My 20-Gallon (Tall) Softie/lps Nano-Reef!

[Acielot]

If there is a leak you should be able to see a noticeable amount of salt creep on the outside of your tank. You are lucky that the GSP is growing for you. I haven't had much luck with it yet.

 

I really want mine to cover a good portion of the back wall to add some unique movement.

[Fishgirl2393]

I do have salt creep more on one side (the side with the suspected leak) of the tank but it never gets bad because I always clean it off quickly.
I like GSP and hope it continues to grow well. I have heard horror stories though about it covering things completely (SPS corals and clams usually) so I'm watching it closely.

[Fishgirl2393]

Well, it looks like my royal gramma will be here tomorrow! The tank is ready (it has been up for 6-months) and the fish will go into it immediately (since it's the first fish being added, I'm not worried about quarantine like I normally would be). So, pictures will be coming as soon as I can get them (possibly not tomorrow because I have a final exam on Friday).

[Fishgirl2393]

Gramma is here! In the tank now!

[Fishgirl2393]

Here are the promised pictures (including the gramma!)... the candycane coral is recovering quite fast now that the flesh isn't being blown around (it looks much better than even this picture which was taken after recovery started).

[Fishgirl2393]

I've been watching the tank for a while now because I think there may be a VERY minor leak. The water level is dropping faster than evaporation usually causes in this tank and the salinity is not going up enough compared to the water missing. There is also caked salt on ONE side of the tank on the wood stand. However, the corals and fish are doing GREAT (gramma has excavated a cave for itself). The corals are all looking good (candycane looking better and better!). I'm going to watch this problem (it has been going on for a while now) to see if I can find out if it really is a leak (it seems like it) and then will take measures to fix/replace the tank (I'll need help with the transition if I find that it is leaking).

[Eclipse]

So if there's a leak, look to see if the stand is wet and inspect to see if there are any cracks anywhere.

[Fishgirl2393]

If there is a leak, it is very small/slow and is a seam leak (silicone break). The stand seems slightly wet on the SURFACE but thank goodness it is not wet all the way though (I would be very concerned about structural issues if it were). I'm watching closely for a couple of days (I'm at home) and will then make the decision to either seal or replace it. What do you suggest? The salt (very hard caked and NOT like salt creep) on the one side of the stand (nowhere else) is really freaking me out because I'm concerned about structural problems that could come.

[jedimasterben]

If you suspect a leak and a compromised stand, do the math and figure out which is more expensive - replacing flooring and dealing with around 15 gallons of water on your floor or replacing the tank and stand.

[Fishgirl2393]

Oh I am planning on doing something about it ASAP because I certainly don't want a disaster! I just can't get a tank right now (my LFS doesn't have a plain 20-gallon right now and Petsmart in my area only has a 20-gallon long). I'm not sure if my lights (4x24watt 24" Odyssea T5HO) will work with a 20-gallon long (will they?). I don't THINK the stand is really badly messed up (yet) and I am only watching for another day or so (I'm watching water levels as well as salinity and salt creep to make SURE it is a leak). I don't know if it would be worth it to try and seal it. Last time I dealt with silicone, it was a pain.

[bdevillier19]

a 4X24 t5 will working fine on a 20 long. i am currently using a 4x24 aquatic life and keep everything from mushrooms to sps and my RBTA. the only thing i'd do is ditch the odyssea bulbs for ati's

[Fishgirl2393]

I'm in the process of changing the bulbs. I'm doing it slowly (1 bulb at a time) so I don't shock the corals.

[jedimasterben]

If you ordered those cheap bulbs you linked to a while back, I wouldn't bother waiting.

[Fishgirl2393]

The bulbs I'm getting are good. My LFS ordered them and I don't want to "light shock" the corals. The lights were noticeably brighter with the first bulb addition. I'm heading to the LFS today to check out their tanks. A member of my reef club said they thought the store had a couple (I haven't seen them but maybe they're right about that!). I marked the water level (with an eyeliner pencil on the outside) last night and it was lower this morning so I think it is fairly evident that I have a leak since there were no lights on to speed-up evaporation last night!

[Fishgirl2393]

New tank should be here Wednesday. The LFS saw my post on our local reef club page and ordered two (in case one breaks during shipping) 20-gallon tall tanks (they had 20-gallon longs but no talls) immediately this morning. Plan is to move fish/corals to a temporary tank/container and save as much water and rock as possible. Since I don't have a DSB, I've been told it would be OK to save the sand (since it is fairly new) so if that is the case, I would transfer it and re-aquascape the tank and then wait till it cleared, test and add everything back. Maybe also add a good dose of Microbacter7. Does this sound like a good plan? Any tips (to keep it from cycling or killing stuff)?

[Fishgirl2393]

I want to have my plan completely figured out before I start the moving over of stuff so any tips would be helpful! Is my plan (listed in post above) a good one?

[jack1978]

Use all new water ( match salinity and temp), I'd buy new sand...but you can use your old tank water and rinse your existing sand really well. Transfer over your rock and sand, add new water, done.

No cycle to worry about.

[Fishgirl2393]

Tank should be in today. So, can I use mostly old water (the parameters are good) and use about 5-6 gallons new? And if I use my existing sand bed, should I vacuum it while it is still in the old tank to get any gunk out? Once I get everything (rock, sand, water, equipment) in the new tank, should I add the corals (after everything clears up) and fish immediately (if I don't need to, I'm not sure where I'll put them but I might be able to find somewhere)? Should I dose Microbacter7 or some other bacterial booster product? I just want this to go smoothly and don't want to lose stuff.

[jedimasterben]

Why not just add all new water?

 

if you're planning to reuse the sand, here is what I would do if you don't want to rinse it outside under a hose to make sure to get everything out of it. Put it in a small container or tank and run with a HOB or canister filter stuffed with mechanical filtration. Stir up the sand constantly. Change out the filter floss or pad when you notice a color change in it, or every time/other time you stir the sand. Do that until when you stir the sand nothing happens.

 

Then, put back into the new tank, add Microbacter if you want, it certainly won't hurt anything, and you should be good to go.

 

The best advice I can give is to take your time. Pull your rocks out and immediately put them into a container or bucket of clean water with an airstone or powerhead, and a CFL light bulb with a reflector over them. That will give plenty of light for the corals and will keep everything in it happy and alive so that you don't need to rush moving everything around and getting everything set back up.

[Fishgirl2393]

OK. Is it not a good idea then to do it all in one night? A member of my reef club did it in 5 hours but if that's not a good idea, I'd rather be safe.

[jedimasterben]

It's fine to do it in thirty seconds, but take as much time as you need to do it right. Don't rush yourself or you'll forget things or make mistakes.

[Fishgirl2393]

Thanks a bunch!

[Fishgirl2393]

Just picked up tank. Will probably do the work (at least start) of taking old tank down and setting the new one up after I eat dinner.

[Fishgirl2393]

Well, the tank (after getting it home and un-boxing it I found this) has a small crack in the corner. Can't set the old tank back up tonight because it is leaking too much (stand had a lot of water on it and has obviously been soaking up some here and there). Corals and fish are going into a rubbermaid container (large-ish) for the night (with filters, live rock, heater, powerhead). Not the most attractive setup, but it'll do for now. The store should be able to replace it for me because the tank has a 5-year warranty (but not till tomorrow obviously).

[Passaggper]

I admire your persistence.