Hammerstone's Tank

[seabass]

Break it down.

Stop, Hammer time.

[Hammerstone]

With your snail shipment, you must check to see if they are alive. I place them right side up in one area of the tank, and they scatter. If any don't move, I'll examine them closer. You can smell them if you are unsure (a dead snail has quite an odor).

 

I agree, in your display tank, stick with siphoning it out.

 

When I told you to use a toothbrush to remove organics before the peroxide dip, I was talking about doing this outside the tank (in a separate bucket).

 

You just have to break it down and quit spending hours on temporary fixes.

I understand what you are saying. The temporary fixes are just until I do the deep clean. Believe me I don't want to spin my wheels and keep wasting my time and strength. I bought the other six bottles of

Peroxide.

 

When I remove the cyano it mostly comes off in sheets. I grab onto it with the bristles of a toothbrush and gently scoop it out onto paper towels. Siphoning doesn't even work at this stage. I am as frustrated as you are. I want to do this next weekend.

 

If I kept any water that was in my tank wouldn't it reseed the new setup with cyano? I'm frustrated. I need my husbands help too. It just sucks. I need him for the heavy stuff and we have to get salt, a powerhead, and I have three buckets. Oh and sand. Believe me I am very upset with the tank right now and just want it done now.

Break it down.

Stop, Hammer time.

ok you cheered me up!! It's my last name you know? Lol.

[seabass]

If you want to use all new water, you can. However, it's not entirely necessary. Cyano is feeding off of the organics (and nutrients) in the tank. In a clean tank, cyano won't take hold. Plus (if necessary), after your tank is clean, ChemiClean can effectively knock out any remaining cyano. However, I wouldn't recommend ChemiClean for your tank as it is now.

[Hammerstone]

If you want to use all new water, you can. However, it's not entirely necessary. Cyano is feeding off of the organics (and nutrients) in the tank. In a clean tank, cyano won't take hold. Plus (if necessary), after your tank is clean, ChemiClean can effectively knock out any remaining cyano. However, I wouldn't recommend ChemiClean for your tank as it is now.

no I would clean the tank, run the chemiclean, some of the leftover would come off but it would come right back. Ran it four times. I'm done with chemiclean, unless after the big cleaning there is some, but then I will feel quite devestated.

[Tamberav]

Since you only have two clowns, you could downsize to a 10g or 15g if you wanted. I am not saying that because I think this tank is beyond repair, its definitely fixable. It just seems like you are stressed in some of your posts and you say you need your husbands help. Maybe with a smaller tank you wouldn't need his help and you could make it your own? Just an idea, I just started out my IM10 with 2 clowns and some tiny gobies and the maintenance is much easier than my larger tanks have been. It also requires less water which is a huge plus for those without a RODI.

[Hammerstone]

Since you only have two clowns, you could downsize to a 10g or 15g if you wanted. I am not saying that because I think this tank is beyond repair, its definitely fixable. It just seems like you are stressed in some of your posts and you say you need your husbands help. Maybe with a smaller tank you wouldn't need his help and you could make it your own? Just an idea, I just started out my IM10 with 2 clowns and some tiny gobies and the maintenance is much easier than my larger tanks have been. It also requires less water which is a huge plus for those without a RODI.

yes very stressed lol. But iam that way naturally and this is a big step for me. I don't plan on downsizing anytime soon. I just worry a lot. Anxiety and bipolar. I love fish and I want my beautiful tank back and more corals. I just have to step up and rely more on myself than leaning on someone else.

[Tamberav]

yes very stressed lol. But iam that way naturally and this is a big step for me. I don't plan on downsizing anytime soon. I just worry a lot. Anxiety and bipolar. I love fish and I want my beautiful tank back and more corals. I just have to step up and rely more on myself than leaning on someone else.

 

I understand, once you get that rock treated and some new sand, it will be a breath of fresh air!

[Clown79]

Cyano is toxic, that could be what did in the snails.

 

Snails stink when they die, their waste even stinks. I worked in a store and had the lovely opportunity to clean the snail tanks- the smell of the water was DISGUSTING! Its the kind of stink that sticks to your skin and nostrils...

 

Hermits- i have found red legged(not scarlets) and the zebras go after snails more than the others.

The zebras are the ones with the black/white banded legs. They particularly like nassarius and ceriths.

 

Hermits I have never seen going after snails- scarlets and halloweens. Great cleaners.

 

Hammerstone, I agree with seabass- scrub the rocks in a bucket.

[Hammerstone]

There was no smell when I received the order so they were healthy snails.

[Astinus]

https://www.reefcleaners.org/receiving-shipments

 

Quote from this Page.

 

"Cerith snails behave oddly. They are often slow off the bat, taking up to 72 hours to move. They spend most of the day laying about the sand, not moving. This is especially so if the sand is dirty, and there is plenty of food for them there, especially richer foods, like cyano. In those cases, you can see the movement usually after 72 hours best by checking out algae coverage, looking for trails, and evidence of eating. "

 

There is ALWAYS Hope!

[Hammerstone]

You guys aren't going to believe it. Snails are slowly making their way onto the sand bed like they had buried themselves. I counted about five. Two or three different kinds. I am unfamiliar with all but the nassarius. I think the crabs must have been eating the dead ones. They are very small but very slowly going in the sand and making white evidence of where they are coming up.

 

Thank you for the hugs and post Astinus!!??

[Pjanssen]

Why is this thread not in the members tanks area?

[Hammerstone]

I've never been there. Is there something wrong?

[seabass]

Nah, nothing's wrong. However, eventually you'll probably want to start a thread in the Members Aquarium forum.

