danano's reef - Part II

[danano]

After much research and reading up on the pros and cons of a DSB, I finally did "it". I removed the DSB.

I have also been wanting to lower the reef flat/slope to make more room for growth. This was the added impetus.

It was not an easy decision but I figured it was only a matter of time, less getting a larger tank. But that's at least a few years away.

On April 2nd, with the help of Scarab, ckevin and LinkinPark (in the first 6 hours of my 17 hour undertaking), I removed the DSB and lowered the entire reefscape! Thanks bros!!!

Here are the steps I took:

11:30 Prepared 4x 30g tubs; 3 to house the corals and 1 to hold the LR

11:45 Switched off return pumps for the main tank leaving the sump, prop tank and skimmer running as a standalone system

12:00 Added 10g of freshly mixed salt water into each tub (using oxygenated distilled water) and mixed in 10g of tank water into each tub as well

12:30 Removed all the sps and most of the lps

13:30 Removed all the LR

14:30 Siphoned and scooped out about 80% of the sand leaving behind a thin 1/2" to 1" layer

15:30 Fish, clams and some LPS remained in the tank the whole time in about 40 gallons of water; mixed 40 gallons of freshly made salt water using oxygenated distilled water and topped up the main tank

16:30 Activated return pumps and complete system was running again; water began to clear

17:30 Rebuilt reefscape with 100lbs of LR; lowered the top of the original reefscape by about 5 inches

18:30 - 04:30 Added back all the corals and connected the 3 streams

I was butt tired by the time I was done but now, just over a week later, I feel it was well worth the effort and back ache!

All the fish made it with the exception of one green chromis that I've kept for almost 2 years.

A few of the corals were stressed and the colors slightly washed out from the change but after 3 days, I noticed a gradual improvement in their health and colors.

There were 4 sps colony and 3 frag casualties. These were the ones that sat in the holding tubs the longest. On hindsight, I should have just placed all of them back in the tank first and work on placement later.

I had to frag the large thin branch blue staghorn to fit it back in. This fast grower is now spread out in 3 spots in the tank.

With the lowered reefscape, the Tunze streams are now visible. One is stacked on top of the other at the rear left corner and the 3rd is on the right. With the streams now exposed, the flow has greatly improved.

Here's the tank, 9 days later.

[hermit]

cools.....................

good luck bro.....................

[aCe^bOwleRz]

Look as great as before bro

Keep it up

[surfedelic]

Your light Acro colors looks very beautiful ... do you use carbon ?

You still have a SSB ....the SSB club is getting bigger .... me too .. remove my DSB then go for SSB and now Starboard ....

[jc85]

Nice. Did u bring forward the beautiful hidden Monti Cap?

JC

[danano]

Thanks all!

Surf, I use minimal carbon but I do not think it has any direct affect on colour. And yes, a shallow sand bed it is. I think a little sand is more aesthetically pleasing than a true BB. Plus it helps to keep some of the LR in place. How do you keep your starboard clean?

JC, i did indeed bring the cap forward. It's now closer to the middle and should look nice when it grows out.

[lightningstrike]

great looking dude....... IMHO, a little sand is indeed more aesthetically pleasing than a true BB. (juz like what i hv 2 , juz that i'm using the largest grade of live sand u can ever find to prevent sand storm )

[RAV-65]

Looking great bro... did u do anything to compensate the lower lights intensity now that the height of the SPS is even further away from your T5s?

[AquaRa]

looking good.

[Bandit]

Nice work my friend... hopefully those SPS will be touching the surface in no time?

be interesting to see the corals growth rate now they are further away from the T5s... we may finally get you over to MH

[IanJ]

Danny

Intersesting to see how you get on.

When i moved to fully BB. 2 months on its proving not to be quite so easy. Main problem i think is the waste removal, not just from the fish but also the large amount of rubbish that comes from the rock. Without a sand bed(maybe even a thin one) there seems to be no way to break it down.

I will shortly increase the lower flow in the tank to try to keep any waste in suspension and hence removal.

[surfedelic]

Thanks all!

Surf, I use minimal carbon but I do not think it has any direct affect on colour.  And yes, a shallow sand bed it is. I think a little sand is more aesthetically pleasing than a true BB.  Plus it helps to keep some of the LR in place.  How do you keep your starboard clean?

