Fairly new reefer looking for any and all advice!

[Be102]

Hi,

I have a 65 gallon tank which is basically just alive and that is it. I need help on what to do to make myself a better fish owner. I set this tank up around a year ago with not really much any clue on what to do at all, and still have no clue why nothing seems to get larger.


Tank consists of

60+ lbs live rock

2 bags of live sand

Ecotech quietdrive Mp40

Aquamaxx HOB Protein Skimmer

Eheim 200 Watt Heater

random powerhead (hydra,koralia?)

Eheim Professional 3 external Canister filter

1 AquaticLife 4 bulb T5 light fixture ( basic bulbs that came with it, Looking to upgrade to ati bulbs but unsure of combination)

Tank inhabitants include

1 Blue Chromi

1 Midas Blenny

2 ocellaris clownfish

1 green warface goby

1 Yellow watchman and shrimp combo

a few random snails, few hermit crabs and very few corals I also just added a carpet anemone the other day too.

I would love suggestions for cool things to put in my tank !

So I ordered the whole master reef testing kit from Sailfert and it will be here tomorrow, so I will be able to provide accurate testing results for just about everything. I currently use Red Sea Coral Pro salt and do water changes of 15-20 gallons every 2-3 weeks. I had a few other fish however I dosed my tank with 'polyp lab "One"' which i awoke to find nearly everyone dead which really upset me to the point of me just keeping my tank alive after seriously contemplating about just taking it down all together.

Fast forward to now and I just am having no luck with anything. Corals seem to not grow, die, or disappear before my eyes and it seems to confuse me. This tank is something I would love to continue to spend more money and time on I just would like something to actually go right for a chance. My stock list is a a joke and it seems I have a tank full of rocks with the occasional fish who comes out. There are some random parts of different coloration on my rocks from purple to orange to red which concerns me as well.

Any rock work advice is appreciated as well! First tank and I have messed around with the rocks a few times whilst doing water changes, but nippy clowns makes me avoid doing stuff like this.

I would like to possibly add a sump and overflow box if someone could point me in the right direction on how that all works and what is needed for the plumbing and whatnot. I have already managed to ruin my floor once so I would like to avoid any modifications to my tank.


Are my lights not good enough? Do I not have them on long enough? I tend to honestly put them on when I wake up and then shut them off when I want the room darker, meaning they aren't on a set cycle considering i feel that when the lights are on it seems a lot of algae and whatnot develops. I also would like to switch to a different bulb combination as I stated above.

I would like recommendations on what to dose, how often and maybe alternatives to feed the corals and fish. Currently I am feeding a mixture of different frozen foods by san Francisco bay.

I was looking into the control boxes by neptune and think that it would be a great investment, however I can't bring myself to spend that $$ for a tank that is still barely doing much. Any and all suggestions are appreciated. Thanks !

 

[helen ann]

Hello!
Here is a really good thread on water parameters ...
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/o...-reef-aquarium-by-randy-holmes-farley.173563/

Are you topping off with RO/DI?
You have an ATO? Didn't see listed above?

 

[Be102]

Hello!
Here is a really good thread on water parameters ...
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/o...-reef-aquarium-by-randy-holmes-farley.173563/

Are you topping off with RO/DI?
You have an ATO? Didn't see listed above?

No ATO Yet, Tank has a lid so the water that evaporates is very minuscule it seems. I'd say my protein skimmer actually uses more water (might not even have it set the right level, just change it when it looks like nothing is going in it)

Currently actually in the process of reading that link! Thanks for it! I clearly can see that one of my biggest problems was the lack of testing. I mentioned above I purchased the huge collection of sailfert tests which will be here tomorrow. Do I bother checking the levels of the other elements? - Potassium, iodine, OpH? Or just wait until I learn more about them?
I think what is going to happen is I am going to see a lot of my parameters are off and then I will need to purchase the correct stuff to get my levels going right again.

Also have a RO/DI Unit coming this week as well, hoping to set that up and actually use some correct water.. I have been using gallons of distilled water for this past year.

 

[helen ann]

I test for ... just as the basics
Alkalinity
Ammonia
Calcium
Nitrate
Nitrite
pH
Phosphate
Salinity

I also keep a Seachem Ammonia Alert badge in my tank at all time for a quick glance.

I second that you will find your parameters off

IMO ... RO/DI and ATO are the best investments you can make

 

[Tahoe61]

To get your base line test for Ca, Alk, Mag (if able) Nitrates, Phosphates (if able) and SG, you would be surprised how far SG can be off.

