I wanna cry!!!!

[nm reef]

Man I do not want to do this post...but I gotta
some of you know I've been learning as I build a 55 gal reef(75+ lbs lr/40 lbs ls/bacpac 2r skimmer/few fish /assorted polyps & shrooms)
well I think I destroyed all the work in one cursed evening
I had a plan to travel(110 miles) to trusted lfs to get 2 new corals and additional sand for my reef
plan was to remove my lr...relocate 1 fish to my fo tank..remove 2 dang trouble damsels..lr was to be put in buckets with pre=prepared sw(same temp and sg as tank)corals and fish were to go to hospital tank(29 gal) that was waiting with near same parameters as reef....when this was done...add 30 lbs carib sea aragamax and 40 lbs natures ocean ls...let it settle ...then rebuild my lr in better design...then return critters
for 2 weeks I've laid this plan out...thought I had it all figured...........was proud of myself 'cause I was starting to know what I was doin
HELL..........
tank is now sitting in a massive cloud....I've got 2 extra mechanical filters running to help it clear up......all my lr is either in the hospital tank or in buckets....all my coral is in hospital tank.....
I fear that my 4 months of successful reef keeping were murdered in one evening..........
nothin ya'all can do to help.....I'll soon be in bed TRYING to sleep....in the morn I home to be able to save what I can............man I just feel like crap
shows I wasn't as smart as I thought
will post tomorrow to let ya'all know how it looks.....hope every thing doesn't die.......DAMN

 

[nm reef]

and please don't flame me.....or hate me for being a newbie reef murderin idiot....I feel quite bad enough already
and I seriously thought I was making a needed improvement............
damn......damn....damn

 

[jacrmill]

man thats tough. one thing i noticed with doing work on an aquarium is that as good as my plan is, my aquarium doesnt care. it never goes by plan. good luck and hope for the best.

 

[broomer5]

I've had to do some similar rework on my 55 gallon reef tank - removed most everything once like you did - and stirred up quite a mess. I freaked out bad.
Concentrate on keeping the fish, corals and LR healthy, plenty of O2 and water movement with powerheads or aeration in buckets.
Adding the LS and moving everything out of tank will cloud the water and make it look real nasty, but fear not, it will clear up. Clean your mechanical filter media ( in a bucket of saltwater ) often if possible while the tank clears and settles. Stack your LR back where you want the pieces, then begin adding the fish and corals slowly - acclimating them as you would if you just brought them home from lfs. Take your time, and I bet it will turn out a lot better than you think.
I would not do a major water change yet, although it is tempting, let things settle down in the tank. In a few days you can redirect powerheads to blow off any sediment that will settle on rocks, or use a turkey baster to clean rock crevices and such.
Hopefully you will not lose any creatures, and in a week or so you'll like what you've acomplished. Your plan was fine.
Let us know how things turn out - and I wish you luck!
Brian

 

[nm reef]

not much sleep last night.......water is approx 60% cleared up........hospital is crowded but everyone is alive(so far)...except for my coris wrasse...he's missing..

 

[mr . salty]

I know things may look bad,but it will settle down.I will bet you that everything will be fine. There is really no way to do a major change like you have with out making a mess of the tank.But it will survive. The only thing I would have done diferent would have been to pump as much water out of the tank before you started messing with the substrate.This way only a small portion of water would be clouded. This clouded water is the sucked out.Then put the rest of the water back in.To be quite honest with you,the WORST possible thing that could happen at this point is if there was some nasty bacteria hiding in the substrate that has now been released into the water.But as I said,This would be "worst case senario"And not very common. Keep your head up,YOU DID GOOD,AND YOUR TANK WILL LOVE YOU FOR YOUR HARD WORK....

 

[coralbeauty]

Why would be flame you! This is a very diffulct hobby. I know how you feel. I did this about 2 years ago when I went from FO to a full reef! I thought I was going to lose all of my fish. The Naso tang was almost black when I finally got them back in the tank. I removed all of the CC and put in non-live sand (I have now switched to LS). All worked out fine. You will most likily be fine, as well. You know the old saying, no pain no gain!
Good luck,
Connie
PS: How could I never flame anyone, even! I put my 55 gallon back into a cycle two weeks ago by over cleaning.

 

[nm reef]

Thx friends.....I'm starting to feel a lil better....about 80% cleared up...got approx 80% of my rock back in...only fish in there is my dragon goby.....and still no sign of my coris wrasse....i fear he died under the sand.....everybody in the hospital is crowded...but doin well......maybe this evening or tomorrow after work I'll start replacing my coral...after that the fish.............this was a well intentioned up-grade that rapidly went to hell in a hand basket....but I'm starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel

 

[nm reef]

WHEW.......just got back from moms......water is clear as a whistle......coris wrasse is out and about....didn't lose a single friend.....all seem well.......plus I've got the domino and blue damsel in the hospital tank.......man.....last night I'd of never believied it........what a mess.......ty...ty...ty......and ty again.......

 

[tnreef]

Hey man I feel your pain.
I was upgrading my tank at the same time you were doing yours. I compleatly changed tanks from my 29 to a new improved 55. Ya I know it is still small but until I get my fish room set up it is all I seem to have room for. I set up a plenum in the 55 wich is probably the biggest change from the 29's DSB. I have been planning this for months and thought it would go realitivly smooth WELL LETS JUST SAY I CAN ALMOST SEE THE BACK OF THE TANK NOW LOL. I have all my fish in my hospital tank except for my Jawfish who commited Harrie Carrie through an opening no more than 2" square

So your change over was more succesful than mine.
The change was for the best and your fish and mine will enjoy it.
Best of Luck, Darryl