JC, i did indeed bring the cap forward.  It's now closer to the middle and should look nice when it grows out.

As for the starboard, i will remove as much stuff as i could except for my accidental break off frags ... but currently I am still having a sea cucumber .... probably very miserable by now -- keeping for my new tank which i intend to have a SSB.

Anyway to me I find it really a hussle ... which is why I am experimenting reverse flow for my new tank ... so that the detritus will not get collected at the bottom. Hopefully to make reefing more enjoyable

[Dispar_Anthias]

wow awesome..... all those acans lord??? so many

[yiling]

wow, still as nice as before, just that u will prolly need a nitrate reducer ? and more space to play around with

[Fuzz]

Looks more awesome than before!! I would have love to help you and learn from you... missed the opportunity!!

[FlameDav]

Nice work my friend... hopefully those SPS will be touching the surface in no time?

be interesting to see the corals growth rate now they are further away from the T5s... we may finally get you over to MH

Nuuuuuuu ........ Pls don't give up on T5.

Your tank is 1 of my main inspirations for T5 SPS tanks.

[ckevin]

Like Simon's comment on Constantine's performance on American Idol (13/04/05)

...........'Astonishing'

Bro...you have once again set the standard to beat for the TOTM title. Definitely nerve jolting.

[danano]

Dav, the T5s are staying.

ckevin, aside from Simon's, are those Paula's words you've quoted as well?

Thanks for the kind words Kevin.

But I feel it's not so much about setting standards (to beat) or competition but simply about sharing one's dedication, passion, commitment and discipline/husbandry. It's also about providing an ideal captive environment for our tanks inhabitants - that's the least we can do. Besides, there are many nice tanks out there and some have yet to come out of the closet, take yours for example.

[RAV-65]

Definitely a stunning tank after seeing it with my own eyes today!!

[chucky]

cool like tht can add more coral liao

[jc85]

Hi Dan, I was thinking. Since you went almost Bare Bottomed, will you forsee a problem with NO3 build up or do u plan to upgrade skimmer to control NO3?

Will like to know how u made the decision to forsake DSB for BB.

Thanks

JC

[madmac]

But I feel it's not so much about setting standards (to beat) or competition but simply about sharing one's dedication, passion, commitment and discipline/husbandry. It's also about providing an ideal captive environment for our tanks inhabitants - that's the least we can do....

Whoa, very well said... mind if I use your statement, and stamped it in my heart. You just summed it up for me. Then again, thats exactly how I feel... how did you know?

Dan, if that was from anybody else.. I believed it wholeheartedly... But you're a coral collector... I say it again slowly... you are a coral c o l l e c t o r.. you've got no choice, man... not with those gems in there... no way.

on a more serious note... JC85 brought some serious points which you must have considered... I reckoned they as beautiful with no sand.

[danano]

jc, hopefully my Barr Aquatics SK1600 beckett skimmer will do the job. I'll be monitoring the water parameters and health of the corals closely. I will also continue with my regular water changes, vacuuming of detritus and light feeding.

My decision to remove the DSB was just to have peace of mind and not have to deal with it if an issue did arise in the future. I was already lowering the reefscape and I decided to do it all at one go.

Here's a thread with some interesting info on DSB's in RC

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showt...ght=dsb+article

madmac, as reef keepers, we all have a responsibility towards the marine life that we keep in our tanks, regardless of whether they are gems or not, whether it's a chromis/damsel or a rare angel/tang. We are all coral/fish collectors/keepers in our own unique way.

[jc85]

jc, hopefully my Barr Aquatics SK1600 beckett skimmer will do the job. I'll be monitoring the water parameters and health of the corals closely. I will also continue with my regular water changes, vacuuming of detritus and light feeding.

Ic. Guess it still boil down to taking a calculated risk. Since its almost an impossible task to determine if our current skimmer is abt to support a BB tank, guess constant monitoring for the 1st few months are very important. To me this is a risk too huge to take.

Do keep us updated on ur tank progress. Believe many will like to know.

Cheers

JC

[danano]

Looking great bro... did u do anything to compensate the lower lights intensity now that the height of the SPS is even further away from your T5s?

No. In fact, it was after getting good results with the 8x 54w T5s at mid levels in the tank that made my decision to rescape easier.