WaterBox 220.6 The 2023 Rebuild
- Thread starter MuralReef
- Start date
As much as having a remote tank larger than our DT in the garage sounds intriguing that tank has given me enough headaches that I’m just going to go with the 120 as planned. Plus I’ve lifted that beast enough to know I’m done lifting it.
Sent from my iPhone using MASC - Marine Aquarium Society of Colorado
Sent from my iPhone using MASC - Marine Aquarium Society of Colorado
I almost set that tank up in my garage for African Cichlids. I have an insulated and heated garage, so I was close. Just run some Weld-On over the leak and the rest of the seams and fire it up... should be Ok in a garage. 
Of course, I did get rid of it... so that says something.
Of course, I did get rid of it... so that says something.
Time to fire up the excavator.
If you are never going to QT all fish, inverts, corals, etc. then get a small pack of live rock from Florida and let it spread the worms, pods, starfish, etc. all over the tank. This diversity can help some fish diseases as they fall off of fish for that part of the lifecycle - the tomonts/tomates will get eaten by many things and/or fail to develop if they land on surface bacteria or algae. This is not eradication, but it helps a lot and is why tanks of the past, before dead/dry phase of the hobby, usually had very little disease after 6-9 months once the fauna spread all over the sand - you remember... the waiting for the tank to mature before buying an expensive fish paradigm?
You can get the live rock and have the diverse fauna while you let the tank sit fallow, or have the fish recover somewhere else.
Wet rock from captivity can, or might not, have that same type of fauna. No way to know without really looking at it. If you don't see tons of mini brittle starfish, pods, lots of different types of worms like spaghetti, bristle, etc. then you might need some fresh rock to seed.
If you do have the tank sit fallow, consider dosing ammonium to get the most biologically available source of nitrogen to your corals. Feeding shrimp and crabs can help too. No corals want to get nitrogen from nitrate. Not all corals can even use nitrate, but those that do convert it back to ammonia/ammonium at a cost of 30-70% more energy needed (nobody knows for sure).
You can get the live rock and have the diverse fauna while you let the tank sit fallow, or have the fish recover somewhere else.
Wet rock from captivity can, or might not, have that same type of fauna. No way to know without really looking at it. If you don't see tons of mini brittle starfish, pods, lots of different types of worms like spaghetti, bristle, etc. then you might need some fresh rock to seed.
If you do have the tank sit fallow, consider dosing ammonium to get the most biologically available source of nitrogen to your corals. Feeding shrimp and crabs can help too. No corals want to get nitrogen from nitrate. Not all corals can even use nitrate, but those that do convert it back to ammonia/ammonium at a cost of 30-70% more energy needed (nobody knows for sure).
Remote fuge is online. I knew it wasn’t going to be level but it works. It’s very slow flow and gravity fed back to the DT. We’re planning to order some FL live rock that will live in the DT for a couple of weeks and then come out here. Also going to order some mangroves to get growing out here too.
Sent from my iPhone using MASC - Marine Aquarium Society of Colorado
