My Wild Child-total makeover nano-reno 11-3-22

[kimdawg]

This tank has always been my wild child.  It is a tank of excess. First it was GSP, then flatworms and now macroalgae.

 

Left side shot 11-3-22

 

Right shot 11-3-22

 

 

 

Full tank shot 11-3-22

 

I will add a plan of action at the end of the current thread.  If anyone has an idea on how to battle this please let me know.  I will also include these pics on the next post in the end of my thread.

 

 

 

 

This is my 75 gallon tank and it has a 20 gal. sump.  It has been allowed to grow freely for a couple of years and it shows.

 

 

 

 

 

I am ready to get to work on this tank and have ordered 25 pounds of dry rock to replace most of what is in the tank.  I want to let the left of the overflow remain wild and keep everything that is now in the tank contained to that side, or place it in the sump, or sell most of it really cheap.  I may see if the fish store would give me a little credit for the coral and rock it is growing on.  This is where I am open to any or all suggestions.

 

I have nine fish in the tank and plan on keeping them all.

Fox Face

Sixline wrasse

2 Clowns

Bangaii Cardinal

PJ Cardinal

Royal Gramma

2 Blue Damsels

I would like to add a Blenny and maybe one more small fish, for a total of eleven fish.

 

The corals in the tank include

2 types GSP

hairy mushrooms

toad stool leather

anthelia

ugly zoas

red mushrooms

sinularia - I think

 

Does anyone need any of this stuff and live close?  One of the GSP is metallic and branching.  I can pull up most of what is growing on the bottom in one big piece.  The thing I think is sinularia is about 16 inches high and a foot wide.  Can it be fragged?  I would like to keep a small piece and rehome the rest.  I feel guilty throwing this stuff in the trash.  I would rather share it with someone, if anybody wants some.

Right side of tank

Left side of the tank

 

My plan as now is to clear the right side to the sand bed with a water change and add a little of it on the rock on the right side.  I will add new sand and the dry rock on this side and let it settle a month or so before I change the left side.  The right side will be new rock and sand and I plan on putting RFA, riccordia, zoas and grogonians on this side.  If I leave a six inch sand bed between the current corals and the new rock do you think any of the would encroach on the new stuff?

 

If I do this in sections do you think think this plan will cause any harm to my fish?  I really like the idea of 1/3 of the tank being freeform and the other side having a set rock scape.  I have the new rocks fixed in a simple scape with lots of holes and a couple of cave areas.  I am waiting on the sand and any suggestions anyone may have.

One last question what is this?  I have three of them growing on the acrylic that came out of my 10 gallon when I emptied it for the 9-5 contest.  They are about 1/2 inch big and look like a pile of dog poop, for lack of a better description.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[kimdawg]

I sold $115 worth of GSP and rocks covered in it already today.  I am selling about a 6 inch square of it for 5 dollars.  I have 5 more people coming this afternoon or tomorrow.  The wild child will be getting a makeover soon.

 

[Christopher Marks]

This will be great to see, a reef renovation! It really is amazing, all the natural growth patterns. I think you have a good plan. 

 

Are you planning to prepare the new rock in any way? It might benefit from a presoak. 

[NanoGrant]

52 minutes ago, kimdawg said:

I sold $115 worth of GSP and rocks covered in it already today.  I am selling about a 6 inch square of it for 5 dollars.  I have 5 more people coming this afternoon or tomorrow.  The wild child will be getting a makeover soon.

 

Good going on the sales!

 

The last pic is 100% a vermetid snail, worth dealing with them before they ruin your restoration efforts. 
 

Looking forward to seeing your progress. 

[kimdawg]

I am not sure about a presoak, but open to suggestions.  I was thinking about adding a couple of rocks in at a time when I clear a spot on the sand.  I just got rid of another 8 inch square of GSP, I rock with a ton of anthelia,2 kinds of zoas, and a 5 inch high frag of the sinularia for $20.00.  I have more tank space, got a little money for my addiction... I mean hobby...and I think the other reefer was very happy with his purchase.

 

[kimdawg]

1 minute ago, NanoGrant said:

Good going on the sales!

 

The last pic is 100% a vermetid snail, worth dealing with them before they ruin your restoration efforts. 
 

Looking forward to seeing your progress. 

Thanks for the conformation on the vermetid snail.  I will take it out right now.  It has a few zoas growing on it was the only reason it was still in the tank.

[NanoGrant]

2 minutes ago, kimdawg said:

Thanks for the conformation on the vermetid snail.  I will take it out right now.  It has a few zoas growing on it was the only reason it was still in the tank.

You could chip the vermetid off. I used a pair of metal tweezers to crush the tube and scrape off rock/ frag plugs and it worked a treat. Would be a shame to waste the zoas. 

