murphs_reef 92G - retired, thanks guys

[brandon429]

ECLS that's a very helpful perspective. Large tanks are hard to manage compared to small tanks, access differences is why. Nobody gets exhausted keeping a 16 gallon in line, for example, but at 90 any set of invasion- prone variables becomes quickly exhausting. It's not that reefing itself is exhausting, it's that large tanks are exhausting. All the coral currently kept in the tank can be moved to a manageable 40 gallon setup without any culling; it will instantly fill out the tank and make it look packed in $$ coral

 

And, 40s can be forced into compliance easily... due to accessibility and one brute trash can mix up + water prep can effect a complete water change easily if needed. That ability makes all reef tank headaches go away... downsizing. A few less fish can be carried, that's the main tradeoff and its acceptable vs not reefing. 

 

The sincerity of the last several posters reassuring Murph of his own natural skill sets this site apart from most.  I too hope you stay in the game.

 

The best way I can offer my reassurance is always by a link where someone else fights the same battle.

 

in this case Sadie shows options to win

 

 

 

 

 

 

The reason she's the study action of the week for any challenge tank is she has forced the outcome, accepted no alternative. 

 

That is quite the read in my opinion above. Sadie was a first time rip cleaner with an advancing eutrophic system pent up with waste,  a little cyano and a little gha or bryopsis undetermined. Her growback challenge is from gha and cyano just like Murph's 

 

You see the rip clean with a 95% sand rinse, enough to pass. 

 

You can see the happy after pics, all rip cleans have these where the bell curve peak is reset

 

She has growback. Doubt is positioned in the method by analysts the very second she gets growback. 

 

Sadie directly on file develops a calmed approach which centers around continued removal as she tries suppressive options to lessen growback... and for a small nano this isn't much work after the initial job

 

Watch her tank unfold, live time, two rip cleans ran simultaneously; chart the outcome drivers.

 

The best advice I have is to consider downsizing into a controllable reef tank that doesn't require so much work and luck to look like a jewel tank. In the end I think you'll probably end up keeping this reef and forging on. A large oversized pond uv from Amazon added to your current setup as a temporary cheat, after you've hand cleaned the system again, remains as one of your most powerful control options.

 

We don't have a precedent in the logs of rip cleans where regrowth is permitted and fought in reaction after a full invasion has reinstated... the number one way we see in pattern to save reef tank $ and time spent is to own a reef tank where effecting a complete water change if needed is simple (the benefit lies in the easy total access to invaded surfaces while water is being replaced)

 

Then, in the clean condition condition, dose some fluconazole

 

If you decide to keep reefing you'll do great.  So far, Sadie isn't being overworked in maintenance. She's having to keep up removal efforts as she continues adding new corals because even as a collectively helpful group none of us are sure what she can be doing differently to avoid having to do followup gardening. 

[InAtTheDeepEnd]

Don't you DARE give up Chris, your reef inspires me too much for me to see you/it retired from the hobby!

[Murphs_Reef]

Cheers everyone.. just been a bit of a crappy time/money wasting feeling year. Almost wish I left it as it was and risked the ich... Glad for the remaining fish that I did take action but gutted the reef has been hit hard by pulling it apart. 

 

The old rock wall was a lovely slice of ocean to me... This Scape isn't gelling with me in the same way... But I don't dare change it back for the fear of even worse problems.. 

 

I'll carry on for now but just don't have the energy anymore to go through the whole ugly tank again.... 

[ninjamyst]

Is it really the scape or the fact that you lost corals and going through the ugly stage?  Once ugly stage is over and corals fill in again, maybe you will love the scape?

[Murphs_Reef]

5 minutes ago, ninjamyst said:

Is it really the scape or the fact that you lost corals and going through the ugly stage?  Once ugly stage is over and corals fill in again, maybe you will love the scape?

Both... The cyano is bad but at a push can be cleaned away.. the scape isn't my bag at all.. 

 

Once the red X sorts the cyano I will add some of the sump rock back in to build up a backwall and see how we get on. 

[kimdawg]

I like the new scape, but I understand not being happy after tank changes.  It happens with me more in my little tank.  After every water change I can't seem to get the scape back the way I like it.  If I do get it right the shrimp or fish rearrange it.  I did a huge clean like a rip clean in my wild child tank and rescaped the rock.  I wanted to get rid of the wall and make two islands, but I keep moving rock and it is slowly going back to a wall.  I hope you work it out and love your tank again soon.

[seabass]

11 hours ago, Murphs_Reef said:

The old rock wall was a lovely slice of ocean to me... This Scape isn't gelling with me in the same way... But I don't dare change it back for the fear of even worse problems.. 

I might almost look at it like, what do I have to lose?  I feel that your tank has taken its hit already.  I don't think that re-aquascaping will set it back that much more.  Maybe it's time to create a scape that you really like (maybe even better than the original).  Sure, you might not be done with the ugly stages; but when all of that gets sorted out, at least you'd have an aquascape that you really like.

[Murphs_Reef]

𝕯𝖆𝖞 3, 𝖑𝖊𝖙'𝖘 𝖘𝖊𝖊

 

[Pjanssen]

good luck

[Murphs_Reef]

Red X hardly dented the cyano... Which is balls... Still this looks ok 

[Murphs_Reef]

Cyano is fully sorted after £25 of Red X.. really please with the outcome 🤣

 

[Ratvan]

Do your ceriths not touch it? About the only thing that I've found that makes a dent in mine

[Murphs_Reef]

16 minutes ago, Ratvan said:

Do your ceriths not touch it? About the only thing that I've found that makes a dent in mine

Nothing mate. My sand sifting star moves it around a bit.. got 2 sow-15s battering out 100% as well.. might need a third wave maker.. phosphate is 0.08 and nitrates 12.. pushed up from 0.03 and 5 to see if that would help but it never changed a bit lol.. 

