Ingy
Aquarium Advice Addict
I am planning a major ‘fix’ to my tank. I have 2 issues to deal with and I would appreciate some feedback on my plan.
The first issue is a minor one, resulting from too little flow through my sump. With a mere 2x turnover, I don’t think I had enough water moving from my DT to the sump and its skimmer and macro algae. That meant not enough nutrients were being exported by the sump, and algae started to grow in the DT. It was getting kinda bad, a reddish wiry algae that is hard to remove, and the CUC is not taking care of it fast enough for me. This issue has had the underlying flow issue resolved by a new sump pump, and I now have about 8x turnover through the sump. But the algae in the DT remains.
The second, and real reason for my proposal is I once added a cespitularia coral (xenia cousin). That $h!t is a weed. I have tried everything to remove it, but with a tank 31” deep, I cannot remove all the rocks to remove the leftover. Any left pieces, no matter how tiny will regrow. I cannot remove all my rocks to burn or dry it either.
PLAN:
I am thinking of setting up my 27 gal QT tank and putting the Aquafuge PS on there. My 48” fixture has legs that can be set to fit any size tank up to 48”, so I can put it over the QT. I will move all my corals except the Palythoas (there is cespitularia growing with them) into the QT and a couple mushrooms I will not be able to recover. I will make some egg crate boxes for levels. My QT will become my coral tank for a while. I will likely have to make some shade strips to reduce light over some LPS and ‘shrooms.
That will leave my DT unlit. I am planning on even wrapping the front and sides with towels to stop sunlight getting in there, and the only light will be a small amount thru the top. The plan is to let the algae, and more importantly, cespitularia, die. I will remove the palys and frag anything I think I might be able to save without the weeds to the QT, and let semi darkness run its course for a few weeks/month in the DT.
I plan on keeping an eye on the fish (left in the DT) to make sure they are not stressed by too much darkness, and I can open a corner away from the rocks for additional light if needed.
Does this seem like a sound plan?
The first issue is a minor one, resulting from too little flow through my sump. With a mere 2x turnover, I don’t think I had enough water moving from my DT to the sump and its skimmer and macro algae. That meant not enough nutrients were being exported by the sump, and algae started to grow in the DT. It was getting kinda bad, a reddish wiry algae that is hard to remove, and the CUC is not taking care of it fast enough for me. This issue has had the underlying flow issue resolved by a new sump pump, and I now have about 8x turnover through the sump. But the algae in the DT remains.
The second, and real reason for my proposal is I once added a cespitularia coral (xenia cousin). That $h!t is a weed. I have tried everything to remove it, but with a tank 31” deep, I cannot remove all the rocks to remove the leftover. Any left pieces, no matter how tiny will regrow. I cannot remove all my rocks to burn or dry it either.
PLAN:
I am thinking of setting up my 27 gal QT tank and putting the Aquafuge PS on there. My 48” fixture has legs that can be set to fit any size tank up to 48”, so I can put it over the QT. I will move all my corals except the Palythoas (there is cespitularia growing with them) into the QT and a couple mushrooms I will not be able to recover. I will make some egg crate boxes for levels. My QT will become my coral tank for a while. I will likely have to make some shade strips to reduce light over some LPS and ‘shrooms.
That will leave my DT unlit. I am planning on even wrapping the front and sides with towels to stop sunlight getting in there, and the only light will be a small amount thru the top. The plan is to let the algae, and more importantly, cespitularia, die. I will remove the palys and frag anything I think I might be able to save without the weeds to the QT, and let semi darkness run its course for a few weeks/month in the DT.
I plan on keeping an eye on the fish (left in the DT) to make sure they are not stressed by too much darkness, and I can open a corner away from the rocks for additional light if needed.
Does this seem like a sound plan?