[kimdawg]

I sold most of the rest of the stuff in this tank today to one guy. I sold the huge sinularia on an eight pond rock to him for $15.00.  Most of it has been a positive experience, except I found LS Who my royal gramma dead today.  My foxface has been pretty spooked since his favorite rock pile is gone.  I don't know if he could have stabbed him, but he is flaring and swimming pretty erratic since last night.  I changed 10 gallons of water while trying to clean a little of the sand bed today.  It was really nasty because it has been covered by the GSP for over a year.

 

I have decided it will be in the best interest of the fish to take them out and drain the tank while I vacuum the sand bed.  If this doesn't seem to clean it, I have 40 ponds of caribsea sand coming Tuesday.  I can replace the sand bed with new well washed sand, rescape the tank, and then add the fish back in.  I have about 15 pounds of my live rock left, plus everything growing in the sump.  I think there will be enough life left in the tank to keep me from having a huge cycle.  Please make any suggestions to my plan.

 

[kimdawg]

I sold everything that I needed wanted to and finally deep cleaned the tank.  I am going to post the transition pictures and then will add notes about the process at the end.

T

 

The first picture shows the tank after I had removed everything I planned on taking out.  The second day was spent cleaning the new caribsea sand, it took hours to get it to run clear water.

 

I originally planned on keeping the old sand as well, but when I removed the layer of GSP covering it I found that the sand was like concrete.  The second picture is after the fish and live rocks were removed.  The tank water looked like coffee.  I am glad that I had 75 gallons of saltwater made up, because the third picture shows the tank completely drained and all of the old sand trashed.

 

 

The fourth picture is right after I added the clean saltwater back in.  The fifth picture was taken a little later that night.  All that is left of the wild child is on the left side of the tank.  The right side is mostly new base reef rock.  I think I like the minimal look that I have going on now.  I don't plan on changing anything for a while until my foxface calms back down.  I did order a cleanup crew because most of mine did not survive the take over of the GSP.

[Snow_Phoenix]

3 hours ago, kimdawg said:

I sold everything that I needed wanted to and finally deep cleaned the tank.  I am going to post the transition pictures and then will add notes about the process at the end.

T

 

The first picture shows the tank after I had removed everything I planned on taking out.  The second day was spent cleaning the new caribsea sand, it took hours to get it to run clear water.

 

I originally planned on keeping the old sand as well, but when I removed the layer of GSP covering it I found that the sand was like concrete.  The second picture is after the fish and live rocks were removed.  The tank water looked like coffee.  I am glad that I had 75 gallons of saltwater made up, because the third picture shows the tank completely drained and all of the old sand trashed.

 

 

The fourth picture is right after I added the clean saltwater back in.  The fifth picture was taken a little later that night.  All that is left of the wild child is on the left side of the tank.  The right side is mostly new base reef rock.  I think I like the minimal look that I have going on now.  I don't plan on changing anything for a while until my foxface calms back down.  I did order a cleanup crew because most of mine did not survive the take over of the GSP.

Looks really good. The minimalistic look definitely works. I like that you still retained some part of the GSP wall. 🙂 

[kimdawg]

I have a little brown diatoms starting on the sand bed and rocks this morning.  I will have to go back and refresh my memory on the next steps.  I think I let it just happen and then do a small water change in a week or so.  I did take a gorg out of my 9to5 tank last night and add in here.  It was way too big for the smaller tank and in here it has plenty of room to grow.  The new clean up crew should be here by Thursday.  That will give the snails plenty of diatoms to eat.

[debbeach13]

Your hard work paid off. Tank looks great.

 

[kimdawg]

    I have added a bunch of new stuff to this tank in the last several days.  I placed an order with GCE for a new clean up crew and 6 RFA's. Everything looks great in the tank.  I moved two red RFA and several riccordea frags over from the 9-5 tank.  I am going to move the largest gorg. and some of the red macroalgae into this tank as well.  I want to get things off of the sand in that tank.  So, this tank gets some new colors in it.

    I am going to my first ever saltwater show in two weeks.  I have tickets for reef dreams in Charleston.  They have a raffle, goodie bags, and a bunch of venders coming, so I am pretty excited.  It is only about 3 hours away, but we are going to spend a few nights in Charleston before the show.  If you have any experiences or suggestions about these types of shows please share them.

[debbeach13]

It's like being a kid in a candy store. Hopefully they are not too busy, and you can talk a little with the vendors. If you can, give a few details on your tank and experience. Don't be afraid to haggle over prices. The only thing I know for sure. They are there to sell item's and really do not want to have to pack it up and take it home or to the shop again. I like to bring a small cooler that can hold a six pack. Nice protection for my new purchases. Also, if the timing is right and you have the chance check if there is a guest speaker. They are usually people with a vast knowledge of reef keeping. Most of all have fun.

[NanoGrant]

Tank is looking great after all your hard work!

 

Hope you have a great time at the show. 

[sadie]

wow, your tank looks great!  It is so much work doing stuff like that, but wow, what a difference!  I love the look of GSP growing up stuff, I like that you kept that large piece.  Can't wait to see what else you add.

