Help! My first saltwater tank...

[lkb3493]

Hey everyone,
I just set up my first saltwater tank. I already think it's beautiful and there aren't even fish in it yet LOL
Anyways, here's my info and questions:
55 gallon tank with 20 lbs live rock , 20 lbs live sand, 20 lbs crushed coral.
Emperor 400 with extra Maxi Jet 600 powerhead to move the water.
We set this up 6 days ago and my levels are currently at:
Nitrate 10
Nitrite 5.0
Amonia 0 (looks like it on the chart)
Carbonate Hardness 15
Salinity 1.024
Temp 78
Lights on from 9:30am to midnight- too long?
I am currently getting brown type algea on my live rock and now on the bottom of the tank as well. Should I vaccum it and do a partial water change? Also, how do I lower my carbonate hardness? I am using tap water with water treatment conditioner. Could this be a problem?
Thanks in advance for all of your help! :notsure:

 

[scarr105]

Levels should look like this:
Ammonia 0.0 ppm
Nitrites 0.0 ppm
Nitrates 0.0 - 30 ppm
pH 8.1 - 8.4
Specific Gravity 1.021 - 1.025
I would not leave the lights on for that long, that should help the algea, and do water changes to help lower nitrites. The tank is cycling right now so you need to make sure your doing the water changes, once your levels get better you tanks should start to look better.

 

[pacino]

tap water can cause some excess unwanted algae growth, but to me it sounds like the lights are on way to long. there is no reef in the world with the sun up from 9:30 am to midnight. i would cut the lights down, see if you cant get some kind of movement on the sand. try getting "RO" water (reverse osmosis). your lfs (local fish store) might have that available. or walmart from what i have heard on this site from time to time. oh and welcome to the hobby & board!!! be patient and stick with it, its a great hobby

 

[lkb3493]

Thanks for your quick response...
From what I understand I should be doing about a 5-6 gallon water change each week...Do you agree?

 

[lkb3493]

Thanks- I figured the lights had something to do with it. I was just being greedy with the picture it made UGH! I also am going to get an additional timer so I can stagger the lights. One turning off a little while before the other. I read that it could spook the fish to just have everything cut on and off at once like that....

 

[scarr105]

I would do water changes 1 a week during your tank cycle. After the cycle I would go to once a month 10%(5-6 gallon without a sump, more with a sump). Every 2 weeks would be better but if you're like me, it's hard to keep that type of schedule.

 

[nrage]

Originally Posted by lkb3493
Thanks- I figured the lights had something to do with it. I was just being greedy with the picture it made UGH! I also am going to get an additional timer so I can stagger the lights. One turning off a little while before the other. I read that it could spook the fish to just have everything cut on and off at once like that....
Just as an FYI, I'm in almost the exact same situation as you, Only I now have 2 Percula Clowns, a reef Chromis, and a Redlip Blenny. I'd been leaving my ligts on for about 12 hours a day, and noticed the algae starting on my rocks. Thats when I got the Blenny, who feasts on it, and really enjoys the rock (I have about 45lbs, so he'll be feeding for eternity). Anyway, I scaled my lights back to a total of about 8 hours (just the purple ones on for an hour before and after the white ones) This lighting configuration along with the Blenny seems to have really helped my algae situation.
Anyway, I digress. What I really wanted to make sure you realized was that when you go to buy the time, make sure it has multiple sets of outlets that can be on alone, AND together (also, 2 individual timers would work well), and also that the timer has the same type of outlet as your cords from your light (one that I bought didn't accept the ground connection on the plug). I've had to return two so far trying to find exactly what I needed.
Anyway, just thought I would share.

 

[pacino]

yeah thats a good start and then when its established you can do like a 10 gallon change a month. im with scarr105, every two weeks is good if you can stay consistant. if you can do one light at a time thats more natural for the animals yes, it simulates the sun rising. as far as spooking them, i can understand the thinking, but i havent had any fish freak out in my experience. but you sound like you are on the right track. but check into that "RO" thing i mentioned, its really not that expensive, especially if you have a tank thats 55 as apposed to 250.

 

[lkb3493]

Pacino- not to sound like a total idiot :notsure: but is the "RO" a type of filter that you attach to your faucet? I know about distilled water but this is a little ??? for me...Can I just use a Braun type water filter to help the water quality before I add the water conditioner treatment???

 

[saintlz]

Originally Posted by scarr105
I would do water changes 1 a week during your tank cycle. After the cycle I would go to once a month 10%(5-6 gallon without a sump, more with a sump). Every 2 weeks would be better but if you're like me, it's hard to keep that type of schedule.
?? i'm relatively new at the saltwater thing, but i have been told to not do waterchanges during the cycle and then do a big one (30 - 50%) after the water is testing right....do you think it would be better to do the 10% weekly during the cycle instead?
...and RO = reverse osmosis, takes all the crap out of water, some units come with RO/DI, those also de-ionize the water in the process. i'm told this is a must for any saltwater tank (and i was told that by people here, as i am very new at saltwater myself). After much research for myself over the past few days, you can buy RO/DI units from anywhere between $150- $400, and you can buy an attachment for most units that allows them to hook right into your faucet airator if that is the easiest for you.
---side note, a certain online auction site has some units selling for less, but the only person i know of buying one told me his 45 gallon per day unit puts out well over 100 gallons per day, telling me it probably doesn't work right ---
For me personally i have decided to go with just buying my initial RO water from my LFS, as i am new to the SW myself, i will be spending $0.50 per gallon for my initial fill, which for right now being so new seems like a better idea. After a while if all goes well i will probably purchase one of the purifying units because it really does seem to be worth the money over the long haul.

 

[uberlink]

I wouldn't do water changes during your cycle unless your ammonia gets so high that it threatens to kill the beneficial bacteria you're trying to promote. You're trying to develop sufficient bacteria to take care of ammonia and nitrites after you add fish. Best way to go is to just let that happen.
Wait until your ammonia and nitrites drop to zero, give it a few days, and then do a 20% water change. After that, A weekly 5-10% water change is best, but a 20% every few weeks will do. I would wait until your ammonia and nitrites have been zero for a couple of weeks before adding any fish or inverts (maybe aside from a small cleanup crew of hermits and snails).