rob020880
08/08/2010, 10:15 AM
Hello Reefers,
I have a 130 gal corner bowfront tank with a 30 gal sump. I love the tank and loved my aquasacape but now all the corals have overgrown the tank and it looks really crowded. My plan is to redo the entire aquascape creating a more open Bonsai style look using my existing rock. I also plan to switch to all t5's from 250MH's, change the skimmer, and buff out all the scratches in this acrylic tank once the rock is removed.
I have a spare tank that I will setup where I will keep all the corals and fish during this overhaul but it wont fit the live rock. Here's my main concern.
I want pull out all the rock, remove all the coral and rescape it. But I won't be able to redo the aquascape quickly because I want to get it perfect this time, and need to repolish all the acrylic.
So I was thinking of just pulling all the rock, setting it outside and letting it fry in the sun essentially killing the LR. I have a couple of reasons for doing this, first off it will allow me the time to properly figure out the aquascape, I plan to use rods and reef cement to get the rocks to stay together in the proper form. Secondly it will kill of the aptasia that I have been having trouble with, and thirdly it will kill any coral thats left encrusted on the rock making sure that the corals grow only where I plant them on the new aquascape.
Is this a good idea? Has anyone done such a thing, and what words of wisdom might you have for me? Would I be better off keeping some or all of the rock alive during this process somehow? One of my main concerns is killing all the aptasia, is there a way to kill them without killing the live rock, for example would keeping the LR in RODI instead of saltwater kill the aptasia yet keep everything else alive.
I am postive that I won't be able to keep all the rock alive but I may be able to keep some alive during this process. I plan to build an intricate tower which needs to be cemented together and figured out so I anticipate this will take me a while. Will I need to do anything with the rock after I "kill" it? I was thinking of just hosing it down daily and then soaking it in rodi for a couple of days and replacing the RODI before reintroducing into the tank. Also keep in mind that my tank will be empty so when I reintroduce the rock there I have no problems with recycling the tank. Below is a pic of the tank from a year ago, now the thing looks like a disaster so I need to redo it.
http://reefcentral.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=230&pictureid=1168
I have a 130 gal corner bowfront tank with a 30 gal sump. I love the tank and loved my aquasacape but now all the corals have overgrown the tank and it looks really crowded. My plan is to redo the entire aquascape creating a more open Bonsai style look using my existing rock. I also plan to switch to all t5's from 250MH's, change the skimmer, and buff out all the scratches in this acrylic tank once the rock is removed.
I have a spare tank that I will setup where I will keep all the corals and fish during this overhaul but it wont fit the live rock. Here's my main concern.
I want pull out all the rock, remove all the coral and rescape it. But I won't be able to redo the aquascape quickly because I want to get it perfect this time, and need to repolish all the acrylic.
So I was thinking of just pulling all the rock, setting it outside and letting it fry in the sun essentially killing the LR. I have a couple of reasons for doing this, first off it will allow me the time to properly figure out the aquascape, I plan to use rods and reef cement to get the rocks to stay together in the proper form. Secondly it will kill of the aptasia that I have been having trouble with, and thirdly it will kill any coral thats left encrusted on the rock making sure that the corals grow only where I plant them on the new aquascape.
Is this a good idea? Has anyone done such a thing, and what words of wisdom might you have for me? Would I be better off keeping some or all of the rock alive during this process somehow? One of my main concerns is killing all the aptasia, is there a way to kill them without killing the live rock, for example would keeping the LR in RODI instead of saltwater kill the aptasia yet keep everything else alive.
I am postive that I won't be able to keep all the rock alive but I may be able to keep some alive during this process. I plan to build an intricate tower which needs to be cemented together and figured out so I anticipate this will take me a while. Will I need to do anything with the rock after I "kill" it? I was thinking of just hosing it down daily and then soaking it in rodi for a couple of days and replacing the RODI before reintroducing into the tank. Also keep in mind that my tank will be empty so when I reintroduce the rock there I have no problems with recycling the tank. Below is a pic of the tank from a year ago, now the thing looks like a disaster so I need to redo it.
http://reefcentral.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=230&pictureid=1168