Thinking about a redo of the 240

H

huskerreef

New member
With all Alans talk about reaquascaping and the fact that my 240 has turned into a Colt and Kenya Tree preserve I am tired of my brown reef look. I have been thinking about a new direction for it. Is there a way to remove all the coral without having to remove all the rock and fish? To pull the rock out I would have to take lights down and some of them rocks barely fit through the opening 4 years ago. Do I just go in and start cutting away, if so what about the remaining tissue and regrowth from there? Will the coral slime from cutting cause a crash and kill fish? I can shut the 240 off from the 620, so it is possible to do a complete tear down....eek. I think a tank full of Acans would be colorful and easier than an sps dominated tank. Any thoughts issues or advice would be great.
 
Any colt/kenya tree that you cut off will regrow from the base. Those corals are really resilient, so I'm not sure if smothering them with something like muriatic acid or kalk paste would totally rid them of your tank. If they were mine, I'd leave the rocks outside for a night or two while it's still this cold out to freeze/kill them. I guess it depends on how many you have, how many you want to live with, and how much of a "renovation" you really want to do (or your wife wants you to do). Don't think I've ever seen a 240 full of acans :spin2:
 
I actually had very good luck getting rid of the unwanted softies in my tank. I had GSP, kenya, colt, anthelia, and xenia that I wanted to remove from certain spots or remove from the display tank entirely. This is the method I used:

- Cut the stalks off as close to the rock as possible with scissors
- Get a siphon tube going. Go back and clip any chunks or larger pieces out with the tubing next to it, so that it sucks up those extra clippings
- Turn flow down on the tank
- Mix heavy kalkwasser paste and heat in the microwave until is near boiling
- Use a large syringe and paste the areas of the rock where the coral's base was
- Wait until the next night, then go back and siphon out the kalkwasser paste. I used a toothbrush next to the top of the siphon tubing to help scrub off what was left.

With the volume that you have, you probably don't need to worry as much about overdosing kalk or coral sliming. I know you had some pretty large colonies though. You could always break it down into sections and repeat the process for a few nights. If it's a lot of work to take the rock out or there are other obstacles, it might be worth giving the kalk paste a shot.

Are you focused more on just replacing the corals that are in there or are you considering reaquascaping too?
Are there any corals currently in the display that you want to keep?
I like the idea of some SPS in the display with LPS hanging out in the lower light areas. Just my personal preference though. I'd like to get a few nice LPS colonies once my tank is rebuilt. Are you looking at T5s for this tank or what was the current lighting setup?
 
I'm just happy with how brown the tank has turned into. The Kenya and Colts have taken over and its just plain boring and uninspiring. I really like my rock work so I would rather not remove it. It would be nice to start over from scratch and put back the pieces I want to keep, I have a lot of tube worms, sponges and othe goodies that you would hate to lose by removing rock and freezing it to keep the coral from coming back. I may switch out the lights at some point but for now its 250w mh with 14k hamiltons. The other issue is I cant reach all the way to the bottom to get at some of the stuff. Is there some long handled scissors out there? I may start cutting away this weekend and try your methods Alan.
 
huskerreef said:
I'm just happy with how brown the tank has turned into. The Kenya and Colts have taken over and its just plain boring and uninspiring. I really like my rock work so I would rather not remove it. It would be nice to start over from scratch and put back the pieces I want to keep, I have a lot of tube worms, sponges and othe goodies that you would hate to lose by removing rock and freezing it to keep the coral from coming back. I may switch out the lights at some point but for now its 250w mh with 14k hamiltons. The other issue is I cant reach all the way to the bottom to get at some of the stuff. Is there some long handled scissors out there? I may start cutting away this weekend and try your methods Alan.
Click to expand...
Check these out :) Not cheap though :(
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=13912
 
I have a set of the forceps similar to those that are about 16" long, just sitting in the basement. If you want to buy them I'd happily sell them to you for a frag.
 
We actually got a bit bored of lack of movement in the tank and decided to get a huge colt and big sinularia today lol!

jd474 said:
Don't think I've ever seen a 240 full of acans :spin2:
Click to expand...

The center section of my sump that has a few acans that fill it up pretty well is about a 240 (deciliters)...
 
