Dipping Into The Salty Side

[Boundava]

So it's been a while since I updated on the tank shenanigans with the 38 gallon.

After doing a 90% water change down to the substrate I refilled it completely with new salt water, ran it for a month and tried a (what I assume to have been well acclimated) molly as a guinea pig to see if there are any more issues with the tank being able to actually keep fish. The Molly didn't make it to the next day. That could have been because I did too fast of an acclimation and it wasn't ready to go in the saltwater or because of any residue in the tank.
Another 3 weeks I added a damsel fish which lasted longer, about 5 days, but ultimately died as well.

Because I'd like to keep more than snails and corals in the sink I am going to be tearing it down completely, removing the substrate the filter the live rocks everything.
I will then refill the tank with fresh water and some bleach and allow it to run for a day or so in the hopes of cleaning the filter out as well and then do a 100% water change add a bunch of safe to the water and allow that to run for a couple days before I do a 100% water change again and also I had a bunch of safe to the water and run it for another couple days.

Once I'm sure that I have worked out all the bleach in the system then I will go ahead and clean the tank and hopefully reset it.

I have moved all my corals and two of my live rocks that have mushroom corals on it into my 13 gallon. I will not be keeping any of the other live rocks but replacing them with a mixture of live and regular rocks. I also have a reverse flow under gravel filter that I will not be replacing. I purchased new hoses and new filter media for the Fluval 307 that I have set up on the tank. Also hoping that the little bit of bleach in the water will help decontaminate my current makers as I'm not sure how much plastic has absorbed any of the scorpion fishes toxins. I've never had a saltwater fish tank that had a scorpion fish dying it so I'm not sure what the issue could be but I'm trying to cover all my bases.

It's a bit overwhelming but my plan of attack is:

1. Remove the remainder of live rocks and drain the tank as much as I can.
2. Remove the substrate going through it to pull out any snails that I can find and staying away from the bristle worms.
3. Pull out the undergravel filter and clean the bottom of the tank as best I can.
4. Remove all the media from the filter and empty it of all salt water.
5. Make a dilution of bleach water and refill the tank, leaving the current makers in the tank to aid in water movement as well as possibly cleaning any toxins or residues from the current makers themselves.
6. An hour or two later try to remove as much of the bleach water as I can, refilling the tank more fresh water and a bunch of Safe. Let the tank run for a few hours at least.
7. Rinse and repeat, but let the tank run for a day to ensure that there are no bleach residues in the tank.
8. Empty the tank and clean the glass of any algae and other residues.
9. Clean out the filter, and redo the tubing system with the new tubes that I purchased.
10. Rinse out 40 lb of dry sand (FUN).
11. Reset up the tank with the sand, and set up the filter with the new tubes and filter media.
12. At the new live rocks and other rocks and add a container of the turbo start bacteria starter.
13. I think I'm going to leave the tank to run for a day or so before I introduce the corals back into the tank.

It's a bit overwhelming, and I got to purchase a couple things before I am able to actually set it up like the live and other rocks and the turbo start.

Anyone have any suggestions on the bleach ratio for 38 gallon? Not sure what kind of concentration I would need that would be safe running through the filter and going through the current makers.

The 38 right now.

View attachment 353748
The 13.5 stocked with coral from the 38.
View attachment 353750

 

[Boundava]

Well I had a little hiccup yesterday as I don't know where I place my python attachments so I could work it with the kitchen faucet. Thankfully I found something off of Amazon that I could get actually this morning. Best thing was that it actually worked with the faucet, so I was able to finish breaking down the 38; by that I mean I remove the salt water from the tank. While the python was working I scooped out the sand and gingerly pulled out as many snails as I could find. I say gingerly because, although it not infested with bristle worms, there were enough.

While the tank was refilling, I went ahead and took the filter and emptied it out of all media and all salt water and just put the media housing- the plastic components, back in so that it can be disinfected as well. I tossed all of the foam, carbon, ceramic media out.

