I Could use some HELP PLEASE!! pic's

[saltwaterbliss]

My husand bought me a 55 gal saltwater tank for Christmas...it was up and running with one fish, 50-60 lbs of live rock and crushed coral base....we took it down and hauled it home, with the water and all....after setting it back up our local pet store

said we needed sand bottom (I read you could use either) but ok, took out all the crushed coral base an put in a 2-3" base of live sand. I re-stacked the live rock back in and pluged it all back in... it is filetered with not only live rock & sand but I also have a Pengwin Bio Wheel 350, Whisper Bio Wheel 40, and a Fluvel 305 filtering the tank & 2-100 gal heaters. In Feb the pet store

said I could have some snails..so 3 small ones....3 lg ones....2 sea stars.....and 2 feather dusters!! Ok I have life now! Now march comes and I want a FISH!! So off to a different pet store-2hrs away....and they say sure fish would be fine! Every water test I've had done was perfect (and I've had alot) So I come home on 3-13-09 with 2- Percula Clown fish...2-Blue/Green Chromis...1-Flaming Scallop...& 1 Frag of Pulsing Zaina's (Let me say all of these are very small an inch at most, except for the scallop) All is well, one Chromis didn't make it (I think the store employee scared it to death and squishing in the net..jmo), & a new light systm...1-T5 HO bulb an 1-T5 HO Actinic bulb.....Everone is doing great!! On 3-15 go to a huge pet store 3 hrs away and talk to them(VERY HELPFUL!!

) anD come home with..1-Neon Goby...2-Cleaner Shrimp...1-Euphyllia Coral frag....1-Daisy poyp frag...1-Star polyp frag. We feed Brine Shrimp, Phytoplankton, Omega one w/garlic, & mysis shrimp, and I also add Calcium in. I have this purple algae growing like mad...witch I guess from reading on this site is a good thing... But my fish I think have come down with ick in the last day?? So they were fine up until yesterday. My Neon Goby, looks awful, and has red around his gills, and one of my clowns looks like his fins are tearing, and he has some spots as well.......I got a nurse tank and am going to set it up and picked up some Quic Cure for relief fr ick & protozoan parasites.....ANY ADVICE??? I'd hate to loose any of my fish.....I do not have a protien skimmer as of yet...any suggestions on brands and makes?
My Tank...3-19-09

My Clown & Chromis...3-23-09

Clow with Fin's tore

Neon Goby before... 3-19-09..

Neon Goby today 3-23-09

And here is my Frogspawn Coral with the purpal algae:

 

[janestar]

Your tank is beautiful! I think you just introduced them all really fast and my understanding of ick, is it will affect fish from weaken immune systems. Stress, sometimes due to new location, new environment, etc...next time introduce the fish slow and easy, introduce peaceful fish first then the more aggressive ones.
Start the QT up and treat the little guys, and keep the tank up for the next fish you bring home, or anything else. I have LR in my QT right now. The less stressful introduction the better.
Ick is always present in the water it will affect the fish that are less healthy. I am new to the Hobby as for Oct. So hopefully some more people will share.

 

[canareef]

Do you have an air stone in the tank?? It also looks like some sort of purple algea not coraline. Maybe cyno?? I would post your test results PH,ammo,nitrates,nitrites,calcium,phosphates,alk. Do you use RO water or tap? The brand of salt you use how often you feed and how much. This will help others help you. I'm still learning myself and the more information you give out the easier it is for others to help you and give you advise.
I really like your rock work lots of little caves and hiding places

 

[premilove]

invest in a sump or refugium it will save you headaches in the future!

