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Personally, I’d do it.Im so confused. people are saying not to do the rip clean, that itll kill my tank but at the same time im getting perfect stories of how the rip clean saved their tank. Guys I dont know what to do.
ill think about it. Ill do a lot of manual removal for now and the upcoming weekend after the one tomorrow ill maybe do the rip clean.Personally, I’d do it.
Your fish are going to be stressed but so are you. They also are going to be ok I think as long as they are in the old tank water for a day with an air stone and heater. Just like a quarantine setup, all they have is a glass box, air stone and heater.
Can you do it other ways with herbivores and time? Yes.
does the plan I wrote out sound good though? Am i missing anything?Personally, I’d do it.
Your fish are going to be stressed but so are you. They also are going to be ok I think as long as they are in the old tank water for a day with an air stone and heater. Just like a quarantine setup, all they have is a glass box, air stone and heater.
Can you do it other ways with herbivores and time? Yes.
does the plan I wrote out sound good though? Am i missing anything?
Thanks so much! If you have a sump, did you clean it too? And did you create completely new water or pour in the old tank water? (half at least)I first drained about half of my tank water into a 10 gallon brute rubbermaid trash bin. I then took the heater and the return pump and put it in that bucket. I then removed all my rocks and livestock from the tank and housed them in there as I cleaned things. (see image)
View attachment 2984045
My next step was to remove the rest of the tank water and keep it in a second bucket so I could use it to dunk rocks that I scraped and treated with peroxide later.
Then I removed the sand into a separate bucket that I started rinsing with the hose outside.
This is what the sand looked like on my first rinse. All the junk floats to the top and all the sand stays at the bottom. Drain the gross water out and do it again until it is clear.
View attachment 2984046
End result :
View attachment 2984056
So you can rinse your sandbed OUT of the tank and have no problem. Just make sure you rinse it with RO or saltwater before adding it back to your tank. Cause ya know... tap water is gross and stuff.
As I was rinsing the sandbed I was cleaning the tank with vinegar. Then I rinse the tank in RO water.
Other than scraping the rocks that is all I did. I just put everything back in the tank after that. It worked out for me.
I do not have a sump. That is an AIO nano tank. I replaced the water 100% and did not use any old tank water. Now since your tank is A LOT bigger than mine I wouldn't think it is awful to use half new and half old. It depends on your capabilities of making new saltwater.Thanks so much! If you have a sump, did you clean it too? And did you create completely new water or pour in the old tank water? (half at least)
I use bleach in the washing too, after a hand rinse. The. Run them again with no bleach. Just gotta let them get completely dry before using.Put them inside out and run them on HOT and HAND WASH in your washer with NO detergent. Then run another rinse cycle to fully get out any detergent from old wash cycles. Then let air dry.
Listen to this person. I’m curious about your “Phosphate reactor.” Does that mean GFO reactor? I’d probably just run heavy GFO in a reactor and starve the algae of phosphate. You don’t have coral, so who cares if you strip out all phosphate.Stay away from this silly "rip clean" idea. It screams of being a highly disruptive event to the balance/biology of your tank.
Remember - <everything> good in a reef happens slowly. You need to up your export game; install an algae scrubber, or use GFO, or setup a refugium.
Take a look at how much and what you're feeding. Do one or two 25% water changes per week, doing a manual algae removal while you do so.
It took you months to get to this point, it will take you months to get back to a nicer tank. (If you want to do it without risking serious long term consequences)
I first drained about half of my tank water into a 10 gallon brute rubbermaid trash bin. I then took the heater and the return pump and put it in that bucket. I then removed all my rocks and livestock from the tank and housed them in there as I cleaned things. (see image)
View attachment 2984045
My next step was to remove the rest of the tank water and keep it in a second bucket so I could use it to dunk rocks that I scraped and treated with peroxide later.
Then I removed the sand into a separate bucket that I started rinsing with the hose outside.
This is what the sand looked like on my first rinse. All the junk floats to the top and all the sand stays at the bottom. Drain the gross water out and do it again until it is clear.
View attachment 2984046
End result :
View attachment 2984056
So you can rinse your sandbed OUT of the tank and have no problem. Just make sure you rinse it with RO or saltwater before adding it back to your tank. Cause ya know... tap water is gross and stuff.
As I was rinsing the sandbed I was cleaning the tank with vinegar. Then I rinse the tank in RO water.
Other than scraping the rocks that is all I did. I just put everything back in the tank after that. It worked out for me.
What did you do different after the rip clean to keep the algae from coming back on the clean rocks?
Im so confused. people are saying not to do the rip clean, that itll kill my tank but at the same time im getting perfect stories of how the rip clean saved their tank. Guys I dont know what to do.
It's probably the same thing but my lfs uses the words phosphate reactor. Never heard of GFO what does it mean?Listen to this person. I’m curious about your “Phosphate reactor.” Does that mean GFO reactor? I’d probably just run heavy GFO in a reactor and starve the algae of phosphate. You don’t have coral, so who cares if you strip out all phosphate.
also, feed your fish minimally. You don’t get nutrients in your tank if you don’t put nutrients in your tank…..unless your rock is leeching. Then the GFO should take care of that.
There are multiple ways to skin the cat. Some people rely on cleanup crew. Others manage nutrients. I do the latter, because I have cleanup crew eating fish.
Usually the key words rip, algae, sand are like an alarm clock!...lolBro didn't answer the bat-signal. Hurry up @brandon429!
I'd stay the course, Brandon will check in soon I'm sure.
If you want to get it all done at once and wake up the next morning to a clean tank, then rip. If you want to slowly battle it back over the course of days/weeks, then that can work too. Either way works.
I think I'm going to rip clean i just had a few questions before,and wanted to make sure my plan is correctBro didn't answer the bat-signal. Hurry up @brandon429!
I'd stay the course, Brandon will check in soon I'm sure.
If you want to get it all done at once and wake up the next morning to a clean tank, then rip. If you want to slowly battle it back over the course of days/weeks, then that can work too. Either way works.
Don’t forget peroxide.Usually the key words rip, algae, sand are like an alarm clock!...lol
Gfo is granular ferric oxide. It removes phosphateIt's probably the same thing but my lfs uses the words phosphate reactor. Never heard of GFO what does it mean?