Jump to content

Tank shutdown and re-build


Recommended Posts

Well after care deliberation and with input from Jeremy at Modern Aquatics I decided in March of this year to shutdown my soft coral tank. This was not an easy decision but I had gotten complacent and I will admit I was bored and needed a new challenge. I would soon learn to be careful what I asked for in the future. The tank had been setup in this configuration for approx. 6 years as a soft coral tank and was populated with several large tangs and angels. Most of the tangs were starting to push the limits of the tank and I was becoming lazy on maintenance and up keep.

I decided to go back to my roots and change it to a LPS and SPS dominated tank. I would sell off or give away everything but the live rock and start over

This was the last picture of the tank I could find and I think it was about a year oldIMG_2238.thumb.JPG.658894a2af74a1eddba539bc823da16b.JPG

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The plan was to move some of the coral to my work tank and get rid of the rest. We would then catch the fish and get them to someone with a large tank. In the end the 6 large tangs and rabbit fish were to be moved to a 2000 gallon plus system in Fishers maintained by Glenn of Aquarium Service and Design. The smaller tangs and assorted angels were moved to another tank maintained by Glenn.  Without Glenn's and Jeremy's help this part of the project could not have been done. For reference the big dussumieri tang is about 14 inches long and 9 inches tallIMG_3370.thumb.jpg.5da9b161eae82b764210a2c6a86a0ad3.jpg

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

With the fish and coral gone, I moved the live rock to the sump to keep it alive using a bypass built into the system. Now the real fun begins, removing all the sand and cleaning the tank up. I would also begin the process of bleaching the sand and cleaning it so I can re--use it to help keep the costs down. This process would take longer than I thought but I felt good about doing it. I was somewhat surprised that after 9 years there was no trace of hydrogen sulfide smell in the sand, the plenum system really works in my opinion.

IMG_3185.JPG

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

With the tank empty I took sometime to reconfigure lighting placement and the lights in general. I removed my old DIY LED fixtures that I used to supplement the GEN 4 30 W Radions  and installed some used 15 W Radions and a couple of strip LEDS for better coverage and ease of maintenance.

IMG_3371.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I remember talking with you a few months back. Those tangs were big, healthy, and beautiful. Glad they were re-homed to an even larger system. Looks like you have everything cleaned up and ready to start. I'm looking forward to seeing what lies ahead!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

During this down time I also decided to modify some of the plumbing on the tank. I wanted to get back to in the sump pumps to cut down on maintenance, chance of leaks, and to simplify the complete system. So once again I turned to Jeremy and he recommended going to the Red Dragon 3 230 Watt pump for the closed loop and to also consolidate the return and auxiliary pumps down to one of the same pumps. After much thought I bit the bullet and ordered them. While waiting for the pumps to come in I started to build the plenum and add the sand back into the tank. 

IMG_3229.JPG

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Now with the plumbing done and the sand in we are ready for the rock placement. Once again I enlisted Jeremy's help (I owe him big time) on this for his expertise, because my artistic eye is well lets say, severely lacking at best. We were looking to go with a little more open space then on the previous setup and I think he hit a home run.  Now all we had to do was to transfer water from the sump and trash cans and make the last little bit and we are good to go.

IMG_3234.JPG

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Fast forward to mid-June and the tank is starting to look really good. I have picked up the female crosshatch trigger from Trevor and am waiting on the male to be caught. I am quite happy with the progress.IMG_3374.thumb.jpg.a2d15654f01d08fd445a2d0bcdf9a0c7.jpg

 

And then June 21st came

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The day started off just like any other, I had the day off and was going to my dad's to do some yard work for him with the two boys. The wife was getting ready for work and I was drinking coffee in the kitchen when I heard what sounded like water dripping. I figured I left the water running in the bathroom and went to turn it off, except the water wasn't running. I went into the family room and there it was, water running down the wall from the tank. After saying a few choice words I started to search for the source and thats when it hit. The front pane had partial separated from the bottom pane over a 36 inch section. I could push on the glass and see the water bubbles between them. The wife heard the scream and came to find out what was wrong. Needless to say we did not get Dad's yard work done. 

With the help of my boy's we removed the corals, two fish, live rock, and sand from the tank before it completely failed. The fish and coral were taken to Modern Aquatics and it was then that I told Jeremy to come get all the equipment and sell it off. His response to me was to tell me that he would not talk to me until I climbed down from the ledge or two weeks whichever one came first.

IMG_3375.JPG

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Bill, sorry to hear about this. Hopefully the tank will be repairable. It would definitely take some work, but could save a lot of money in the long run. I know it can be frustrating having it happen (had a few tanks do this to me, but not that large of a water volume). Keep us posted on what is going on.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

After a few days I sent an e-mail off to Glasscages to see what their take was on the split and pretty much got the response that I thought I would get. They were sorry it happened and that they would not re-seal it (tank was almost 10 years old) and gave me a quote on a replacement. The price was a good price based on what I paid before but I was expecting a little better. In the mean time Jeremy was getting some quotes on a new tank from a couple of manufacturers  and he also through out there the option of re-sealing it. This option did not give me a warm fuzzy feeling and if I was going to set up another large tank it would be a new one. Any decision to be made was going to be a family one as I would need their help on this.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This sucks. That is a huge investment and I'm sorry you are going through it. 10 years is a hell of an investment and I hate to see you leave after a setback (albeit a huge setback.) Please let us all know if there is anything we can do to help.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Per an earlier post I am writing this post problem. I was too lazy and busy to do the re-build and post updates at the same time

Well after a discussion with my better half and the boys, we decided to buy a new tank instead of converting the room back to a family room only. The idea was that the house just would not be the same without it no matter the cost. The cost of the new tank ended up being very comparable with what I wanted to do with the room (new floor, 1/2 bathroom). We decided to get the tank from Planet Aquariums. The new tank would be 120"X36"X36, we went with this size as it lowered some of the cost as this is a standard size of glass. Unfortunately the old tank was a different size so this would be a complete teardown and re-build.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...