64Ivy's Reeftank. The Crash, The Rebuild, The Saga.

[64Ivy]

As many of you already know, last May I suffered my very first major tank crash during which I lost almost everything except a few LPS and my fish. Here is a shot of the tank approximately one month before its demise.





Given this was my first real wipeout in 10 years, I suppose I shouldn’t complain…at least, not too much. But having to stand by helplessly and watch colonies I’ve had for years, exotics, and just plain old favorites dissolve away in a toxic soup of milky saltwater does NOT go down easy. A lot of you have seen photos of episodes such as this through the threads of other crash victims so I’m not going to bother you (or me) with more of my own. Suffice it to say they look like those.

I have no scientific proof as to what caused the crash but about six weeks before, I finally replaced my old light hood with brand new pendants; in effect going from 4x250W SE 10K ABs plus 3x400W 20K Radiums, all in Spiderlight reflectors and augmented with about 650W of VHO actinics driven by magnetic ballasts, to 6x400W (3x10K ABs plus 3x14K AquaConnects) driven by electronic ballasts. And while the overall wattage went down somewhat, the amount of PAR was greatly increased. I knew this going in so I made the switch slowly, so I thought. Apparently, not slowly enough.

I’d say about two weeks after the switch was complete, a couple of acros placed uppermost on the rockwork began to bleach. No big deal, I thought. Then I started losing my Seriatopora colonies, and my prized Suharsonoi which took two years to grow into the 2” colony it had become and was just about on the BOTTOM of the tank. By the next week, a different coral would become affected everyday and although I reduced the lighting again and changed the water every other day, it was already too late. Necrotic tissue had circulated all though out the reefscape. It wasn’t long before the water was so murky, I could barely see through it. Fortunately however, my 8” tall Purple Monster was fairly close to the glass so I had no problem watching that one become a ghostly white skeleton seemingly overnight. And then there was the smell…

At first, I would immediately remove the casualties but as I soon accepted the inevitable, I just let them all die off and remain where they grew. I’d still change the water twice a week and perform all of my routine maintenance, figuring that even if nothing survived, at least the remains could still serve as hiding places for the fish until I was ready to start the rebuild.

The ‘best’ thing about this nightmare was the timing of it. My daughter’s summer vacation was coming up which meant we got to travel. This, in turn, would mean I wouldn’t have to be here every day to watch the tank continue to rot (even now there was still signs of die-off). So while my service person continued normal the husbandry, I got away for a while and THAT was probably the best move I could’ve made. You see, even I wasn’t fully aware of it but I was still brooding…or more accurately, really p***ed! There was no one really to blame for it all and yet more than 10 years worth of work was gone. But with a change of venue, I slowly began to focus less on what was lost. I even began to consider myself kind of lucky in that for the first time in a decade, I could actually enjoy a vacation without worrying about the tank! I DID miss checking in at RC every day and I REALLY missed stopping by some of my favorite vendors while out in California this time, but in the long run, it was all for the good. By September, I was rarin’ to go.

I had an aquascape planned in my head based on the openness of some of the tanks I’d seen posted here. I also wanted the rockwork to be low to afford the corals lots of growing room this time (how’s THAT for optimistic, huh?). So the first thing I did was order about 200 lbs of very large LR from LivestockUSA. This worked out to exactly three pieces. While it cured, we slowly removed the rest of the dead coral and separated the old LR into what would be kept and what would be discarded. That worked out to a ratio of about 25/75. We finally began to assemble the rockwork in early Nov. but even with the minimalist design I wanted, we still came up short. Fortunately, I had a business trip to North Carolina planned and they always take me past Dr Macs place. This time I stopped by and hand selected more than enough rock to get the job done. Unfortunately, I just had to cure it first.

Well, long story…somewhat less long, we finished the new ‘scape a couple weeks ago and finally, here it is.





Four ‘islands’, the largest anchored by a rock that is 36” long and weighs over 90 pounds by itself. It took three of us, performing contortions that the Chinese acrobatics team would’ve been proud of, to gently lower it to the bare bottom. The tallest ‘peak’, on isle 3, is only 18” tall, leaving another 18” to the surface. At no point are the rocks touching any of the walls and floor contact is as minimal as I could make it. Current really moves though- out the entire structure and whatever debris not carried to the overflow seems to collect in two pockets (eddys) for very easy manual clean up.