[kimdawg]

On 3/4/2022 at 9:57 AM, NanoGrant said:

Tank is looking great after all your hard work!

 

Hope you have a great time at the show. 

 

7 hours ago, sadie said:

wow, your tank looks great!  It is so much work doing stuff like that, but wow, what a difference!  I love the look of GSP growing up stuff, I like that you kept that large piece.  Can't wait to see what else you add.

Thank you both for the complement!  It was about seven hours including really cleaning the new sand.  My husband was a really big help in the process.  I have a disability in one arm that requires me to have help in big projects.  I will try to post the tank pics this week, since I have added some new stuff.  I am going to a reef show on the 19th and hope to spend the money I earned from sharing the frags.

 

[kimdawg]

Just got back from the reef show.  I spent way too much money but had a blast.  I got two Nero 5 for this tank plus a lot of new frags for both tanks.  They are dipped and in the tank.  I will; try to get pictures tomorrow.  My husband won a drawing for 10 different Reef Essential products so that was a nice bonus.  We got the VIP tickets and had all kinds of goodies in our bonus bags as well.

 

[Snow_Phoenix]

6 hours ago, kimdawg said:

Just got back from the reef show.  I spent way too much money but had a blast.  I got two Nero 5 for this tank plus a lot of new frags for both tanks.  They are dipped and in the tank.  I will; try to get pictures tomorrow.  My husband won a drawing for 10 different Reef Essential products so that was a nice bonus.  We got the VIP tickets and had all kinds of goodies in our bonus bags as well.

 

Awesome! Looks like you had a great time too. 😊

[kimdawg]

Did a 10 gallon water change last night and got some pics of the new coral and rocks today.

This is a full tank pic with mixed lights.  I have white and blue on the right and just blue on the left side in this pic.  This shows both parts of the tank really well.  The wild child on the left and more organized on the right.

This is both lights on blue.

This side shows most of my new stuff.  I got the acans, cabbage leather, duncan, neon candy cane, zoas, and green mushrooms at the reef show.  I moved the gorgs, red macro, and the riccs from the 9-5 tank.  You can see 3 of my fish in the shot also.

 

This is the left wild side with my new frog spawn and moved over riccs and zoas from the 9-5 tank

I added these last several to help me keep up with health and growth of coral.  This last picture shows my two favorite old fat guys.

[kimdawg]

I have a question for anyone with a foxface.  My foxy loves to make bubbles then go to the top of the tank and pop them.  He does it every evening you can hear him pop them.  It is soft but sounds like someone popping bubble wrap.

[kimdawg]

I have not done a water change in a few weeks, but thought I would post new tank shots anyway.  It is doing great since the deep clean I did.  The glass isn't super clean, but my husband was taking pics of the contest tank today.  So this tank got a little love too.

Full tank shot 5-4-22

 

These two shots are walking on the wild side

 

 

This is the right side.

 

Always have to include a pic of my favorite old guys.

[kimdawg]

I ordered an eyelash blenny, yellowhead jawfish, 2 yellow cucumbers,2 serpent starfish and 6 more RFA for this tank.  I wanted something to work the sand bed.  I stir it with every water change but, I want it turned over more often than that.  I have never had a jawfish but I am preparing him a deeper section of sand with rubble pieces in the front.  I hope he makes a burrow where I can see him.

[kimdawg]

 

I will add the current pictures to start this section of the thread, but first a little info.  After I total reset the tank  I loved it.  I finally had my dream tank and everything was doing great.  I dipped all of the new corals as added and did water changes to keep everything happy, but somehow still got flatworms.  I got two yellow coris wrasse and they did not put a dent in them.  I used suction to try to get them out everyday, but they kept multipling.  After a several week sickness I had lost control and resorted to flatworm exit.  I removed all of the fish for the treatment and completed a 90% water change because of the shear numbers.  There thousands of them on one side of the glass alone.  It was pretty late at night when I added the fish back in.  Early the next morning I noticed my foxface was dead and even though I got all of the other fish out of the tank the only one I was able to save was the PJ cardinal.

    Fast forward to today.  I have a 75 gallon wildchild without flatworms thanks to the melanurus wrasse.  I also have a flame beauty, 3 bangai carndinal, 2 clownfish, and the remaining pj cardinal.  The macroalgae is out of control and covers up almost all of my coral and hides the fish.

 

 

In Feb of this year Christoper Marks said it would be good to see a reef reno on this tank, when I was fighting the original version of this tank.  Now I am ready to work on phase two of the reno.

 

GOALS

1- get rid of all of the macro algae in the display without killing my fish this time.

2- find any coral under this mess and get them back to a healthy state.

3- hopefully be able to enjoy my reef tank again.

 

This is a 75 with only eight fish so if anyone has a suggestion on a fish to help with this problem after I manually remove all of the algae I can please let me know.  I took half a 5 gallon bucket of this stuff out of the sump last night.  I uncovered the chaeto and left it so hopefully that is a start.

 

 

 

[debbeach13]

 Welcome to the contest.