Advice and Suggestions Please. :)

Mom2Many

Mom2Many

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I have had fish tanks all my life and salt tanks off and on over the last 17 years or so. I have moved tanks, I have transfered stuff over to other tanks. I have sold tanks...but I have never been in this situation before and would like honest advice.

I have had my 20 long up and running for four years. I have taken this tank as far as I wish to develope it It is getting over grown and corals are fighting terribly. I am also dosing more than I would like to. I tried selling my tank as a whole and was just going to start over with a new system. The tank did not sell. So now I have decided to keep my tank and hardware and a few of my favorite corals and a few frags of others, start over with new rock so most of the rocks I want gone and many of the big colonies and such. I can not figure out how to do this. I dont have a place to grow out frags.

My options are...(that I can think of)

1. To set up another twenty long and move one of my lights onto it temperarily. Put in my new rock work. Take what I want from my tank and then frag up and sell the remaining corals and rocks out of my old tank.

2. Set up a twenty long. Move over one of my lights temperarily. Frag things up, let them heal, and sell them out of the new tank and then the remaining rocks I want gone out of the old tank.

3. Take the whole shibang to a fish store for credit to be done with it. (But would have liked cash from it and to keep some frags from things)

4. Slowly sell the colonies as a whole to people (but I wanted a frag off a few of them) and rocks I dont want. Then rebuild in the exsisting tank.

I already ordered my reef rock and it is suposed to be in on this Wednesday. (Walts 2.1) I got the 40 pounds because I like working with a few larger pieces in a tank as opposed to a lot of smaller chunks.

I appreciate any ideas as to how to do this smoothly and with no loss of corals. I must also say that I have no idea how to frag some of my corals. Like my very solid, large, pink pocci that is very firmly attached to a large main piece of rock work.

I will add a picture so you can how very involved this whole process will be.
108.jpg
Thank you all so much. Blessings and Happy Reefing!
 
Personally, I like option 1 but it may end up costing more since it requires getting a new tank. It allows you to set up the new just the way you want it and take your time doing it. Selling all of the frags could take a while and it's something you want plenty of room for. I also like option 2 but I really do think you could sell frags and rocks out of the old tank while building up the other just how you like it.

It looked like you're ordering dry rock. You could start selling out of your existing tank and set up the other without much lighting. Let everything settle in and mature before you add any corals and start selling stuff from the existing. In a few weeks you could start populating the new setup and hopefully have some of the items already sold. Fragging everything up is the best way to get the most $$ but it's also time consuming and might be pretty drawn out.
 
jcook54 said:
Personally, I like option 1 but it may end up costing more since it requires getting a new tank. It allows you to set up the new just the way you want it and take your time doing it. Selling all of the frags could take a while and it's something you want plenty of room for. I also like option 2 but I really do think you could sell frags and rocks out of the old tank while building up the other just how you like it.

It looked like you're ordering dry rock. You could start selling out of your existing tank and set up the other without much lighting. Let everything settle in and mature before you add any corals and start selling stuff from the existing. In a few weeks you could start populating the new setup and hopefully have some of the items already sold. Fragging everything up is the best way to get the most $$ but it's also time consuming and might be pretty drawn out.
Click to expand...
Thank you for taking the time to respond. The points you make are very sound. The whole situation has really been stressful for me....trying to figure it all out. If I do number 1...even though there will be initial costs. I will reduce stress to myself in many ways...can chill out and take my time in set up with the new system. The down side would be a cluttered living room and trying to keep 9 kids away from it all ! Haha. Blessings and happy reefing!
 