For the past two weeks I’ve been keeping a test frag (‘Bali’ Slimer’) to see if the necrotic issues are finally done with. I conservatively estimate that since the crash, we’ve flooded the tank with 6000 gallons of new water so if they’re not, I may be taking another leave of absence, only a lot longer this time.

But enough about me. I’d love to hear your thoughts on the new scape. Also any questions or suggestions may be addressed here. In closing, I’d like to say it’s good to be back among the living. Thanks to those who’ve given their encouragement and support though the dark days and especially those who have offered frags. But I’m hereby putting you all on notice: If that Slimer makes it, prepare to ‘frag up’. Later.

[specialkb]

Sweet glad to see you are back in the game, hope everythign works out like it did before the crash. BTW i love the SOHAL

[saltycreefer]

OMG!!! I didn't know about this!!! Read and I did the plumbing on the new sump you have. Jeez!!! What a bummer! I'm sure the tank will be better than ever.

[yellowwatchmen]

Well if you did any thing you wish you would of done diffrent now you can. Did you add another tunze? in the first pic there are 4 and in the second there are 5.

[chem-e]

My tank crashed a couple years ago when my anenome took a swim towards the powerhead while I was on a long vacation. When I got back, it was a garden of hair algae. My tank wasn't nearly as nice as yours, but it was still depressing.

Glad to see you're restarting. I like the openness of the new aquascaping. It looks nice and it'll fill in even nicer with all the SPS I'm sure you'll going to fill it with.

[King-Kong]

Ivy; was the old tank BB?

I really like the aquascape thus far, but I might suggest that you make the current "tallest peak" maybe even taller (but leave the others low). I like the position that tallest area current has (about 1/3 from the right), and think a bit more height would make it look awesome when your new corals sit on top and branch upwards...

It would create a nice structure to help flow with the rest of layout.

[poppin_fresh]

Heres to not giving up!

[Jamesurq]

Sorry to hear this. I've gone through tank meltdowns and it's not fun. Here's to rebuilding the reef again.

I like the open scape you have. Does the new plan sit widely on the species list like the old tank, or is it an SPS only now?

[zach0660]

Sorry to hear about the crash, what a beautiful tank it was.. hope everything goes good for you on the rebuild. Good Luck!!

[Gary Majchrzak]

Welcome back, Michael!

[Rustylugnuts]

Thats it, pick yourself backup and dust yourself off! Sorry to hear about the crash but I'm glad to see its possible to come back (don't know how I'd handle a crash of that magnitude). Keep on rockin on dude.

[JR719]

That's a rough crash. I have taken my tank down after my last one. Get it going again, won't be long....

Btw, I'm working on a 300, so it wont' be too long for me.

[Aquabucket]

Sorry about your loss! I lost a tank to a fire and another one I lost all my SPS due to an air conditioner malfunction.

Your fish are beautiful! Good luck on stocking your new corals!!!

[melev]

I'm here just to provide moral support. Or better morale. Yeah, you need more morals in that tank.

Welcome back, Michael. Show us how it's done, again.

[64Ivy]

Originally posted by yellowwatchmen
Did you add another tunze? in the first pic there are 4 and in the second there are 5.

I've added two more which brings the total to eight. The four rear ones are dialed down to 30/40 percent intervals right now. This is to give me somewhere to go if and when I get the growth I'm hoping for once I restock in earnest.

Originally posted by King-Kong
Ivy; was the old tank BB?

Yep.

I really like the aquascape thus far, but I might suggest that you make the current "tallest peak" maybe even taller (but leave the others low). I like the position that tallest area current has (about 1/3 from the right), and think a bit more height would make it look awesome when your new corals sit on top and branch upwards...

It would create a nice structure to help flow with the rest of layout.

We think alike, except my plan was to make this peak the tallest point in the tank by growing a showpiece staghorn (an A. abrolhosensis, for instance although I have never had any great luck with them). Should my patience run out in that regard, I probably will add another LR here for more height.

Originally posted by poppin_fresh
Heres to not giving up!

I really never thought about completely giving up. I mean, a tank this big, in it's own room, kind of limits your options. Going all LPS crossed my mind for a moment though.

