Recovering a neglected tank

[Epster]

Hi there,

So I could do with some friendly advice which I know I will get from you amazing people

It's been about 2 years since I last posted due to all sorts of problems in my life, which I won't go into here. Anyway, Im glad to say that all of that is over now and I am back to 100% and feeling my normal self which is totally amazing!

Sad to say that during this time I sadly let my attention to my beloved tank slip. I kept up with my water changes, basic cleaning and feeding regimes but didn't do anything else and now have a massive outbreak of aiptasia which have really taken over my live rock. I only lost one fish during this time which is a bonus as I thought more would go.

So I have been thinking of ways round this problem as I now have my mojo back and want to start recovering / developing my tank again.

I have a decent amount of live sand in the tank at the moment and I was wondering if I added some biological media (ceramic rings / bio balls or such like) into the media chamber of my RSM250 and left that for 4-6 weeks for the bacteria to colonise the media, would I be safe in then removing the infested rock and readding other rock? I was thinking about something like Marco rock which my LFS stocks. I only have 5 fish and a cleaner shrimp in there at the moment so I don't think that the biological load would be that great.

I know that I could fight the little monsters but I would then be worried not getting them all and about future outbreaks.

I have also ordered some replacement light bulbs as it has been about 12-18 months since I last changed them.

Hope you guys can point me in the right direction.

Peace
Epster

 

[DaveK]

If you have been keeping up with your water changes, then all you should need to do is to test you water parameters, and adjust them as needed.

As for the system itself, you can stir up the top inch of sand and use a power head to blow the dirt out of the live rock. That will take care of most of the dirt inside the tank.

The aiptasia are another issue. Those can be really hard to get rid of. It's best to fight them off one at a time. It will take awhile but it is effective. Once you get the numbers down, you'll have to keep an eye on the system and zap any new ones as soon as you find them.

If you don't have the patience to get them one at a time, you may have to remove the live rock and give it a bleach bath followed by several FW baths. It will take about a week to process one batch. Only do about 1/4 to 1/3 the LR at a time, because you'll need to maintain the biological base in the tank. You'll need to give the tank about a month, to repopulate the bacteria base in the bleached LR, before you take on the next batch of LR.

Save your money on the biological media. It's almost useless in a reef system where you have plenty of live rock, and long term tends to become a nitrate factory unless you clean it often.

You did the right thing by changing the light bulbs.

You tank can come back very quickly, and hopefully with out too much work. Other than the aiptasia problem, your not too bad off.