Tank Restart- opinions please!

[Gibsonnnn]

Hey RC,

After much thought, I am going to restart my tank from the bottom up. I have a 60 gallon tank and plan on redoing everything due to being unhappy with the aquascape and some previous equipment choices.

I have also decided to add live rock to the tank this time around. I will not be able to run a sump due to lack of space. For that reason I plan on running a phosphate and carbon reactor along with a skimmer. Are there any other recommendations you would make to keep my levels in order?

I am running a reefbreeders led which I am extremely happy with, that will be the only piece of equipment that will carry over to the new build.

When it comes to restarting the tank- I will be draining the water and removing all rock and sand. Once everything is removed should I clean the tank with something before adding the live rock and beginning the cycling period?

Again, thanks for all your help RC!:fish1:

 

[Gibsonnnn]

Anyone?

 

[Dkuhlmann]

Do you have a picture of your current setup? I still can't comprehend why you would want to do this, so I guess the best thing is a picture. I mean you already have live rock and sand if you're not covered up with aiptasia or some bad algae I don't get the why.

 

[Gibsonnnn]

I dont have live rock, algae and cyno are also taking over the tank. I will be adding live rock to the tank this time around.

 

[Reef Frog]

A good tank cleaning might give you a fresh start but IMO there is probably no need to sterilize it with bleach unless you had some unusual problems with parasites, infections or a really nasty pest algae. But it might not hurt either. Up to you.

Not sure if you want to have any mechanical filtration?

 

[Dkuhlmann]

The rock becomes live when the nitrogen cycle is done, your sand and rock have been live ever since then. Algae and cyano can be taken care of. What's to say if you restart your tank they won't come back again? I can assure you that they more than likely will.

We can help you get rid of what's going on in your tank. There is no need to restart it. And again your rock is now live and has been since you first cycled your tank.

So lets see a picture of your tank and please post a set of water parameters and what kind of lighting do you have and how long do you run the lights.

 

[Dkuhlmann]

You don't need a canister filter with having live rock. They do the filtering for you and add a skimmer like you said. The canister filter is a nitrate trap and totally useless. IMO

 

[Gibsonnnn]

Thank you very much for the input, definitely appreciated. Phosphate reactor a good idea though? I will post a picture of the tank once I get home. The algae I am battling on top of the cyno seems to be pretty invasive. It's a vine like algae that does not go away even after I try to remove it manually.

 

[rffanat1c]

I don't run any of those gadgets. It was MY experience that time was required rid me of my algae. I had brand new rock that leached phosphates and caused a hair algae issue. Increase your flow and feed less and your cyano should go away. Also suck it up, maybe turn down your lights if need be and try a three day lights out period. i agree a restart is probably not necessary, but maybe you need to upgrade some parts depending on what you bought. I had a built in skimmer inside my sump that worked like junk.

 

[Dkuhlmann]

Phosphate reactor is only good if you need one. You may not actually need it. Lets get some pictures and a fresh set of parameters and answer the other questions I asked earlier and we'll get to the bottom of your problems and help you solve them.