Going bare

[Jared J]

Well, I think I'm gonna start removing the substrate from my tank with the next water change. I've been having issues with red cyano and the crushed coral is the only place I can see it coming from. There is plenty of flow, I feed every other day, RO/DI is good. It does seem like it is starting to fade now that I have the refugium going and the chaeto is growing, but i think I will start removing some with every water change so there is as little left as possible. I may keep a small section for the canary wrasse to dive into though. The sand is the only place I can see causing problems.

[crvz]

could be, particularly if it's crushed coral (which is more likely to harbor wastes compared to sand). good luck!

[cerobbins]

For your wrasse you can place some sand in a tubberware container and tuck it away somewhere. That usually does a good job of keeping it all in the container and out of the tank.

[Loverotties]

Originally Posted by cerobbins

For your wrasse you can place some sand in a tubberware container and tuck it away somewhere. That usually does a good job of keeping it all in the container and out of the tank.

Sounds good as long as the tank is some what big.

[Jared J]

Well, I tested the water today and the in tank Phos readings were .25 and the water from the RO/DI is 0. I guess it is coming from the crushed coral so Friday it's coming out. If that doesn't help, I may redo the tank with rock lifts, we'll see how obsessed i get.

[aquawolf]

Best of luck with getting the substrate out of there and keep us posted on how the phosphate levels are affected.

[OneDummHikk]

If you are going to remove it, do it all at once. If you do it slowly, you increase your chances of anything in the substrate causing issues in the tank. If you do it all at once, during a waterchange, you limit the impact removing it can have.

[Jared J]

Thanks Randy, I was worried about that.

[crvz]

Have a good 20 or 30 gallons available for change during the process, too. As long as the temp and salinity are in line, a 75% water change shouldnt really bother anything in the tank, but you may need to dilute anything that gets stirred up during the removal.

[Jared J]

I did just that. I made up my 20g rubbermaid brute with new water and just about used it all. It's funny how you suck out more water than gravel. Anyway, I got most of the gravel out. I did leave a small portion for the wrasse. I have been vacuming the gravel with water changes but I was shocked at how much crap came out while removing the gravel. I would swear that someone just put all that dirt in there, lol. Hopefully the cyano will disappear quick.

[crvz]

Hopefully indeed, good luck with it!

[aquawolf]

Keep us posted on how things go without the substrate.

[Jared J]

I do have to say, although it may just be me, but it seems that things look happier with the tank bare bottom. The water looks a bit clearer also, and my skimmer pulls more junk out than it did before. I kind like this bare bottom thing

[aquawolf]

Glad to hear it is working out for you.

[OneDummHikk]

Barebottom tanks do tend to stay "clearer" because of the lack of the sand bed. The skimmer seems to pick up because the sand bed isn't trapping it anymore, its letting the skimmer get it.