rock came from either. I only and always use real live rock from the LFS. It is the core filtration of my tank, and I won't skimp in that area and use baserock.

Vinegar, Sugar, and Vodka all can cause odd effects.

Prodibio, Reefresh, etc may do so as well.

AZNO3 did a number on my tank last fall.

Food, and especially waste, can cause issues as you know. And some of the solutions we implement can cause them too. I've been following this thread since the beginning, and while I'm a fan :lol:, I don't recall all the things you've done and thus can't nail it down for you. I don't have the time to reread the 30 page thread to figure it out, and even then you may not have posted something you did necessarily.

Like the day my tank almost had a meltdown a couple of weeks ago. I didn't know what was going on and things were heading south fast. And even with two phone calls with other hobbyists trying to figure out what was going on, it never dawned on me that I'd actually dosed something that day because it seemed so minor that it couldn't possibly count. Turns out, overdosing Vitamin C can crash the ORP. A freakin' vitamin?! I didn't even recall pouring it in my tank that day (or the day before), simply because it is such a non-item. Turns out I was totally wrong, and with a ton of oxygen pumped into my tank, it survived.

 

[ClownReef®]

Marc,

I never dosed anything. There was even a point in time when i had SPS and fish in there. I bought a clam one day, and thats when this stringy crap came up..but, it could have been something else..thats a far back as i can track it..

 

[ClownReef®]

UPDATE:

Well..it took most of the day to clean all of my equipment, which, is now stored crystal clean in the fish stuff closet. The tank is running right now in tap water/white vinegar. Im gonna let it run like that for a few days, drain it, fill it up with tap water to remove any residuals of vinegar..and then dry it up. Im kinda scared to fire it up again...LOL..

This goo was really thick and hard to remove. Im really freakin scared to start over..LOL

 

[Kornele23]

You can DOOOO IT!!! <~~~~Waterboy reference

 

[jamesdawson]

I'm sorry to hear about the crash Diego.

I hope you start it back up eventually as you have one hell of a nice set-up there.
I would echo what the others have said and get the freshest LR possible if you do set up again.

Take care and come back!

Regards,

James

 

[ClownReef®]

Thanks everybody for the words of encouragement They sure mean a lot.


Ok..sooooo, where could i get some NICE live rock online?

Here in town they sell the nastiest cinder block looking LR for $4.00/lb.


Any suggestions?

 

[rutz81]

I've always liked LiveAquaria. They have all different kinds and was full of life when I got mine from there. On my current tank I got it a few pieces from LFS and seeded base rock. I wouldn't do what I did. Get all live rock, IMO. Glad to hear you didn't throw in the towel!