 

Starting to like the red sand 🤣

[ECLS Reefer]

On 5/23/2022 at 3:02 PM, Murphs_Reef said:

Red X hardly dented the cyano... Which is balls... Still this looks ok 

Believe me I’m in the same damn boat with the cyano. I’m trying to build the tank back up to rare water changes and have the algae reactor working well so I can’t dose anything to kill algae. All the nutrient parameters are good and yet the water smells 🤢. I just don’t know where to begin to get my tank in shape. Healthy fish but unhappy rocks/sand. 

[seabass]

10 hours ago, ECLS Reefer said:

Believe me I’m in the same damn boat with the cyano. I’m trying to build the tank back up to rare water changes and have the algae reactor working well so I can’t dose anything to kill algae. All the nutrient parameters are good and yet the water smells 🤢. I just don’t know where to begin to get my tank in shape. Healthy fish but unhappy rocks/sand. 

I wouldn't think that the antibiotics in Chemiclean would kill algae; although I'm still hesitant to go that route in fear of upsetting the balance and inviting in something worse (like dinos).  I'm wondering why your water smells, I know that mine did during a dino bloom.

 

Activated carbon might help as a general deodorant.  But I might be tempted to temporarily pull out the sand bed (letting the sand cure separately for awhile). I'll try to remember to read through some of your recent posts tomorrow to see if I can think of anything else to help, and respond there.

[ECLS Reefer]

7 hours ago, seabass said:

I wouldn't think that the antibiotics in Chemiclean would kill algae; although I'm still hesitant to go that route in fear of upsetting the balance and inviting in something worse (like dinos).  I'm wondering why your water smells, I know that mine did during a dino bloom.

 

Activated carbon might help as a general deodorant.  But I might be tempted to temporarily pull out the sand bed (letting the sand cure separately for awhile). I'll try to remember to read through some of your recent posts tomorrow to see if I can think of anything else to help, and respond there.

I make sure to stir the sand regularly. It doesn’t look like dinos- nothing is snotty- it’s red cyano mats. It’s mostly confined to the back of the tank behind the rocks. I’ve pointed the gyres back there and gotten a separate wave pump after it too but it hasn’t worked. I may try to boost the flow back there again. I’m just tired of fighting it and it always seems to get worse when I change water out, since the nutrients stay nearly zero at baseline. 

All that to say, I totally feel @Murphs_Reef’s pain on battling stubborn cyano outbreaks. It just doesn’t give up easily. 

[aclman88]

46 minutes ago, ECLS Reefer said:

it always seems to get worse when I change water out

Do you use RODI? Any possibility it needs replacing filters/media?

[ECLS Reefer]

1 hour ago, aclman88 said:

Do you use RODI? Any possibility it needs replacing filters/media?

I do make my own water. And I replace the filters when they’re soiled, though I don’t have a set in stone routine. It’s color changing RODI media so when it turns orange I change. 

[Murphs_Reef]

11 hours ago, ECLS Reefer said:

I do make my own water. And I replace the filters when they’re soiled, though I don’t have a set in stone routine. It’s color changing RODI media so when it turns orange I change. 

Yep all exactly the same as me. Good flow, great parameters, regular sand cleaning.. 

I've given in to it tbh, I'm trying to ignore it 

[Pjanssen]

I'm afraid to know what my tank is going to look like when I get home

[Murphs_Reef]

On 6/9/2022 at 10:01 AM, Pjanssen said:

I'm afraid to know what my tank is going to look like when I get home

Yours did well on auto pilot 👍🏼

 

Nothing new to talk about tank wise here... Rock wall / island hybrid Scape is well... No pictures yet due to cyano hatred.. 

 

Lost some pearl jam zoas... Like the full rock... Looked everywhere but nothing.... How does that happen?? 

Anyway not been looking at the tank much so it could have been weeks ago... 

 

[ECLS Reefer]

7 hours ago, Murphs_Reef said:

Yours did well on auto pilot 👍🏼

 

Nothing new to talk about tank wise here... Rock wall / island hybrid Scape is well... No pictures yet due to cyano hatred.. 

 

Lost some pearl jam zoas... Like the full rock... Looked everywhere but nothing.... How does that happen?? 

Anyway not been looking at the tank much so it could have been weeks ago... 

 

I noticed after I cleaned and repositioned my two gyres that suddenly (like overnight) the cyano was getting somewhat better. Suspiciously so. So I test the water and find the nitrates and phosphates have spiked a bit with regular sand sifting and turkey basting. I still refuse to change the water yet, and I’m letting the nutrients ride, because with the flow and higher numbers, *maybe* that’s why the cyano is getting better?? 🤷🏻‍♀️🤞🏼

[Murphs_Reef]

Tanks trucking along. No major update... Rock wall is on the return and balance is finally restored. 

 

Not sure if I said or not, but collapsed the Evo into this tank so the clowns have a big house now and get along great with the tang and others. 

 

Side on 

[Ratvan]

Looking good again

[Snow_Phoenix]

7 hours ago, Murphs_Reef said:

Tanks trucking along. No major update... Rock wall is on the return and balance is finally restored. 

 

Not sure if I said or not, but collapsed the Evo into this tank so the clowns have a big house now and get along great with the tang and others. 

 

Side on 

Nice to see it bounce back. The resilience of reef systems in general, simply amaze me sometimes. 😊