New member, long time reefer

T

Tomark

New Member
Hello all,
New to this site, but I've been in the hobby 20 years. Lots of experience in what not to do :) I have had some victories... kept my first clown fish for well over twelve years, my first tank was a 40 long with fluorescent lights. I got pulled into the hobby when you could go to the LFS and pick out uncured live rock! I loved the mystery of what might grow in the next few months. I feel like todays reefers are better environmentally, but its also been complicated by misinformation and expensive upgrades allowing for less hands-on reefing. I'm not going to tell you to "Get off my reef", but reefing seemed easier 15-20 years ago. So... for the first time, I have been defeated. It started 2 years ago when we lost power for 4 days. I had an emergency tank with a bubbler for fish and my most prized corals and did a massive water change when power was restored. I have been slowly watching my tank get over taken by "Dino's" , cyanobacteria, and somehow... Aptasia ever since.
So here we are.... I will be acid bathing, bleaching, and starting from scratch and hopefully sharing some of that here.
 
D

DaveK

Well-Known Member
I'd say that reefing only seemed easier 15-20 years ago. Today you have a lot more options, and many of the methods will work. You also have a lot more exchange of information via the net. Regretfully we are still plagued by a lot of incorrect, obsolete, or otherwise false information out there. This can make it extremely difficult for new people to take it all in and get correct information.

I would think twice about doing an acid bath and/or bleaching. Both are very messy processes and will also kill off anything good on the rock. Usually a much better approach is to "cook" the live rock. This is done by placing the rock in a container of SW with a heater and a couple of power heads for circulation. You want to keep this with no light. The process is not unlike dealing with uncured live rock. However, instead of waiting a few weeks, until it's cycled, you wait several months until the nitrate readings are zero. Then wait a few weeks more. This will retain a lot of the good bacteria you want on the rock.
 
T

Tomark

New Member
19909FD1-B994-4C27-984F-8A729A7AE402.jpeg
DaveK said:
I'd say that reefing only seemed easier 15-20 years ago. Today you have a lot more options, and many of the methods will work. You also have a lot more exchange of information via the net. Regretfully we are still plagued by a lot of incorrect, obsolete, or otherwise false information out there. This can make it extremely difficult for new people to take it all in and get correct information.

I would think twice about doing an acid bath and/or bleaching. Both are very messy processes and will also kill off anything good on the rock. Usually a much better approach is to "cook" the live rock. This is done by placing the rock in a container of SW with a heater and a couple of power heads for circulation. You want to keep this with no light. The process is not unlike dealing with uncured live rock. However, instead of waiting a few weeks, until it's cycled, you wait several months until the nitrate readings are zero. Then wait a few weeks more. This will retain a lot of the good bacteria you want on the rock.
Click to expand...
Thanks Dave... and I agree, but I’m moving in March and will be in between houses for 2-4 weeks. I’ve never started with bare rock, so the re-seeding process will be new and interesting. I will house my coral in a 20 gallon and start from scratch at the new place :)
 
Blue Space

Blue Space

Well-Known Member
Yep. I lost only a bio-cube's worth of inhabitants... still devastating to lose a favorite fish or rare corals. That's a lot of wasted time, money, and effort down the drain. Most go the battery backup route but with frequent power losses in my neck of the woods it has me seriously considering a whole-home generator. I got lucky this winter but in the past those winter storms knock out the power to my neighborhood. Luckily, it's not more than a couple days before they got the power back on. I can handle my current setup with a couple of bubblers and the fire place keeps things warm enough... However, with a 180 on the horizon I don't want to risk the loss.
 
T

Tomark

New Member
Blue Space said:
Yep. I lost only a bio-cube's worth of inhabitants... still devastating to lose a favorite fish or rare corals. That's a lot of wasted time, money, and effort down the drain. Most go the battery backup route but with frequent power losses in my neck of the woods it has me seriously considering a whole-home generator. I got lucky this winter but in the past those winter storms knock out the power to my neighborhood. Luckily, it's not more than a couple days before they got the power back on. I can handle my current setup with a couple of bubblers and the fire place keeps things warm enough... However, with a 180 on the horizon I don't want to risk the loss.
Click to expand...
I learned a valuable lesson for sure. I have since purchased a generator that can cover our tank and house essentials like the refrigerator. Next year I’ll have a permanent 30 amp plug installed so it’s a 30 second change over.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top