PLANNING TO RESTART MT TANK

[staromsa]

Due to super high nutrients level. Hence planning to convert to SPS tank. Seniors please advise and teach me how long is the quickest till i can start adding sps if i intend to restart?

Also mother making noise on my ugly tank. LOL

[Guest]

That's depending on your current equipment setup and live stock ?

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[Admiraltian]

Well, u got to learn how to keep your nutrients down first before taking on sps.

[jxlex]

If the reason for wanting to restart is to expect a shorter time required to get the tank "ready" for sps i think u will be better off learning to manage your present nutrient levels... Its a skill-set that is highly relevant and necessary in this hobby... Resetting will only give you a temporary felling of solving the problem... In time to come the issue will again compound and come after you...

[Slimymadness]

agree with what jxlex says. Patience is the key to success. SPS = Stability Promotes Success ( learn that through RC)

there is no short cut in reefing. if your nutrient is high due to improper tank management, no number of times of resetting will help.

you can start again when you have acquired enough knowledge and is willing to invest time to read up, invest money on good equipment and most importantly be willing to learn; starting from the basic.

As i have mentioned earlier, start slow, with soft corals first as they are more forgiving.

no point wasting money. with a "i want to get started as quickly as possible" mentality, one is doomed to fail even before starting.

hope you heed the advise of other seniors here.

[staromsa]

Thankd slimymadness, i would change the mindset from now on! What if i put it in this way which is, what are the proper procedures in restarting?

[hanafi_weeseng]

This's happen to me last round,thought lps corals seem doing fine in my tank so try my luck on sps but bad move.All sps coral just waste away in the tank.

[jxlex]

Haha... The proper procedure other then the cycling n cleaning liverock probably the same thing... This is getting quite hilarious...

[james72]

You can reset and focus at least 6 months on good husbandry before trying out sps. Reason being you need a stable tank to keep sps. The 6 months please avoid buying fishes, just keep a few herbivores small fishes to tackle algae problem which is quite common during the first 6 months cycling period. IMO for sps, stable water parameters is number 1, any big fluctuations to your kH, Ph, temperature or phosphate level can cause your sps to stn or rtn. A dosing pump or CR is a good investment. Weekly water change and a good Skimmer will help in nutrients exporting. Second on the list would be flow, you need good random water flow. Will be a challenge if your tank is shallow and have a sandbed. 3rd on my list are lights, too strong a light can bleached your sps, too low a light will most likely result in brown sps.

Because sps are sensitive creatures, its worth while to invest in reliable equipment, stick to reputable brands like eheim, arctica, tunze or vortech.....etc

Drop a line if you have any queries, many nice reefers here will try to answer them.

[spkentchai]

Due to super high nutrients level. Hence planning to convert to SPS tank. Seniors please advise and teach me how long is the quickest till i can start adding sps if i intend to restart?

Also mother making noise on my ugly tank. LOL

Take a photo of your current tank....we will give you some feedback. No tank is ugly.

[staromsa]

Im planning to get a 3 channel marine magic dosing pump and dose mg, kh and cal. Or maybe i should just remove everything and let water cycle?

[staromsa]

Bro spkentchai, my tank currently all corals dying from brownjelly all of a sudd. Thats what makes me have the urge to restart..

[staromsa]

Thanks for all response. Appreciate it much...

[[V]tEc]

My advise is restart with lps first. If u cant even keep lps, dont even think of keeping sps.

[weihsiang]

Bro,

Go for it ! If u like it. Never try won't know.

There's always the chance tt you will fail but u can always start small with more forgiving sps. Then add more. The key is to know ur parameters and keep them stable by measuring and adjustin, also do a lot of reading.

As for fastest way to lower nutrients I will recommend Biopellets and GFO. When ur kh stable, nitrate below 5 phosphate 0.03. Can start to intro some cheaper frags to test water.

Just my 2 cents

[weihsiang]

Just to add, u gotta be persistent and consistent. Need patience as well. Go only if ur really keen.

