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Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 7/21/2008 9:27:28 AM
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My wife woke me up this morning to these dreadful words, "the fish tank is leaking!" Yikes! Turns out that the back glass is cracked from the top to the one of the bottom holes that served as an inlet for a closed loop. It had caused a slow leak (thank you, Lord!). If it wasn't for the fact that I reinforced the back with black plexiglass on the inside (more for looks than anything) the back probably would have cracked worse and all the water leaked to the neighbors below. I was able to rescue all the fish and set up a temporary home for them in the water change tank. I just sat down and am thinking what to do next.
One question that comes to my mind is about the sand bed. The tank is about 4 years old and has a somewhat lively sand bed. Do I try to rescue some or all of it? How?
Sad thing is that I was just admiring it yesterday and planning to add a coral or two as a paged through Borneman's book, "Aquarium Corals." 
Jared.
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Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 5/9/2008 1:35:17 PM
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after you get everything out, SAVE THE SANDBED! you'll need it for your new tank.
"It bends like something that's very...bendy." --Dr. Paul Whitby
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| It depends on if you are planning. If you disturb the sand bed at all you will have to really cycle it as it will release all kinds of nasty stuff into your tank. Just my 2 cents Craig
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| How... should I save it? Or should I save a portion of it?
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Group: Forum Members
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I've spoken with Ron about such a matter (when I was moving and transferring to a bigger tank) he said if you've got a really deep sandbed (+4") then just save the top 3" or so and when you get the new tank ready for it, put new sand on the bottom, then gently spread the old sand on top of it. Don't worry about the sand bed being "toxic" or anything. Ron's students did a study on that and to find pockets of anything toxic required a DEEEEP sand bed that had been going on for like 2yrs or so, and even then it wasn't a large amount, and it dispersed just as quickly. (it was found with a probe. if the sand had actually been disturbed to that spot it probably would've been dispersed by the flow in the tank and nothing would ever know the difference)
forgive me, Ron, if I got something wrong, but I believe that's accurate. (i didn't have a recording of your presentation or anything)
"It bends like something that's very...bendy." --Dr. Paul Whitby
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if you've got less than 4" of sand I'd save all of it in a bucket. Depending on how long it's going to be sitting, you should put a heater in it and a small powerhead so it doesn't get stagnant. Otherwise, if it's just going to be a day or so it should be fine as is. (you don't want to rinse it either, cuz you'll be rinsing away all the good bacteria)
"It bends like something that's very...bendy." --Dr. Paul Whitby
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| Hi, Sorry to hear of the problems. What you should do if you want to save the sand bed depends on the time scale of things. If you plan on setting up a new bed soon -within say 14-15 days, simply drain all the water out of the tank down to the level of the old bed and let it sit undisturbed until the time comes to do things. The moist bed and low water level will keep the animals in the bed in fine shape, and they will cool down in a room temperature environment and be fine. Top the water in bed off every couple of days with a sprinkling of RO/DI water to keep the salinity more or less constant. If it is going to take more than a couple of weeks, I would dispose of the bed and its critters and start over. If the new tank is going to go where the old one was, and you need to move the old bed out of the way. Use a scoop - a plastic dust pan works well - to plane off the top inch or so of the bed. Deposit that matierial - with as little deep piling as possible - in a wide flat container for storage. Cover it with sea water and keep at 65 to 70 deg F. until you need it. It will keep this way for quite a long time. When you set up the new bed, add the new sand as the bottom layer and then spead the old sand and critters over it, like frosting over a cake. Aquascape above that and add water. YOU WILL GET A CYCLING EVENT. Some mortality in the sand bed is unavoidable, but it should be a relatively minor event. My guess is that if everything works as it should, the major cycling will be over in a few days, and within about a week or so you will have a functional sand bed again. Good luck! If you have any further questions/comments please don't hesitate to ask them. 
Cheers, Ron
"The difference in mind between man and the higher animals, great as it is, certainly is one of degree and not of kind. The love for all living creatures is the most noble attribute of man." Charles Darwin (1809-1882)
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Thank you for all your help. I have followed your instructions and have about an inch of sandbed sitting in a shallow plastic container. I will hopefully pick up a new tank tomorrow. I am presuming that I should let the sand do its thing and add the fish after it cycles.
I think from now on I will be a bit more shy about drilling holes and such. I believe my problem happened (read: was caused by stupid me) because I messed with the plastic support that spanned the top center of the tank. The tank bulged a tiny bit but that must have been too much for it. Funny it took four years to finally crack.
I am looking into hang on overflows so that I can get the water down to my sump without drilling holes. Are these more dangerous? Is there anything to know or watch out for? Thanks again. It is so nice to have good help especially during an emergency.
Jared.
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| Hi Jared, Glad to see that you are in "the recovery phase." Good Luck!!! You asked, "I am looking into hang on overflows so that I can get the water down to my sump without drilling holes. Are these more dangerous? Is there anything to know or watch out for? Thanks again. " Good luck! The only way that I know of drilling holes safely is to use an acrylic or some other non-glass (= for example, fiberglas) tank. As far as "overflows" - - - I trust them about as much as politicians; which is to say, not at all (Obamania to the contrary  ). I am sure some other folks will/can give some good "positive" advice about them. I don't use them. I do not have a sump. My skimmer is mounted above my tank on a shelf on the wall and drains backing to the tank passively. So does my refuge tank. Looks kinda funky - but I am not fond of the process of discovering "Lake Ron" after the overflow fails during the middle of the night or during my absence from the house. 
Cheers, Ron
"The difference in mind between man and the higher animals, great as it is, certainly is one of degree and not of kind. The love for all living creatures is the most noble attribute of man." Charles Darwin (1809-1882)
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Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 5/9/2008 1:35:17 PM
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[quote]freedomverse (5/5/2008)
I am looking into hang on overflows so that I can get the water down to my sump without drilling holes. Are these more dangerous? Is there anything to know or watch out for? Thanks again. It is so nice to have good help especially during an emergency.
Jared.[/quote]
I asked the same thing of my fellow COMAS members...Here's the link to the thread: http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1329873
It's not a long thread, but it has good advice!
"It bends like something that's very...bendy." --Dr. Paul Whitby
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