Improving our neglected tank

think_tink13

think_tink13

Member
We have had our tank almost 2 years now. We were very devoted to it but recently we began to ignore it and now we are trying our best to get it looking great. But we really don't know where to start.
Here is our tank as it is...

As you can see our sand is a brownish green color and not very appealing. We had a bunch of hermits but they never helped at all. In fact all they did was kill most of our snails. We have a Mexican turbo snail but he likes the glass and the rocks. Today we moved our power head down towards the bottom of the tank to circulate the water on the bottom and help sweep away some of the junk.
We wanted to buy a golden headed sleeper goby but we think our sand grains are too big for the goby and will cause major problems.
A closer look at our sand..

Our filter is a Marineland biowheel and it is the only part of our tank covered with green hair algae. Inside the filter we have a bag of phosphoban along with the filter cartridges.
Our wonderful filter...

Help us make our tank beautiful!
Any suggestions, advice, and help is greatly appreciated!
 
earlybird

earlybird

Active Member
I would do a series of water changes, remove and replace the sand if you want for some smaller grain sand. It doesn't appear that you have a deep sand bed but I would still be careful removing it and do it over a few weeks. Your tank doesn't look bad at all really except for the hair algae on the sand. You may have to cure the new sand first if you go that route. You could also add more rock and upgrade your filter or even better add a sump. If you don't have a skimmer I suggest you get one. I see snails but do you have fish?
 
think_tink13

think_tink13

Member
Our tank is 38 gal
Our water water parameters are all normal
We did a water change on Sunday. How often should we do one?
We aren't sure how deep our sand bed is. The stand covers that portion of the tank.
What do you mean by curing the new sand? Can't we just buy live sand to add to the tank after we remove some of it?
We are looking into getting a good and affordable skimmer but we are still searching.
We have a gold stripe maroon clownfish but he hides when I take pictures.
 
reefmate75

reefmate75

Member
looks like you only have about 1-1.5" of a sand bed, which is great as i would recomend takeing out ALL of that sand (crushed coral) the next time you do a water change and have about 60-80 pounds of LS ready to go in
crushed coral grows colors like pink, green, BROWN becuase the water isnt makeing it move around at all like sand is normally always moveing going into shade and comeing out and not giveing stuff long enough time to grow on it and thats why its normally whiter looking
i would put a larger hang on filter, a sump isnt really needed for a 38 gallon, but it is a great way to hide skimmers, heaters, and filter median but your going to spend alot of money setting up a sump
dont worry about the clown when you take the CC out and put the LS in as he is very hardy and if you had a ammonia spike he would most likely keep on swimming and never skip a beat
use a razor blade to clean your glass off, its very fast and cleans it really well
 
think_tink13

think_tink13

Member
Originally Posted by reefmate75
http:///forum/post/2528005
looks like you only have about 1-1.5" of a sand bed, which is great as i would recomend takeing out ALL of that sand (crushed coral) the next time you do a water change and have about 60-80 pounds of LS ready to go in
crushed coral grows colors like pink, green, BROWN becuase the water isnt makeing it move around at all like sand is normally always moveing going into shade and comeing out and not giveing stuff long enough time to grow on it and thats why its normally whiter looking
i would put a larger hang on filter, a sump isnt really needed for a 38 gallon, but it is a great way to hide skimmers, heaters, and filter median but your going to spend alot of money setting up a sump
dont worry about the clown when you take the CC out and put the LS in as he is very hardy and if you had a ammonia spike he would most likely keep on swimming and never skip a beat
use a razor blade to clean your glass off, its very fast and cleans it really well
The clown may be fine but what about xenia and mushroom? We really want to remove the CC. Someone on another post recommended sifting the sand and removing the larger pieces that stay in the net. That way we can add the sleeper goby without worrying. If we take out the live rock that doesn't have coral how long can we leave it out as we change the sand? I really want to get this done now. Tomorrow is my last day of spring break and I don't think I'll be given another chance to work all day on the tank like this until the very end up April.
And can I take out all the inverts and leave them in a bucket of water from the tank while I do this? The last overhaul our tank had was done by a store employee so this is new to me.
 