Are you using any buffer with the distilled?

Looks like you could use a couple more snails, Cerith or Turbo.

It's a nice equipment set up, you probably just need to fine tune water quality.

You can also look into using some Phosban or Phosguard.

 

[Be102]

To get your base line test for Ca, Alk, Mag (if able) Nitrates, Phosphates (if able) and SG, you would be surprised how far SG can be off.

Are you using any buffer with the distilled?

Looks like you could use a couple more snails, Cerith or Turbo.

It's a nice equipment set up, you probably just need to fine tune water quality.

You can also look into using some Phosban or Phosguard.

Where do you recommend I put the phosban or phosguard? I have been looking into reactors however since there is literally a different device for every element I am clueless where to start. My Eheim has a lot of different compartments for different things however I don't know Where it would go or how? I was thinking a sump would be a good place to put these reactors and other equipment. I have not used any buffer with the distilled water either. I was kind of under the impression that distilled had 0 - levels for everything, what would the buffer do? I thought that was only for tap water. Thanks again for such a quick reply!

 

[sureal00]

Basic testing and most popular ammonia,nitrite,nitrate,calcium,magnesium,alkalinity

The last 3 calcium,magnesium,alkalinity are key for growing corals in your tank.

Learning the types of algae that can grow in your tank and knowing the ways of getting rid of it is also good to know

Potassium and iodine testing are not required .


Looking at your tank,I see an algae issue.Red stuff is cyano.The green stuff is hair algae.

 

[Tahoe61]

Ph of distilled should be 7, for a sw tank you want to maintain a pH of 7.8-8.2. I buffer distilled when I use it to bring up the pH, but you also need to know the alk level to adjust properly.

Personally I like Phosban.

It's definitely time to change out the T5 bulbs, change out a couple at a time to acclimate the corals.

A tank a year old with T5 lighting I would expect to see more coralline growth, water changes should have taken care of the routine elements.

 

[Salty1962]

Welcome to R2R! It appears that you balance is off, cyano, GHA. The distilled water without buffers could be part of your issue. As @Tahoe61 stated, your big 3 are the most important elements to test for. A better CUC and watching your feeding regiment will help keep your No3 and Po4 down. What is your WC practice. Weekly 10% WCs with a good salt will keep your tanks balanced. The RODI unit will help you with water quality as well! Placing better T5 bulbs, ATI Blue+ and Purple+, will help out. The stock AL bulbs aren't that great, be sure to replace on a schedule of @ 6-8 months.

 

[SoonerBerrios]

I agree with the basic testing, in this case focus on ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and phosphate first. Algae is feeding off of nitrates and phosphates and the algae may be harming your coral on the frag rack. I would also go lights out for a few days to help kill off the cyano and and algae. I would also manually remove some of the hair algae. Chemiclean as a very last resort

Some questions that may help:

What's your water temp at?
What's your current feeding schedule and amount?
How often do you clean out your canister?

 

[Be102]

I test for ... just as the basics
Alkalinity
Ammonia
Calcium
Nitrate
Nitrite
pH
Phosphate
Salinity

I also keep a Seachem Ammonia Alert badge in my tank at all time for a quick glance.

I second that you will find your parameters off

IMO ... RO/DI and ATO are the best investments you can make

How often do you test? Do you test all of them when you do test?
I just ordered an Ammonia Alert badge for my tank as well! Thanks! Didn't even know something like that existed. I will be sure to update everyone tomorrow on how far off my parameters are, for which I think "can't be too bad" which clearly is wrong considering my tank problems. So about an ATO; This tank is near my bed; is there a small container that I could use to fill with what I think would be RO/DI water? Then basically run an auto top off to pull the water and do it on its own?

 

[helen ann]

I usually test all weekly but if I see something not looking right then I will test again.
You can use any bucket that has a lid (I use a food grade bucket), just need to drill a hole for the line.
Yes, the ATO will pull water from the bucket.

 

[Be102]

Welcome to R2R! It appears that you balance is off, cyano, GHA. The distilled water without buffers could be part of your issue. As @Tahoe61 stated, your big 3 are the most important elements to test for. A better CUC and watching your feeding regiment will help keep your No3 and Po4 down. What is your WC practice. Weekly 10% WCs with a good salt will keep your tanks balanced. The RODI unit will help you with water quality as well! Placing better T5 bulbs, ATI Blue+ and Purple+, will help out. The stock AL bulbs aren't that great, be sure to replace on a schedule of @ 6-8 months.