Sometimes an all SPS tank seems to not be alive because there isn't much movement, but Jim's tank was completely over taken by the colt and kenya trees. It was kind of amazing how much a difference it made to take that stuff out (maybe Jim will post some before and after pics hint, hint).
 
I was going to post pics tonite but spent to much time installing a loaner reeflo hammerhead pump from PCP to keep my newly renovated system alive:mad2: It has a drip of a leak still but at least there is water running through the system. What a huge pain and a great time for this to happen sunday late afternoon. Now I need to overnight a new pump. Thinking about a new hammerhead, flow seems alright. Some may say its a little undersized to run everything. I am open to and taking suggestions up until about noon tomorrow otherwise its to late I will have ordered. And maybe I will find some time to post some new pics.
 
lvpd186 said:
Sometimes an all SPS tank seems to not be alive because there isn't much movement, but Jim's tank was completely over taken by the colt and kenya trees. It was kind of amazing how much a difference it made to take that stuff out (maybe Jim will post some before and after pics hint, hint).
Click to expand...


I know what it used to look like, I used to service it. I actually got a look from the LFS guys that know me when I picked up the colt and sinularia today like, 'why the heck would you want that?' haha. I will always like it all!

Jim I would say to go for the Reeflo Tiger Shark over the Hammerhead, more head is always good!

Here's some bigger ones:
http://advantagebeadfilter.net/artesianpumps.htm
http://advantagebeadfilter.net/cascadepumps.htm
 
huskerreef said:
I was going to post pics tonite but spent to much time installing a loaner reeflo hammerhead pump from PCP to keep my newly renovated system alive:mad2: It has a drip of a leak still but at least there is water running through the system. What a huge pain and a great time for this to happen sunday late afternoon. Now I need to overnight a new pump. Thinking about a new hammerhead, flow seems alright. Some may say its a little undersized to run everything. I am open to and taking suggestions up until about noon tomorrow otherwise its to late I will have ordered. And maybe I will find some time to post some new pics.
Click to expand...

Man, that really sucks. I don't have any experience with a two-level system or dealing with that kind of head loss. Not sure how much head loss or obstacles are between the basement and upstairs display. I think Matt H. got a Hammerhead to do this on his system, but that was for a 125 display. How does the Hammerhead seem to be working on the temporary setup? What did you have before? If you don't get anything figured out by then and you're ready to order, it might be worth calling Reeflo. I've talked to them before and they were pretty helpful with both replacement parts and answering a few questions.
 
Before I had a pool pump, the hammerhead seems put out similar flow, maybe slightly less. I have been researching the Red Dragon pumps but not ready to spend 2000 on a pump thats been recalled in late 2009 and sounds like a newer version to be coming out. They are sweet with the controlable flow, saw a video and almost bought one but started researching and was disapointed on what I found out. Right now looking at the Reeflo Tiger Shark as the likely replacement
 
Well after hours of research and anguish, I decided to go with the Reeflo Tigershark. Ordered it today. I was really liking the concept of the red dragon II withe controllable flow, compact size, ultra quite but at $2000 for a 6600gph and a total recall in August 2009 along with statements that stock in the USA is low because they're waiting possibly on the next generation to come out so nobody has one, hard to get parts out of Germany and so on. I am thinking about going with a Mag 18 or 24 for my chiller/skimmer and isolate them from the main return pump.
 
I would also like to point out and thank Jeff at PCP for loaning a pump at 6:50 sunday night and Chad at Ruff for offering to open up shop if I didn't find one at PCP. We have a great group of hobbyist in town who are always willing to help a guy out in a critical moment.
 
Installed the tigershark this weekend, noticably more flow than the hammerhead. Water level in both tanks about 1/2" higher on the overflows than with the hammerhead.
 
I know you have mixed feelings about the local marine club, but you should host another tank tour. I haven't seen your setup since it was a lagoon a few years back.
 
roster said:
I know you have mixed feelings about the local marine club, but you should host another tank tour. I haven't seen your setup since it was a lagoon a few years back.
Click to expand...

My feelings about The Nebraska Marine society definetly aren't mixed:blown: LOL, But I would let you stop by and take a look any time, just let me know and I would enjoy showing off the changes.
 
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