Tank break-down strategies

[dzekunoi]

Haya all!

 

Long time no see. Many of you still remember me I hope

It's been a long time no see. Very busy with my new job and I do not even know with what else.

Sad news - I desided to brake down my 120 mixed reef and perhaps scale down to something really small - like a nanocube or maybe to my 50 gal Hex tank (which has been sitting in the garage for a loooong time).

I have plenty of great pieces of corals and wonderful fish I will not be able to keep, equipment I will not need anylonger and live rock covered with corals - large pieces (up to 25 lbs) and small pieces as well.

Corals and fish - some corals are huge and old and healthy. I kept them for years. Say, I have a frogspawn size of 2 basketballs, huge devil's hand, 14" large blue lipped squiamosa clam, palm sized Tomini Tang (he is the biggest I've ever seen), huge anemonies etc. I probably would rather donate these organizms to a good cause - public aquarium? School?. I do not want people to buy them and split for fragments (not talking about fish and clams ) but might sell them to a good home as well.

Here I have a problem - I have no idea how to start and finish breaking down tank. I want it fast and painless. Honestly, do not have any time to deal with this alot.

Can you people give me any advise how to proceed? I know some of you are experts in it as you break down and re-start constantly.

I also was thinking about selling as a system but I'm afraid it is not that possible...

 

Soooo, any tips?

 

Inna

Edited September 25, 2010 by dzekunoi

[Kingumar]

sad to hear you breaking the big one down.

well, first off, are you going to keep the new tank at the same location as this one?

 

One thing you could do is set the hex up and let it run for a little, then transfer what you need from the 120 and sell/donate what other you have left. This way the corals and fish wont be stressed that much.

 

That was just a general suggestion/way to do it. Im sure someone can go in great detail with it

 

Good luck with the new tank and if you decide to sell, im setting up a 90gal so im looking for some stuff to populate the tank with

 

Good Luck

Edited September 25, 2010 by Kingumar

[ctenophore]

Hi Inna

 

The clam and fish can have a nice home in my greenhouse if you want. Right next to the big Derasa I got from you a few years ago. It is 14" now

 

The tang will have plenty of swimming room and algae to eat in the 6x10' tubs.

 

Hope you stay in the hobby with a smaller tank at least. I'll trade you some coral and some baby clowns if you want them.

 

Justin

[Alieu07]

Hi Inna.... How much you want for the system? What the dimemsion of the 120g? I am looking for the 120g standard size(4x2x2). Are you looking to sell the tank or completed system? Thank you.

 

Andy

[dzekunoi]

Mmmmm, guys,

 

Thanks for the replies but if you start making me offers on this post and ask about prices and such officers will get really upset!

 

I was more thinking along the lines of how I should do this in general - have a break down party with auction, open a tank break-down sale post with prices (as per rules), try to sell lifestock to vendors or maybe get advice where I can donate to or maybe try to sell it all to one person.

 

Any ideas?

[Vadim]

im down for breakdown auction partaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy lol.

[epleeds]

i would probably take good pictures of all your coral that you want to sell and post a for sale add. that way, people could see what you have and what your asking for it. Once you are able to sell the coral, then move to the fish. once you have sold all that people will buy, then you could think of donating the rest to a school or something else. It all depends on if you want to make some of the money back that you have put into the tank.

 

You could also sell a bunch of your equipment too and put a few bucks in your pocket.

[davelin315]

Inna, sad to see you go smaller, but I know that you'll be back. Anyway, my advice is to find a few people or even a single person that would be willing to take all of the stuff. You could then get it all out at once. When I broke down my school tanks last spring for the summer I had a few people helping and got everything broken down in a couple of hours (a bunch of tanks all at once). So, that said, that to me is the way to go.

 

Now, if you're donating to a school, there are 3-5 schools with tanks now, so you could get us all together at the same time and have us break it down for you if you wanted, as far as livestock. By the way, if you do donate, I would love to put that clam into a school tank despite it's monstrous size. I think the kids would absolutely love to see how a clam like that reacts to light.

[zygote2k]

The good thing about downsizing is that you now have a smaller space in which to fill with corals. Maybe you could take one of the large colonies and nearly fill the tank with one big coral!

I'm looking for some large Tangs for a 3000g tank....

[treesprite]

Inna! I was worrying about you - I'm so happy to see you are still on the earth!

 

I'm glad you are going to stay in the hobby - when I saw the thread on the board list I thought it was a getting out thread. Are you keeping your seahorse tank up, or is it already down?

[roni]

also, for the things you have left that you're keeping, assuming that your new tank isn't going in the same spot as your old, just set it up with water, move some sand and rock over to seed the system and on the day of your old tank breakdown, move over about enough water to do a 30-40% water change in your new tank with the old water and move your old rock over. Your essentially transferring a running system into a new tank and doing the equivalent of a 30% water change, which is a little large but should be fine (you could also just move all old water over and move the water you had running in your new tank into buckets and then do 20% water changes over the next few days.

[L8 2 RISE]

I would love to take the clam and any soft corals/LPS/anything not SPS for the Oakton 150 gallon reef. We're pretty lacking on corals and such and only have a handful. I'm sure several schools would love to take everything you have if you want to do it that way. I can also give you a tax deductable if you'd like.

[OUsnakebyte]

I've recently completed a Species Acquisition Proposal for giant clams for the Invert Exhibit at the Zoo. I can talk to our registrar to see if you can donate it to the zoo. If so, it would be a HUGE step in the direction for all to be able to donate things...

 

Let me know.

 

Cheers

Mike

Edited September 27, 2010 by OUsnakebyte

[dzekunoi]

Thanks guys!

 

Really good advise and I'm seriosly thinking donation now. So much time and joy associated with this tank I feel wrong selling. If I can tax deduct of course.

 

Mike, I would love to donate large clam to the zoo - then I can come and visit. Large clam is one of the first critters I bought and I have very special attachment to it. I still play with it time after time - put a shadow and see it moving. Talk with the registar and let me know.

 

For the school program I have a smaller teardrop maxima. It is very pretty and hardy.

I really like the idea of getting school mentors together for breakdown and donation party

 

Forrest, thank you for thinking about me! Seahorse tank is down. Was very unlucky tank I miss the ponies