Thanks for the welcoming!
I am currently alternating foods between the three san Francisco bay brands, such as mysis, emerald, and another I can't think of off the top of my head. I tend to not feed very often at all I feel which is something I wonder perhaps thats why my fish don't seem to grow? I do three cubes in a little container and disperse it evenly throughout the tank with a turkey baster with the ecotech on feed mode.
The water changes I could probably to more of; I just guess I didn't really see them making a change in my overall tank health so I didn't feel a need to do them more often then every 2-3 weeks; but when I did do them it would be around 15-20 gallons at a time with Coral Pro Salt. The RO/DI unit I ordered is 100 GPD so I should be all set I think for having water at a reasonable rate; and now that I am no longer lugging gallons from the store, it might encourage me to change them more often. Can an RO/DI hook up to a regular sink? What do you recommend as a 4 bulb setup for the ati bulbs? I feel my tank is really bright with the lights on as opposed to others I see here which look nicer.

 

[Be102]

I usually test all weekly but if I see something not looking right then I will test again.
You can use any bucket that has a lid (I use a food grade bucket), just need to drill a hole for the line.
Yes, the ATO will pull water from the bucket.

How large of a bucket do you use? Fitting a 5 gallon bucket along with a sump in the future might not work under my stand. I am thinking.

 

[helen ann]

How large of a bucket do you use? Fitting a 5 gallon bucket along with a sump in the future might not work under my stand. I am thinking.

I use a 5 gallon bucket right now.
On my new tank which is a 56g, I will be using a 10g custom ATO container.
However, I live in FL and have a lot of evaporation ... you may not need one that big.

 

[Be102]

I use a 5 gallon bucket right now.
On my new tank which is a 56g, I will be using a 10g custom ATO container.
However, I live in FL and have a lot of evaporation ... you may not need one that big.

So I just left a 5 gallon bucket open for 4 days with a heater on 78 degrees and had barely about half an inch or so had evaporated. This is good to know I probably wont nearly need anything that large. Can you recommend any sort of ATO / Containers?

 

[Be102]

I agree with the basic testing, in this case focus on ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and phosphate first. Algae is feeding off of nitrates and phosphates and the algae may be harming your coral on the frag rack. I would also go lights out for a few days to help kill off the cyano and and algae. I would also manually remove some of the hair algae. Chemiclean as a very last resort

Some questions that may help:

What's your water temp at?
What's your current feeding schedule and amount?
How often do you clean out your canister?

I have cleaned out my canister filter about twice now I would say? First time was filled with some sort of muddy clay like stuff if I remember correctly and I think I just rinsed everything out and it was good to go. I recently did it not too long ago to actually add some sort of carbon i purchased; however it was too small; and I had no clue where in the world to put the stuff so I basically just put it all back together and started it back up. It wasn't too dirty at all. Lights out, does that mean the moonlight lights should be out as well? I honestly have never had them off other than when the main lights are on usually; which I usually put on together; (white and blues). I once had the thing set on the pre set timer and woke up to my room really dark; which never happens since I got the tank; turned the lights on to find my little midas blenny nearly white and seemed terrified :/ So since then my moonlights are always on.

 

[helen ann]

So I just left a 5 gallon bucket open for 4 days with a heater on 78 degrees and had barely about half an inch or so had evaporated. This is good to know I probably wont nearly need anything that large. Can you recommend any sort of ATO / Containers?

I have the Tunze Nano for my BC29 but have upgraded to the Tunze Osmolator Universal 3155 ATO for the new tank.
I have the bucket made by Tunze too ... don't waste your money on that ... I have OCD and need things to match. You can pick up a bucket much cheaper!

 

[Be102]

I have the Tunze Nano for my BC29 but have upgraded to the Tunze Osmolator Universal 3155 ATO for the new tank.
I have the bucket made by Tunze too ... don't waste your money on that ... I have OCD and need things to match. You can pick up a bucket much cheaper!

Great, thanks. I think the sump will be a little more valuable for right now; considering I don't see too much evaporation usually. But this is really good advice and I added it to my cart for a future purchase.

 

[helen ann]

Great, thanks. I think the sump will be a little more valuable for right now; considering I don't see too much evaporation usually. But this is really good advice and I added it to my cart for a future purchase.

No problem ... please be sure to post updates.