Tank downsizing questions

[Anemonee]

Hey all!

47gal with 25gal sump -> 23.7gal no sump

[back story - my tank is going through a serious algae bloom and recovering from what I'm calling a crash. I got lazy and **** got out of hand. I'm currently downsizing and getting back to my proper maintenance schedule but after battling this algae bloom for months now, I've decided to start fresh with a new tank because I'm just not winning haha

I just received my Waterbox Aquarium today and am going to start the tank swap/setup but I have a few question first.]

1. If I use tank water and rocks from my current tank but new live sand, how long do I have to wait before transferring my livestock to the new tank? I know there will be a cycle and I know patience is best, but I don't have to means to keep my livestock in a proper tank with all necessary equipment during the transfer (and potentially long cycle). If it's a short cycle and needed, I can manage a simple short term set up.

2. Would you run the new tank without lights for the first few weeks? And would you add beneficial bacteria to the system to help? I'm worried, since my current display tank is going through its crash, the bacteria won't be helpful. Or what if I ran the new filtration media in my current tank for a bit to help the bacteria grow..?

Lastly, if you have any advice or helpful tips on how to make this transfer / transition go smoothly, it would be really appreciated.


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[Anemonee]

Tank downsizing questions

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[Oldreeferman]

Have no idea what went south on you with no pics and actual data but using the same rocks will just put you back in trouble with algae again if high nitrates or phosphates maybe along with no water changes long term was the issue, or lighting etc. Maybe focus on stabilizing your params and more testing for long term stability might get you back in line.
More background info about what exactly happened would really help here and how old is your setup to date?

 

[Anemonee]

Have no idea what went south on you with no pics and actual data but using the same rocks will just put you back in trouble with algae again if high nitrates or phosphates maybe along with no water changes long term was the issue, or lighting etc. Maybe focus on stabilizing your params and more testing for long term stability might get you back in line.
More background info about what exactly happened would really help here and how old is your setup to date?

This was from a thread I posted a few months back for an explanation.

- - My tank is about 4yrs old and I'm experiencing one of the worst algae blooms I've ever had. It kick started after I replaced my AI Prime cord (at the suggestion of others) as the light was really really dim and flickering. Now that it's at its brightest, this algae is going wild.

All my parameters are as follows
Salinity is at 1.025
Phosphate is at 0 - low so I stopped running my GFO reactor
Magnesium is at 1230ppm - a little low
Alkalinity is at 11kh
Nitrate is at 5.0ppm - so a little high
Ammonia is at 0.25ppm - -

I did have a few things die because of all the algae. It ate up my Duncans, dendro and hammer tree I had. My two clowns died and my royal gramma. That happened about October-November. Algae started about August-September

I'm left with my watchman goby who has been through so much and is a tough cookie but I don't want to push it and lose him. I also have two shrimp and one emerald crab somewhere.

Since then - my levels are still off. Phosphate is low again, and I shut off my GFO and carbon reactors again. Nitrate is still high but the ammonia has dropped. I'm currently doing a black out because the green hair algae is thick again. I just did a water change last Thursday. I've been trying to do them bi-weekly, moving to weekly.

The rock I plan on using is in my sump and since my light burnt out down there, it's not growing the algae like in the display tank. So should I still avoid using it?

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[Oldreeferman]

Hmmm, on a tank of this age no ammonia should ever be present unless you have die off or introduce excessive livestock all at once etc. under normal circumstances.

Im assuming you use RO water, so best to start at the beginning since water quality is everything in a reef tank from beginning to end. If you have access to a TDS meter id check the water entering your DT from the RO, and you also use this same water for TO also i imagine. If you do not have a TSD meter your LFS should be able to check your RO for you.

Maintenance on all the components/filters associated with a RO can easily be forgotten is why im mentioning it if life gets busy.

If your water quality is very good then yes lighting could be an issue depending on the spectrum you have running, what type of sys., and how many hrs. a day it runs.

Another possible issue could be over feeding, i do not know what your total live stock is but what you feed & how much & how often are all interlinked.

Frozen foods are best thawed 1st in DT water in a small cup then filtered thu screen door screen & then the food put back into another cup again with DT water & now fed to the fish this way stops all the liquid excess nutrients associated with frozen brine etc. from adding to the prob with algae.

Flake foods are a bad choice and are about as bad to add as the unfiltered frozen is.

Next, getting your mineral params back in line should be done slowly, with a min of weekly total parms checked until everything is holding at NSW lvls.

You need to get the fuge to do the algae work for you even if you are starting over in a new tank. A working light over Cheato algae in the fuge on at night while the DT light is off is the setup. This will allow the Cheato to grow on the nutrients and keep the DT clear of excessive algae.

I saw no mention of a CUC but this is also very necessary and you probably need a serious algae CUC to start with snails & some Scarlet hermits work together great with no harm to any corals down the rd.

Im running T5HO lighting on my tank and have to change the bulbs at a min every 8-9 months or algae starts appearing due to the spectrum changing, im running a coral plus blue & a violet grow/accentic bulb also both at 50% and it gives a nice balance not too much blue etc.

One last thing ill mention is filtration, its really importaint to keep an eye on what ever filtration you choose to use. And you need to be well, anal retentive about keeping it clean otherwise it is just a nitrate mess. I replace my filter sock every 2 days and it shows it needs it, i wash the dirty ones & re-use them i keep a dozen on hand.

A filter sock is a real godsend for water polishing, and i read no mention of a skimmer, another must have and adjusted to run a wet skim so hopefully you are doing this as well.

Even if deciding to just re-start you will have to still adhere to what im listing as ordinary maintenance procedures and also if the DT has any hard corals in the future then dosing will need to be done as well. If sticking to soft corals & a FOWLR setup then just reef salt will do as coralline will need the additional minerals and its good to have the higher params for the corals & the fish health also.

If you have any phosphate issues or nitrate issues in the future id can the reactor & instead dose NOPOX since it will take care of multiple issues not just one, its a better natural way of carbon dosing with a mix of 3 different types of carbon sources & works really well. I use it on my tank to control these issues & a skimmer is all that is needed along with it to remove the dead bacteria from the sys.

Good luck and hopefully your next setup will do swell.