Originally posted by Jamesurq
Sorry to hear this. I've gone through tank meltdowns and it's not fun. Here's to rebuilding the reef again.

I like the open scape you have. Does the new plan sit widely on the species list like the old tank, or is it an SPS only now?

Like the amount of LR, the plan is to have far less species than I had before. I DO have a favorites list and should everything work out with the test frag, I'll probably go hog wild around the beginning of the year. In fact, I have a business trip to Los Angeles planned in Jan. so I may start my shopping a little early. I doubt if I'll be going 100% SPS. I've got a thing for acaths, blastos, and micros so I'm sure I'll pepper a few of those in somewhere. I've also got to throw in a least one Frogspawn or such so that non-reefers won't ask where all the corals are like they constantly did before.

Originally posted by melev
Welcome back, Michael. Show us how it's done, again.

Well, one thing this episode has taught me...again...is to leave well enough alone. I realize the hood HAD to be replaced but in hindsight, I should've kept my lighting parameters as close to the same as possible. None of my other equipment has been changed. In fact, the only new gadget I purchased all year was an Apogee Quantum meter. I would have checked my PAR levels already but the wife promised another crash if she caught me tinkering with the tank during the Holidays...this one involving an actual automobile.

[awestruck]

Hi there! I really like your new aquascaping. If you could purchase a coral that gets really tall, and place it on your higher island, you would create a spectacular tank simply with that asymmetical design (assuming you keep the rest of the tank growing at lower heights). Also, it would be beautiful to have a mixture of sps and lps. And, how about a clam... I have one crocea and I love it. You know, I have a plain ol' Christmas rock and I LOVE that thing...it's so cool to watch the worms' fans open and close.

I'm sorry that you lost so much from the crash. Geez, I would be so upset thus I like your attitude of making this new tank even better. Keep going!

[awestruck]

Ok, duh, I skipped over the part where you want to add a staghorn. Sorry! Also, perhaps you could find a really spectacular acropora or something similar in a bright pink or bright yellow that would absolutely "POP" due to being higher in the aquascaping. Just a thought...

[crab0000]

I can't wait to see what the tank looks like this time! It will be back to better than its former glory soon I'm sure.

[JPMagyar]

Originally posted by 64Ivy
I would have checked my PAR levels already but the wife promised another crash if she caught me tinkering with the tank during the Holidays...this one involving an actual automobile.

That's why I only work on mine when she's not home . . . something about cat's and mice . . . I don't know, but I sure do like to "play" with my tank way too much

On a sadder note, your story is truly tragic, and you have my utmost of sympathies. I lost 60% of my tank in the Great Nor'Eastern Power Outage of '03, and the sorrow still lingers. On a brighter note I agree with everyone else that the new tank will be phenomenal.


Best of luck and I hope you keep us posted with lots of pics! Personally I wouldn't change a thing accept the time frame. I mean really; haven't you heard of "instant gratification". Its all the rage these days

Joe

[64Ivy]

Originally posted by awestruck
... how about a clam... I have one crocea and I love it. You know, I have a plain ol' Christmas rock and I LOVE that thing...

Two problems for me: A Muelleri Copperband Butterfly and a RS Regal Angel. In fact, I first used clams (local) to get them eating to begin with. They may look at them now as early Holiday gifts.

[GreshamH]

Glad to see you rebuilding Michael. I was blown away when I came and saw your tank and even more blown away to hear it crashed not long after

[awestruck]

Yes, no clams or worms for you!!! To reiterate part of what I said earlier, imagine how a really bright yellow, tall coral would look on your island in contrast to the dark background of your tank. Whatever you choose will be beautiful!

[JazzMan]

Michael....crashes are a sad part of this hobby but, on the bright side, you do get to rebuild from scratch. Scratch is putting it mildly from the looks of that second picture.

Now you just need to convince the wife that more time working on the tank is needed in order to assist you through the grieving process.

[NaH2Ofreak]

I think your aquascaping looks AWESOME!!! I enjoy reading your posts just about as much as viewing your tank. You're a great writer (hmmmm....prior experience??). What was it that Florence used to always tell George? Stick it or something? Hmmm...dont recall.

Looks great!!

Dennis

[chrismunn]

better luck to you this time brother, NOT that 10 years is a bad run!