I did figure out the amount of bleach that I needed to disinfect the tank. Although I thought I had the correct bleach at home the one that I had had a fabric protector added to it, so I have to run to my local grocery store to try to hunt down some just plain old bleach because plain bleaches almost impossible to find nowadays they just put so many additives in it. Honestly who needs lilac scented bleach?

I was going to scrape the algae off the glass prior to bleaching it but I decided not to I have to go and get ghost shrimp from my local fish store because Petco hasn't gotten them in over a month and my tank of gross shrimp as backup is empty. Although the ghost shrimp at the local fish store are dollar each versus 79 cents, my leaf fish needs to eat.

So my plan of attack is to wait another 40 minutes or so and then empty the 38 gallon of the bleach water and go ahead and refill it with regular water and a bunch of safe.

Sometime today is supposed to be 59 so I may take the dry sand out and rinse it in a couple buckets. It's 54 right now.

There's no rush for the sand though as I'm going to leave the tank running a couple days with some fresh water and safe. I made do another water change tomorrow, just to be sure.

I also need to make a Brute container of RODI water and make that into salt water over the next couple days. The only issue is this is a 38 gallon tank in The Brute only makes about 28 to 30 gallons, it's listed as a 32 gallon container.

Everything is so very complicated, there's so many damn steps. I still need to get some additional rocks for the tank and then I think I'm going to leave the tank running for a few days once it's set up with salt water and the substrate in the rocks before I move the corals back, although I worry about the corals being stuck in such a small tank for a long period of time and they may not play nice with each other. There's only so much space I could provide between them.

 

[Boundava]

So after a lot of work the tank is up and about 95% done. I have to move the corals back and since some mushrooms are on live rocks there is that bonus. I also need to add the bacterial boost and get some copepods for the tank. Oh and the snails, at least the nassarius and some of the nerites need to be moved back in too, as well as my big trochus snail too. Tank will be running for at least a month before any fish or other inverts go in.

Before sand and saltwater

Right after filling

2 hours later

It's got a bit to go till it clears up. That's the downside to using the dry sand, it's super dusty. I split the 40 lbs between 3 five gallon buckets and rinsed them out over a dozen times. Water went from looking like taupe milk to slightly cloudy. Would have rinsed a little more but it started raining on me. I did put some bonded filter media to help clarify the water. Unfortunately I don't have polyfill anymore, it works the best.

Filter has new foam and biomedia as well as new tubing, except for the tubing that runs from the UV to the filter.

 

[WhistlingBadger]

I never worry too much about dusty sand--once I get some current going it usually settles out in a day or so. I find that very strange, that it seems to settle out faster with current than it does in still water.

Do nerites reproduce in salt water?

 

[Boundava]

No nerites do not produce in salt water. I think that the larva need brackish water to grow and they go back into salt water when they change from larva into baby nerites.
I haven't had a lot of luck with narrates the most recent ones that I got the ox tongue nerites have been doing very well in the tank. They say that like Oliver zebra narrates can do salt water but the ones that I've bought from reef cleaner sites have not lived long enough for me to say that they are good in saltwater tanks.

Funny thing is one of my current makers in the tank I guess has reversed itself, it did this before and I was able to unplug it and plug it back in and it fixed itself. I tried that this time and it's not working. So I just bought another one off of Amazon and it should be here Wednesday. The tank is a lot less cloudy, however upon seeing the substrate I noticed that there were some very low points and as I had some more sand left in a bucket I decided to dump it in which has made the tank a lot cloudier again.

I would have liked to have the corals moved by now but I'll probably wait until tomorrow or until Wednesday when the current maker comes as corals need a decent current otherwise they don't do well.
Chestnut my leaf fish is really loving his tank as it's overgrown with corals in live rocks. I'm thinking of going somewhere and giving him getting him a couple of smaller dry reef rocks to add to the clutter in his tank once I pull out the live rocks that are in there and all the corals.

 

[Boundava]

Here is the tank as of 5pm central

Can't say enough about the light rack my father built...well I was going to make one myself but showing him my plan made him come up with his own and he kinda took the project away from me.

Anyway here is a video of the 13.5 with Chestnut.