Substrate alternative?

idk about now but alot of people used to use cutting board plastic as the bottom when they wanted bare bottom tanks, ninjazx777 has something kinda like this on the bottom of one of his tanks i think he used something for countertops or something like that it looks nice and kinda like sand

 

Could use rock rubble. Might be a bit big but a hammer solves that issue easy enough. O and if you got something you don't like in your current rock just throw it out on the drive way in the sun to dry out. Then throw it in a tank with water and a heater for a couple weeks to bake it back to live rock and poof back into the display it can go.

 

Travis you need to have patience with your setup. Everyone goes through a algae bloom with a new system. I thought you were getting out due to time constraints. All saltwater systems need time to mature and you never give your multiple attempts at having a successful tank a chance to thrive. We all want a beautiful setup right away but that doesn't happen overnight or a few months. Give it time and maybe you will get where you want to be.

 

travis you need to sit down and figure out everything you need to be successful in this hobby. acquire all the necessary equipment and supplies you need to be successful before settling up.it will save you a lot of heartache in the long run.It took me a couple of months to put everything I needed to get my new system put together. You had some of the right things to get started but you either traded or sold it off for something else instead of staying on course to get to where you want to be.I thought your cube was looking great and then I seen you start selling off things which would be beneficial to your tank. I am still battling issues with my tank and it has been set up for five months. It all takes time and patience.

 

Until you get your own RO/DI can't you get some from someone in CR?

 

I think you would get used to the barebottom look after awhile. If you aren't digging it after 6 months then you can add some sand to it without too much trouble. But that being said, barebottom is not going to help at all if you aren't using quality RO/DI to begin with. Shoot for 0 tds and if you start getting anything greater than 1 tds, it's time to change filters/resin. I know it sounds stringent, but it all adds up quickly and leads to problems.

 

If you have the money sea of marvels will keep your tank for you. Ither than that it takes a little work. Not really too much. But it does take some. Time is the bigest factor. Algea will come and go. Especially in the first year or two of the tank. And occasionally throughout the tanks life. Its just biology... You can set up a grow tank chained before your sump run it with a little bit of substrate and 24/7 lights. Typically a 2700k will grow stuff fast. Help to suck up nutrients. Equipment like a skimmer will help as well. Vodka dosing. There are a number of things to do but starting out wirh arleast ro water will help ten fold. Rodi is ideal. But tearing your tank down to rebuild it a different way is going to lead to another bloom in 6-8 months from set up. And then usually about anither 8-10 months from the first bloom.

 

If you decide to keep the rock and reuse it, you might want to do an acid bath (muratic acid) to get rid of the algae, bound nutrients and whatever else. All the comments above, I second :0)

 

I was in a similar spot with my tank a few years back. You can fix your tank without a full tear down. 1. Aggressive water changes. While doing WC take out rock and scrub off hair algae. 2. While doing WC siphon out sand bed and do not replace. Improperly maintained sand holds a lot of crap.
3. Turn down light cycle to 8 hrs,
4. Give it time.

 

Ideas to solve some of your "problems" :

Lugging water from LFS or friends - grab one of them external tanks you see everyone using as water storage tanks and throw it in your truck. Put a ball or gate valve on one end. Raise the other end up so all the water drains to the valve. Add a garden hose attachment. Go get water, run hose, and open the valve.

Getting rid of alage:
Cut back on how much and how often you feed your tank. Also reduce the time your daylights are on. Vikubz suggested 8 hrs. Start there and maybe go down to 6 hrs and even leave them off over a weekend.

If you want a saltwater tank you need to sit down and determine some goals. Then RESEARCH ways to reach those goals. Ask for advise. And please stop with the I DONT LIKE IT SO IM GOING TO GIVE UP AND START OVER attitude. All tanks go through cycles and the repeat themselves. Every little thing you do or add to a tank is going to cause a reaction from everything else you did prior. So research the hell out of everything. If you think you've done enough research on something go back over what you've found. Trust me. My tank had 3 fish and a bunch of LR in it for over 2 years. Now I've got AI SOLs over it and added some corals. Once I get some other home remodel projects done I am rebuilding the stand and redoing the plumbing on the tank so it shuts up (dam gurggling sound is getting annoying) and finally getting my giant skimmer on line. I really need the skimmer now but doing about a 40 gallon water change each week is keeping things happy.

If you dont get anything else out of this post please at least get this. I'm sorry in advance if this offends anyone but a saltwater tank is like a woman. Treat it right, test its limits, and show it love - it'll return the favor.