trothatl
03/01/2010, 09:57 PM
For various reasons, I'm replacing my 72-gallon bowfront with a standard 90-gallon tank. I haven't stocked up the tank very much, so I don't have a lot of livestock to move: just one fish, a large serpent sea star, one large mushroom and one small offspring, a frogspawn, and three groups of polyps.
In the process, I need to repair some drywall damage behind the tank caused by water splashing from the skimmer (my new arrangement will avoid this problem) and prime and paint before putting the new tank into place. I also need to remove a horrible infestation of bubble algae that has encrusted almost every rock surface and has become intermingled with some of my polyp colonies.
Here is my plan of attack for removing the old tank, repairing and painting the drywall, and putting the new tank into place. Am I overlooking anything? Am I making this unnecessarily complicated? Any suggestions to avoid a catastrophic meltdown?
Objectives
1. Remove existing tank
2. Repair and paint damaged drywall behind tank
3. Remove bubble algae from rock
4. Install new tank
This week
1. Buy supplies (salt, buckets, Rubbermaid containers, beer)
2. Stockpile RO/DI water
3. Finish tank stand construction
Friday afternoon/evening
1. Pickup new aquarium that was ordered from LFS
2. Move non-coral livestock into 10-gallon heated aquarium filled with water from main tank (where possible, remove corals and polyps from rock)
3. Move rock with attached coral/polyps into heated Rubbermaid tubs filled with water from main tank
4. Move rock with no attached coral/polyps into unheated tubs filled with water from tank
5. Move chaeto algae from sump into 5-gallon bucket filled with water from tank
6. Fill another Rubbermaid tub with water from main tank (for rinsing rock on Saturday)
7. Move sand into 5-gallon buckets
8. Disassemble tank, sump, skimmer, plumbing, etc., and move tank and stand out of room
9. Start drywall repair (hopefully just skim coating with drywall compound)
Saturday
1. Finish drywall repair (sand, prime, paint)
2. Put new tank and stand in place, re-assemble sump, skimmer, plumbing, etc.
3. Fill tank with RO/DI water (close valves to sump) and add salt; turn on heaters and run powerheads until salt is dissolved
4. After salt is dissolved and SG is correct, replace sand and allow to settle
5. Remove all bubble algae from rock by scraping (scrub if necessary with toothbrush); keep rocks with attached coral/polyps underwater during algae removal
6. Rinse cleaned rocks with saltwater (fresh saltwater for rocks without coral/polyps attached; reserved tank water for those with coral/polyps attached)
Sunday
1. After sand has settled, water is clear, and temperature is correct, start circulation, adding makeup saltwater to account for skimmer, sump, and plumbing; return chaeto algae to sump
2. Add new base rock
3. Place rock without coral/polyps attached into tank
4. Acclimate rock with coral/polyps attached and place into tank, then complete aquascaping
5. Acclimate remaining livestock and return to tank
6. Carry all the empty beer bottles to the recycling bin :beer:
In the process, I need to repair some drywall damage behind the tank caused by water splashing from the skimmer (my new arrangement will avoid this problem) and prime and paint before putting the new tank into place. I also need to remove a horrible infestation of bubble algae that has encrusted almost every rock surface and has become intermingled with some of my polyp colonies.
Here is my plan of attack for removing the old tank, repairing and painting the drywall, and putting the new tank into place. Am I overlooking anything? Am I making this unnecessarily complicated? Any suggestions to avoid a catastrophic meltdown?
Objectives
1. Remove existing tank
2. Repair and paint damaged drywall behind tank
3. Remove bubble algae from rock
4. Install new tank
This week
1. Buy supplies (salt, buckets, Rubbermaid containers, beer)
2. Stockpile RO/DI water
3. Finish tank stand construction
Friday afternoon/evening
1. Pickup new aquarium that was ordered from LFS
2. Move non-coral livestock into 10-gallon heated aquarium filled with water from main tank (where possible, remove corals and polyps from rock)
3. Move rock with attached coral/polyps into heated Rubbermaid tubs filled with water from main tank
4. Move rock with no attached coral/polyps into unheated tubs filled with water from tank
5. Move chaeto algae from sump into 5-gallon bucket filled with water from tank
6. Fill another Rubbermaid tub with water from main tank (for rinsing rock on Saturday)
7. Move sand into 5-gallon buckets
8. Disassemble tank, sump, skimmer, plumbing, etc., and move tank and stand out of room
9. Start drywall repair (hopefully just skim coating with drywall compound)
Saturday
1. Finish drywall repair (sand, prime, paint)
2. Put new tank and stand in place, re-assemble sump, skimmer, plumbing, etc.
3. Fill tank with RO/DI water (close valves to sump) and add salt; turn on heaters and run powerheads until salt is dissolved
4. After salt is dissolved and SG is correct, replace sand and allow to settle
5. Remove all bubble algae from rock by scraping (scrub if necessary with toothbrush); keep rocks with attached coral/polyps underwater during algae removal
6. Rinse cleaned rocks with saltwater (fresh saltwater for rocks without coral/polyps attached; reserved tank water for those with coral/polyps attached)
Sunday
1. After sand has settled, water is clear, and temperature is correct, start circulation, adding makeup saltwater to account for skimmer, sump, and plumbing; return chaeto algae to sump
2. Add new base rock
3. Place rock without coral/polyps attached into tank
4. Acclimate rock with coral/polyps attached and place into tank, then complete aquascaping
5. Acclimate remaining livestock and return to tank
6. Carry all the empty beer bottles to the recycling bin :beer: