Clavie21
09/19/2011, 10:52 PM
I got a 12g Nano cube for Christmas 3 or 4 years ago. Like many of you pros, it was a lot of trial and error in the beginning. About a year in I had a power outage, and the tank took a downward spiral. Lost a a few fish, and green and hair algae was taking over the rocks, and walls of the tank. After a good scrubbing everything was looking good again after the tank cleared. (I scrubbed and pulled most of the algae I could out.) Cleaned the sponges, bio balls, changed carbon etc. After about a month and a half 2 months, adding a couple fish and some live rock the tank seemed to be back on the right track.Until....another power outage. These were in the winter. I lost all of my fish except for the one domino damsel I had since the tank was set up. He was a survivor....for a short while. After cleaning the tank a month had passed, and rocky as i called him died and I stopped maintaining the tank. I had spent a lot of money and was discouraged. Between an aggressive clown killing a couple smaller fish, losing 2 anemones because either my stock lights cant support corals..? and or general newbie status, the loss of the two power outages I was going to take time away from the tank and research learn and retry. Well life caught up with me. A lot of work, school etc and there the tank sat running, turning the lights on and off for the live rock.(the moonlight was always on in the tank) For a long time you could see small feather dusters still living in some of the live rock. I moved downstairs to another apartment, where the tank has continue to run. But I stopped turning on the lights cause after a while the everything seemed to die off in the tank. I recently thought of how i would like to get back into the saltwater tank, and have been trying to get the tank back to normal. There is still some red brown, pink and purple color to the live rock although a lot of it has gone white from dieing I presume There was some coralline algae on the back of the tanks and slightly on the walls. There was also some hair algae surprisingly not to bad covering a bunch of the rock and walls as well.
Here is what I have done so far. About a week ago I pulled out the bio balls, sponges, carbon bag, ceramic rings and pump.I rinsed and boiled them in Spring water ans trashed the carbon. I scrubbed the tank. I mean everything. I pulled/ scrubbed as much of the hair algae possible off the rock, scrubbed all the coralline, hair, and green algae off of the walls of the tank, stirred up the sand. I put the the whole filtration system back together, and let the tank filter and settle than put back the rock. (still unsure if any of it is alive or all dead..?)The tank then looked kind of normal.I pulled the filtration, system again.(sponges, bioballs, ceramic rings, pump) re rinsed and boiled them again. Put them in the tank and took the water to pet store to be tested. The guy told me to do a 50% water change and to let the tank cycle. (My nitrates were outrageous ammonia a little high) Everything else was surprisingly normal.... So i went home changed about 60% of the water, waited a few days, did another water change about 50 percent. Now the rocks seem to have a little better color but the hair, and green algae is returning and there is dark brown sand or dirt on top of the sand.
WHAT SHOULD I DO??? just leave the lights off wait for it to cycle, and see what happens?
Here is what I have done so far. About a week ago I pulled out the bio balls, sponges, carbon bag, ceramic rings and pump.I rinsed and boiled them in Spring water ans trashed the carbon. I scrubbed the tank. I mean everything. I pulled/ scrubbed as much of the hair algae possible off the rock, scrubbed all the coralline, hair, and green algae off of the walls of the tank, stirred up the sand. I put the the whole filtration system back together, and let the tank filter and settle than put back the rock. (still unsure if any of it is alive or all dead..?)The tank then looked kind of normal.I pulled the filtration, system again.(sponges, bioballs, ceramic rings, pump) re rinsed and boiled them again. Put them in the tank and took the water to pet store to be tested. The guy told me to do a 50% water change and to let the tank cycle. (My nitrates were outrageous ammonia a little high) Everything else was surprisingly normal.... So i went home changed about 60% of the water, waited a few days, did another water change about 50 percent. Now the rocks seem to have a little better color but the hair, and green algae is returning and there is dark brown sand or dirt on top of the sand.
WHAT SHOULD I DO??? just leave the lights off wait for it to cycle, and see what happens?