View Full Version : Need help re-establinshing FOWLR
Ashleigh
01-18-2004, 4:58 PM
This is my first time to post. I have a 100 gallon tank with approx 70 pounds LR. I had a baby and unfortunately the tank was neglected. For whatever reason, we kept the tank running for a year now without fish, just adding saltwater when needed. I want to get this tank back into condition to add fish again. The tank has a filter sytem under the stand and is filled with blue bioballs. The tank previoulsy was very successful for 4 years. I now have red, green slimely, and black algae everywhere. I have tried my best to clean with a magnet and brushes. Does anyone have any suggestions for me? Should I get an algae cleaning crew or should I empty the tank and start from scratch? Should I throw the rock away? I really appreciate your thoughts on this.
mogurnda
01-19-2004, 10:55 AM
It may be a good opportunity to break it down, add a sand bed and a skimmer.
On the other hand, you may be able to get stuff under control with some heavy water changes. What is your substrate? How bad are your nitrate and phosphate?
Welcome back to the living, by the way.
DEmigh
01-19-2004, 11:20 AM
Originally posted by Ashleigh
[...] we kept the tank running for a year now without fish, just adding saltwater [empasis added :huh: ] when needed. [...]
What's your SG/salinity?
I only ask because, if you decide to emulate Dr. Frankenstein :D your water changes might be fighting a big salt buildup, as well as nitrates and phosphates.
Here's a crazy :joke: thought: how about running a giant brine shrimp hatchery? They might be tolerant of absurd water conditions, and could help re-establish your micro-fauna in an interesting way.
This might be a really good time to rip the tank apart so that you can take that underground filter out. It is just a nitrate factory. The LR and some powerheads should be able to handle the filtering. You might also want to get a few small piece of good quality LR and use that to seed the existing LR you have to get the fauna back to a good level. And you will probably need to cycle the tank again anyway.