DarG
12/28/2006, 06:32 PM
Hi all, new here.
I have a reef tank that was never really finished.
Been set-up with live rock and has a couple of fish only.
Has a clean-up crew that I just added a couple of weeks back. Other than that, it's bare, no corals.
I had some financial issues and couldn't really get it going.
Needed a new chiller and lighting.
I'm financially stable now but I need to change tanks before I get going on really getting the aquarium up to speed.
It's a plenum system which I plan on using in the new tank.
There was a hair algae problem, likely due to the light spectrum shifting as I couldn't afford new lamps. Tank was dark for 2 months with the expection of a single 48" flourescent and that cleared theb tank of virtually all hair algae.
I have new lamps in there now and some hair algae is coming back now. The sand bed hadn't been maintained properly and is probably the main cause at this point. No levels of anything negative detectable chemistry wise although I do not yet have a good phosphate or silicate test kits. They are on the way. All water replaced is RO, but again, the membrane was 4 years old. Have since changed that as well. This tank has been set-up for probably 9 years as I have described. In fact, my tomato clown is probably almost as old as the tank has been set-up.
BTW, it's approx. 75 gallons. The replacement is also a 75 gallon, an acrylic.
So, thats the background. I could use some tips on swapping to the new aquarium. The biggest concern for me is the existing substrate. Since It was neglected, it's a safe bet that is is a detritus sewer. I'm thinking it is going to be best to replace the substrate. Any thoughts on this from the expert members? How much of the existing substrate should I retain to add to the new so that I can eliminate or atleast minimize going through a brand new cycle? Everything else regarding the tank swap I think I have under control. It's mainly the substrate issue I'm concerned about. So, any tips and suggestions are more than welcome.
Thanks
I have a reef tank that was never really finished.
Been set-up with live rock and has a couple of fish only.
Has a clean-up crew that I just added a couple of weeks back. Other than that, it's bare, no corals.
I had some financial issues and couldn't really get it going.
Needed a new chiller and lighting.
I'm financially stable now but I need to change tanks before I get going on really getting the aquarium up to speed.
It's a plenum system which I plan on using in the new tank.
There was a hair algae problem, likely due to the light spectrum shifting as I couldn't afford new lamps. Tank was dark for 2 months with the expection of a single 48" flourescent and that cleared theb tank of virtually all hair algae.
I have new lamps in there now and some hair algae is coming back now. The sand bed hadn't been maintained properly and is probably the main cause at this point. No levels of anything negative detectable chemistry wise although I do not yet have a good phosphate or silicate test kits. They are on the way. All water replaced is RO, but again, the membrane was 4 years old. Have since changed that as well. This tank has been set-up for probably 9 years as I have described. In fact, my tomato clown is probably almost as old as the tank has been set-up.
BTW, it's approx. 75 gallons. The replacement is also a 75 gallon, an acrylic.
So, thats the background. I could use some tips on swapping to the new aquarium. The biggest concern for me is the existing substrate. Since It was neglected, it's a safe bet that is is a detritus sewer. I'm thinking it is going to be best to replace the substrate. Any thoughts on this from the expert members? How much of the existing substrate should I retain to add to the new so that I can eliminate or atleast minimize going through a brand new cycle? Everything else regarding the tank swap I think I have under control. It's mainly the substrate issue I'm concerned about. So, any tips and suggestions are more than welcome.
Thanks