earlybird

earlybird

Active Member
I had some time, let me know if you have any questions.
It's really important not to move too much or too fast in this hobby. You're going to have to set aside an hour or two each week for the next month or two.
I think you have crushed coral. This stuff is a nightmare that I haven't had to deal with. You are going to want to remove it. I would remove 1/4 of it at a time. I would do that over the course of a month. So with every water change (once a week 6-8 gallons). I err on the side of caution as really you should never touch your substrate. Be very careful when removing the crushed coral. I would use some tubing to suck the crushed coral out and I would try to evenly remove it. I wouldn't add the new sand until all the crushed coral is gone.
As soon as you can, get 60-80 lbs of sand. You have lots of options but the less expensive route is actually the best route. You can purchase dry aragonite sand but I suggest you do a search on here or start a new thread asking for specifics as to which brand or where to buy. Many people make the mistake of buying certain dry sands that are loaded with bad stuff. You have to rinse this sand VERY well several times until the water is crystal clear and free of dust. You can then add it to your tank slowly through a PVC tube and level it out very easily.
I would recommend then asking around at your local fish stores if they'll give you a cup of their "live" sand that is in their tanks. You would add that to your sand to help seed it with the beneficial microfauna and critters that will be the best members of the clean up crew that will help clean the sand for you. You could purchase bagged sand that claims to have good bacteria but they come with a lot of die off and need to be "cured" or cycled before adding to an established tank. This is really not necessary as the sand is dead and dry sand is a lot cheaper. Bagged sand is not true live sand.
If you go slow and easy you shouldn't have to remove any of your live stock. However, I have a quarantine tank that I would set up in the event your parameters start showing signs of trouble. It's possible that that crushed coral could be holding some nasty stuff if you don't clean it regularly.
You should consider a new filter and some powerheads to get some flow. Sumps are truly the way to go IMO but they are not necessary. They can be as basic or very high tech to include a refugium where you can also house macroalgaes. It's very easy to build your own. There are other options with canisters and other hang ons but more and more are turning away from them. You need more flow, it's good for your fish, sand, rock, corals, everything. Recommended is a turnover rate of 15-30 times/hr for a reef tank and much more if you have SPS corals.
It's a start and my mind is now on food. Good luck.
 
think_tink13

think_tink13

Member
So I spent a good portion of yesterday cleaning the tank. I took out a lot of the CC and replaced it with fine Caribbean sand. All our parameters are normal and our maroon clownfish is happy
We just added a golden headed sleeper goby and he is still getting familiar with the tank. (he isn't in the picture)

My fiance likes the live rock set up but I am still not too sure of it. I know we need a lot more but its also very expensive so we have to add more slowly. And as soon as one is available we are going to add a Hawaiian Spotted Puffer and that will probably be it in terms of fish. From there we are planning on adding corals. We are very excited to have our tank back!
 
subielover

subielover

Active Member
FWIW, I would stop adding fish right now, as you are stirring things up. Just be patient and listen to what people are telling you.
 
kaingers

kaingers

Member
Rock works looks great! I would wait before you add that puffer. Be sure to get some nassarius snails in there to turn over your sand bed and keep it looking good. I would not worry about your xenia or mushrooms, any pain you have caused them from your subgrade swap should go away with time.
 
think_tink13

think_tink13

Member
The puffer isn't going to be added to our tank for a while. They aren't always available and we are currently starting a new nano tank so this one is going to have to settle for a bit. I was just saying its going to be the next addition in the future but not necessarily tomorrow. Our bank account can't handle too many additions at once. Thanks for the concern!
 
earlybird

earlybird

Active Member
That puffer will out grow your tank. They really need a larger tank. Also, he will eat all of your snails and hermits. They aren't reef safe.
If you used caribsea sand or any bagged sand keep a close eye on your paramaters and be prepared to do a water change when the ammonia and/or nitrite show up.
 
think_tink13

think_tink13

Member
We are keeping a close eye on our parameters! So far the algae thats left seems to be disappearing on its own and the xenia seem to be getting a lot healthier with the exception of one little bunch.
We have to do some more research on the next fish we want to get. We had a valentini puffer before and my fiance really wants another puffer.
 
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