Aged Reef Tank - Have questions?

cphought · 01-09-2003, 11:08 AM

Fairly experienced reef keeper here with a 65g All Glass, Tall, 380 watts of CFs . . . ~ 5years old. Contents, mixed bag . . . hard and soft . . . was my first attempt at reef keeping so I was attracted and wanted everything I saw at the time before I educated myself.

Question . . . metal toxicity . . . anyone with experience with it and what have they done about it . . . corals are just not right anymore, growth rate the same but not as colorful, active etc . . . When does one consider changing the aquarium completely? If at all?

Also . . . have chiller and heater with calcium coating on it . . . are people here active about keeping the coating off of this equipment? Does anyone see conflict with not doing this? Pumps are giving me greif as well . . .

Any ideas here would be appreciated.

Thank you in advance.

CP

hcp28 · 01-09-2003, 02:36 PM

You can use vinegar to get off the calcium coating, or hot water. I have always cleaned my pumps and stuff at least bi annualy just to keep the gunk down, more of a personal preference really. Maybe you should check your bulbs they my need changing. HTH

Henry

zt allstar · 01-12-2003, 12:22 AM

It's possible you could be dealing with "old tank syndrome", which to my understanding is just as you have described, corals don't look/seem right. I really don't visit this site as much as other ones, so I don't know what is in the archive or what you could find with a search. You could try reefcentral or reefsorg, as I know for a fact that this topic has been discussed in great detail. What I have read is that you could/should need to change the majority of your live rock and your sand bed to alleviate the problem. A total shot in the dark though. HTH, Zach.

01-09-2003, 11:08 AM	#1
cphought New in Town Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Boston, MA Posts: 1	Aged Reef Tank - Have questions? Fairly experienced reef keeper here with a 65g All Glass, Tall, 380 watts of CFs . . . ~ 5years old. Contents, mixed bag . . . hard and soft . . . was my first attempt at reef keeping so I was attracted and wanted everything I saw at the time before I educated myself. Question . . . metal toxicity . . . anyone with experience with it and what have they done about it . . . corals are just not right anymore, growth rate the same but not as colorful, active etc . . . When does one consider changing the aquarium completely? If at all? Also . . . have chiller and heater with calcium coating on it . . . are people here active about keeping the coating off of this equipment? Does anyone see conflict with not doing this? Pumps are giving me greif as well . . . Any ideas here would be appreciated. Thank you in advance. CP

01-09-2003, 02:36 PM	#2
hcp28 Evil Czar Join Date: Sep 2000 Location: New York, NY Posts: 1,001	You can use vinegar to get off the calcium coating, or hot water. I have always cleaned my pumps and stuff at least bi annualy just to keep the gunk down, more of a personal preference really. Maybe you should check your bulbs they my need changing. HTH Henry __________________ Tragedy is when I cut my finger. Comedy is when you fall down an open manhole and die. -Mel Brooks

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01-12-2003, 12:22 AM	#3
zt allstar Just Moved In Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Warren, MI Posts: 6	It's possible you could be dealing with "old tank syndrome", which to my understanding is just as you have described, corals don't look/seem right. I really don't visit this site as much as other ones, so I don't know what is in the archive or what you could find with a search. You could try reefcentral or reefsorg, as I know for a fact that this topic has been discussed in great detail. What I have read is that you could/should need to change the majority of your live rock and your sand bed to alleviate the problem. A total shot in the dark though. HTH, Zach.

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