Steve Burton said:
I can't find your for sale thread
Click to expand...
I never had it for sale on this forum as I was not allowed. I was not a supporting member at the time. I had it for sale on craigslist for several weeks as a whole system...plug and play type deal. I removed the ad last week and am trying to figure out what to do now. :) I have a youtube channel if you wish to see this tank in motion.
 
sharis100 said:
Are you going to sell any of the colonies?
Click to expand...
I will be selling the green pocci and the pink pocci on the left of the tank as colonies for sure, as I just found out I need a band saw to frag them and dont have one. The green one I can get off the rock,,,I think...the pink one is firmly encrusted onto the very large main rock...which I do not want anyways. The only reason I was going to frag the other colonies, I dont want to keep, is because I was told I would not get good prices as a colony. :) I want most of the rocks gone. (After I take off what I want to keep) As I am tired of battling zoas and mushrooms, so they go with the rocks. I have a bird of paridise colony that is going. Both the pink and green pocci's. The large pink stylo? In the middleish part of the tank. The kryptonite candy canes. ( but want 2 frags of it before it goes)
 
I would be interested if you are not too far from me. Where are you located? Or maybe if you are coming to the next ARC meeting?
 
I know it is a bit far, but if you can make it to the March meeting, that's probably your best option and the one where you will get the most money quickly. If it were me, I would bring a 20 long filled with frags / colonies/ coral rocks and post on here beforehand. If you have a light, perfect, if not, you could get a Hipargero / Aqua Knight for about $60 bucks.

Is upgrading to a bigger tank an option?
 
Beautiful tank!
Maybe, if you offered those colonies in exchange for keeping/swapping a frag (or three ;) , someone might be willing to make the trip up to help you with this?
 
AquariumSchmo said:
I know it is a bit far, but if you can make it to the March meeting, that's probably your best option and the one where you will get the most money quickly. If it were me, I would bring a 20 long filled with frags / colonies/ coral rocks and post on here beforehand. If you have a light, perfect, if not, you could get a Hipargero / Aqua Knight for about $60 bucks.

Is upgrading to a bigger tank an option?
Click to expand...

I am going to try very hard to make it to the meeting. It all depends on my children. So far my husband said he would take me, as long as all the children stay stable and one of my older children can sit for me. (we have nine kids still living at home, all special needs)

I love looking at all of the members bigs tanks. They are so beautiful... But, I am a nano girl. I keep things small and as inexpensive as possible. I am the auto top off, the dosing system, the excess nutrient remover... I like doing the small water changes required and such on small systems. Keeping a little bit of diversity in each tank is fun for me too. Also, My time is not my own, I really dont have time to devote to a larger system and its maintainance. My sweet hubby fixes breakfast for the kids on Sunday mornings and gives me all the time I need to enjoy working in my two nano salt tanks. Then daily it is about five minutes to do dosing, water top off and feed.

I appreciate all the friendly advice I have recieved from everyone. I have taken much of it and am in process of making plans for it all.. I will post what I am brining before I come to the meeting. It looks promising for me to be there. It is my birthday and my husband bought me a new 20L, Walts Smiths rock and sand. ( So much better than jewelery! ) I am going to set it up and start it cycling so I can put the stuff I want to keep in it and then go from there.

Blessings and Happy Reefing!
 
ichthyoid said:
Beautiful tank!
Maybe, if you offered those colonies in exchange for keeping/swapping a frag (or three ;) , someone might be willing to make the trip up to help you with this?
Click to expand...

Thank you so much!

I have actually had a very kind offer from a member here to do just that. I am very grateful as this has been a bit stressful for me. I dont want to kill anything with my lack of knowledge. Also, I just dont have much space in my home for extra tanks and such while I go thru this transistion. One of my sons is in a wheel chair and we have to have room to manuver his chair in all the rooms. Plus a zillion toys everywhere from all the children. I caught my three year old trying to fish in the new 20L(its still empty but chould crack if banged) with her lego tow rope, the one with the hook on the end. Oi! I know it will all work out and be fine. I am excited about starting up another tank from scratch again though, with a different style and corals, so I'm focusing on that. :)
 
If you make to the meeting and decide to sell the pink pocci or a portion of it, let me know as I would love to purchase :).
 
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