Tank Reboot - what to do with my Six-Line Wrasse

[empresto]

Hey folks,

 

So, I have a 40B quarantine/frag tank that I set up about a year and a half ago.  It crashed (at least coral wise) about 14 months ago when my son was born and things got crazy... 😉  I've been slowly trying to bring water params back to to something normal, but have decided it will just be way easier to drain it and start over.

 

This then creates a new problem, "What to do with the 6-line wrasse...?"  I've had a few thoughts, but not sure I like any of them:

1. Since my display tank is an 18g tank that already has a large aggressive clown (known to have murdered before) and plenty of places for a 6-line to stay away from a net when it comes time to move him back to the 40B, I really don't see that as an option.
2. I have two tanks sitting dry at the moment.  However, they are both in the 4 gallon range.  He is a small 6-line (maybe 2 inches, tops) but I feel like these tanks would be too small.
3. I have a number of 5 gallon pails sitting around that I could throw a heater and powerhead into, but still feel this would be too small for him.
4. With the 40B drained, the sump could be used as a tank, but then I'm still left with what to do with the transition time when I need to get the tank back in service but it is not time for the 6-line to go in.
5. I could bring the 6-line back to my LFS, but I would like to have him again in the new system.

 

Obviously the easy answer is 'buy another tank' 🙂  But I've been informed by my spouse that I've got enough tanks already...

 

Any thoughts on my options listed?  Any ideas I may have missed?  Thanks in advance for the help! 🙂 

[Tired]

Well, how long do you expect to have him out of the tank? A 5gal bucket isn't ideal, but, if you put a lid on it and added a few chunks of rock as bio-filtration, it would work OK with frequent water changes. 

 

Or you could ask your spouse if it would be OK for you to buy a cheap 10-gallon (they're like $12 for just the tank) and have it up with just the fish and some rock until the new tank is ready. I think it's a fairly reasonable request, if you explain why you want to do it and how long the 10gal would be up. 

[empresto]

Yeah, I had considered the 5 gallon bucket with frequent WC's, but with a one year old, I know that my remembering WC's can be a bit hit and miss.

 

I actually ended up just today ordering a 14gal brute tote. My wife needed a new tote anyway and the food safe brute was cheaper than the one she was looking at. So, buying another tank without buying another tank 😉. I'm planning to take the rock from the frag tank along with some cheato from the sump and add that with water from the tank to the brute to hopefully minimize any cycling that might happen.  With one fish and carful feeding, I don't think I should have to worry too much with a14 gallon setup. 

 

Tote should be here Tuesday, then the fun begins!

[Tired]

Don't bother with tank water, it doesn't have any notable amount of bacteria in it. Just the rock should be enough. Probably good to make sure you check ammonia once or twice, just in case, but that should work out fine. And, bonus for the wrasse, the chaeto should have some pod snacks in it. 

 

Just be sure to add a lid!

[empresto]

I get that the tank water has nothing to do with the filtration, but it's already made and the fish is already acclimated to it 😉 since nitrates are undetectable, the water should be more than adequate for a short term fowlr.

 

+1 for the lid!

[empresto]

So, below is what I ended up doing...

 

Tank: Brute 14g tote

ATO: The red Rubbermaid holds a relay circuit connected to a optical liquid level sensor.  The relay switches on the Toms water lifter pump.

Ciculation: Hydor Koralia 600gph powerhead

Heater: 25W something I had lying around

 

Currently holding some rock that was in the 40b along with the 6-line wrasse, some snails, and some GSP.  Interestingly, the GSP in the 40b (the 40 was unwilling to keep any other coral alive) has grown and thrived, whereas the GSP in my display system has pretty much all died.

 

Seems to be working great!  Since it is temporary, I don't anticipate any issues either.