[staromsa]

Alright! Thanks for giving me the confidence once more bro weihsiang.

[illumnae]

Sorry, tagging along this thread as my query is similar.

If doing a tank reboot, would starting with Polyplab Reef-resh system and keeping up with dosing for 6 months before starting on the SPS be sufficient? This would be on a 322 running with a BM Curve 7 skimmer and filter bagged AC.

When switching systems from Biopellets to Prodibio, I made the mistake of removing my Biopellets too suddenly and experienced a nitrate spike. Now more than half my substrate is being covered with red hair algae. Prior to this, I had no issues keeping LPS and clams healthy and happy (I had 2 Maxima/Crocea clams, and very healthy Elegance, Hammer and Frogspawn). Testing my water every week, I find that even after 3-4 weeks, Calcium, Magnesium and kH still remain within normal parameters (kH 7-9, Mg 1400+, Ca 400-460). Could be my clams/LPS don't suck up so much nutrients. If I reboot the tank I intend to get a dosing pump to dose TLF 2 part. Current wc schedule is monthly due to the testing I did above, but will switch to once every 2 weeks if required after the reboot.

If I do the reboot (considering asking iwarna to help me redo the setup from scratch), I want to start things right. Will leave the tank in the dark to cycle for a month with BB additives like Brightwell Microbacter 7, then start up the skimmer and the Polyp-lab reef-resh system after 1 month. Due to space constraints (wife insists that the chiller must be inside the tank cabinet, so sump is very small), I won't be able to run a refugium or FRs for GFO. That's the reason I removed the Biopellets to switch to Prodibio system - to reduce clutter in the sump. I will be keeping my current livestock (only 5 fish) in a QT tank and introduce them into the rebooted tank only after cycling is completed. They will be introduced one at a time over the course of probably 1 month to prevent ammonia spike. The 5 fish are: 3" YT (algae control), 1.5" Percula, 3" Bipartatus leopard wrasse 2" normal red firefish and 2" Yasha goby. I may sell off all the fish except the YT and Percula though (wife has grown attached to these 2), if that is more advisable.

Appreciate comments and suggestions on my planned route of action

[illumnae]

Just to add, my monthly water changes are about 30% each time, so they're pretty large but in line with the 25% monthly water changes recommended by Polyplab for use with their reef-resh system

[staromsa]

Vtec bro, my LPS are fine its just recently last week all keep getting the brown jelly..

[staromsa]

Bro i see no point in u restarting leh. Ur tank seems absolutely fine to me. Mine really like disaster.

[jxlex]

I see no point in anybody restarting

[staromsa]

Hey bro! Youre back!! Hahaha! Why no point??

[staromsa]

Anyway, may i know which is better? NSW OR SALT MIX? WHICH ONE IS BETTER IN TERMS OF CYCLING THE TANK FASTER?

[jxlex]

Hey bro! Youre back!! Hahaha! Why no point??

Imho i render most common problems can be rectified through proper understanding of the system, problem and solution.

A restart might be useful in cases of sever disease/pest out break, excessive use of medication (again might be able to fix with carbon) or in cases where we have to move our tanks location... Correct me if im wrong but i really cannot identify a good reason to do so...

Parameters unstable, many ways to stabilize them; algae out break, look into nutrient control; massive die offs, remove all existing livestock and look into the cause... Things dun happen without a reason and likewise a solution would most likely be present.

Restarting only brings about a short term illusion that everything is under control... Ultimately the same issue like nutrients, etc will come back again... If u do not learn to tackle them, i foresee a restart every now and then.

The nitrification process will always be present whether in an old system or new... Its the ability to recognise, understand and solve the problem that gives you the mileage to maintain a stable system...

Nonetheless, your tank your call... Im just sharing my 2 cents

This hobby may not be tough but i believe most would agree, to make any progress in it, u require a fair amount of dedication and patience. Have fun bro!