[fishfreak0114]

I wish I'd done that. Mines in the AIO forum.

[seabass]

I wish I'd done that. Mines in the AIO forum.

You can always request that a moderator move it for you.

[fishfreak0114]

You can always request that a moderator move it for you.

Mind if I ask how to do that?

[seabass]

No problem, just send a message to one of the active moderators: http://www.nano-reef.com/index.php?app=forums&module=extras&section=stats&do=leaders

[Pjanssen]

I've never been there. Is there something wrong?

 

nothing wrong at all. I was just curious. Sometimes I don't have time to check everywhere, and I usual go to members first. You should definitely check out the members sub forum. Lots of great tanks and threads to look at.

[seabass]

nothing wrong at all. I was just curious. Sometimes I don't have time to check everywhere, and I usual go to members first. You should definitely check out the members sub forum. Lots of great tanks and threads to look at.

Funny, I do just the opposite. For some reason, I rarely visit the Members Aquarium forum.

[Pjanssen]

Hammer, I did it! I just replaced all of my sand. cleaned my whole tank. Scrubbed all the rock. Hand picked out hair algae from between Zoas before dousing with peroxide. It took me all day yesterday, and I was still rearranging corals today, but it wasn't too bad. I just had to commit the day to. Hubby did help empty buckets during breaks of the golf tournament. I documented most of it in my tank thread so you can see.

[Hammerstone]

Hammer, I did it! I just replaced all of my sand. cleaned my whole tank. Scrubbed all the rock. Hand picked out hair algae from between Zoas before dousing with peroxide. It took me all day yesterday, and I was still rearranging corals today, but it wasn't too bad. I just had to commit the day to. Hubby did help empty buckets during breaks of the golf tournament. I documented most of it in my tank thread so you can see.

Congratulations!!! You must feel so relieved!! I'm proud of you!! Where did you do it? Inside or outside? What did you do with your LR while you were working? How long did you work on your rock before it made it back into water? Do you have any fish? Can you link me to your thread?

 

Once again I'm very proud. I had no idea I wasn't going alone on this journey right now!!

 

I've got tons of algae to rip out. I don't think the sand should be too hard. I still need some supplies and sand. I got a sand scooper from the grocery store. Repurposed kitchen thing. There are slots in one side that I'm hoping I can catch snails if they are buried. I think I'll put the RFAs in with the fish. ??? < to you!!!

[seabass]

I'll try to let PJ answer what she did, but I'll add a couple of comments about your questions. Her link is in here signature (under her posts).

Five gallon buckets are your friends (and if you can't lift a full one, you can bail out some water with a smaller container before you move it). If you prefer, a plastic storage container usually works too. Wash them out with a vinegar solution if they are brand new.

Live rock can be out of the water for several minutes. But you should keep it in water when working on other things.

I don't want you working too long getting the algae off the rock prior to dipping them. You want to keep moving forward. It's not imperative that you get it all. Try limiting it to around two minutes a rock.

[Hammerstone]

Are you sure this isn't going to cause a cycle and kill my clowns? It's late, I'm worrying.

[Pjanssen]

Congratulations!!! You must feel so relieved!! I'm proud of you!! Where did you do it? Inside or outside? What did you do with your LR while you were working? How long did you work on your rock before it made it back into water? Do you have any fish? Can you link me to your thread?

 

Once again I'm very proud. I had no idea I wasn't going alone on this journey right now!!

 

I've got tons of algae to rip out. I don't think the sand should be too hard. I still need some supplies and sand. I got a sand scooper from the grocery store. Repurposed kitchen thing. There are slots in one side that I'm hoping I can catch snails if they are buried. I think I'll put the RFAs in with the fish. < to you!!!

 

To link to my page, just click on the blue line at the bottom of this post that says "bc29 build". Most of the work was done inside. I pulled the carpet back and put towels around, as well as having a hand towel handy for frequent drying of hands and clean up of little oopses! My fish and snails are in a clear plastic storage bin with power head and heater. Live rock was put in a separate clear plastic bin with water. most corals went in with the fish, but a few were too big and went in with live rock. I put a lid loosely on the fish container in case they wanted to jump ship. I did was the bins with plain white vinegar then wiped dry with paper towels. I had two 5 gallon buckets, one with peroxide and salt water, one with just salt water- both about 1/2 full. My rocks did not have as much broadcast algae as yours, but I did have to hand pick out hair algae from between delicate corals. Even with that, they were out of the water less than a minute or 2. I then swished them in the peroxide solution for about 30 seconds, then rinsed them in the fresh salt water. They then went back into the plastic bin. At this point I emptied the two 5 gallon buckets (I made sure I kept a bottle of peroxide in case I need it). Now I began siphoning out the water. This is where hubby came in. He would empty one while I kept siphoning the tank. That's pretty much all I used him for. Try to keep the area around you somewhat organized and a decent path from the buckets to wherever you are dumping your water. When I got as much water out as I could, i used a large plastic cup to scoop the sand out. I kept about 1/2 cup of the old sand to seed my new sand. You don't have to do this, I just did. Keep it wet if you do. When I got as much sand out as I could, Hubby took the tank outside for a good cleaning with the garden hose, and scrubbing with a dobbie sponge (sponge for non stick fry pans that you can pick up at the grocery store). When all clean, I did a rinse with white vinegar and again dried with paper towels to remove any missed residue. That's pretty much it. Then I added new sand with some water. It took most of the day Sunday, but that's because of the amount of corals that I had to meticulously and carefully clean. Feel free to ask me any questions.