 

[saltwaterbliss]

I have no air stone....I would love to know what the purple algea is!!! I honestly don't like it!!
I read the link on here about ick....I just got back form the local pet store

..I bought a lg pice of Live rock to put in the QT...only to read that there should be none in there

I also read that the tank should cycle...but it didn't say for what length of time....any one? I am going to do a water change on my 55 gal and put the drawn out water in the QT and I'll throw in a cup or two of my live sand... I also read in there that I should have some fresh shrimp...call me stupid, but is that supposed to be table shrimp?
Cycle the Tank?
To cycle the tank, you can add a cupful of your substrate from your main tank, a piece of inexpensive LR, and some fresh shrimp. The point here is to get the tank into cycle mode, thus you need to add organic material. The LR and sand has nitrifying bacteria in it to help speed the cycling process along. However, if you don’t want to take LR or a cup of sand out of your tank, then you can just use the fresh shrimp…it will just take a bit longer to establish your QT. LR can be returned to your main tank after the cycle as long as fish have not been in your QT.
I'm going to set up it up now...I'd love to know how long to wait until I put my fish in there.....
My husband and I are looking at getting a 120-150 gal tank and I'll make sure it has a sump or refugium with it!!
Thanks for everyones input!! This is a great site!!

 

[joe____17]

Yep, sounds like you addes eveything way too fast. Next time you can wait about 2 weeks or so between adding fish, but qt first.

 

[natclanwy]

Your purple algae is not the desirable kind its cyano and can be difficult to remove, looking at how it is pretty evenly distributed across your tank is telling me that you have a flow issue, do you have any additional power heads in the tank to suppliment the flow besides your filters? I also would like to see what your water test readings are for PH, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and phosphate.
You can setup your QT with a couple cups of sand from your DT and move your fish after a day or so to let everything settle. Right now its important to get the fish out of the display and treat them for the parasites if you wait to cycle a tank the fish will probably die before the QT is cycled, after you move them test the QT daily for ammonia and nitrite and perform water changes to keep them in check.
One more observation is do your research on corals before you buy them some of the ones you have purchased may not make it because two T5 bulbs isn't enough light for most corals beyond mushrooms, and other low light softies.
As far as protien skimmers go I am a fan of the AquaC skimmers the Remora Pro would be a good HOB choice for a 55g, I have heard good reviews on the Octopus HOB skimmers also.

 

[saltwaterbliss]

Ok my power head took a crap a week ago and I haven't been to the big city for another one....I'll be going there tomarrow!
LEVELS as if 15 minutes ago..
Pohspate is.... 0
PH is .............8.2
Ammonia is..... 0
nitrite is .........0
Nitrate is .......30
I also tested my tap water witch I had tested at the local pet store

and he said my tap H2o would be fine to use......ug!! The tap test was 30 for nitrate same as my tank, and I did a 10 gal H2O change yesterday!!
SO NOW WHAT!! I'D LIKE TO KILL IT!!!!
Any sug?????

 

[saltwaterbliss]

Also, my icky fish have lost their ick spots???? And I haven't moved them to the QT yet???? So do I move them or leave them be????

 

[joe____17]

Yes move them, to be on the safe side. Might want to invest in some test kits of your own and an r/o unit. It will save you a ton of money in the long run.

 

[saltwaterbliss]

Ok, any idea as to how to get the purple allgea out of my tank now?

 

[joe____17]

You mean the cyano? There must be alot of nutrients in your tank. How long do you leave the lights on?

 

[saltwaterbliss]

Yes the Cyano...
I went and bought the test kit so test every thing myself..Nitrate is 30, so I tested my tap water and it to is 30..... I turn my lights on at 7:30 a.m and they go off around 11 p.m.......from what I've found on Cyano it blooms in higher Nitrate levels...and it has covered every thing!! I did a 10 gal water change yesterday, changed my filters and set up my QT. Do I dare do another water change and add distiled water to it now?

 

[eric b 125]

just so you know, ich is not always present in your tank. the only way to get an ich outbreak is to introduce it into the system. if you follow proper qt procedures, and hypo your fish correctly, then you will rid your system of the parasite.

 

[teresaq]

Hi, calm down, deep breath.

The cyano is ugly and will cover everything.
you can start by doing water changes. if your tap water is bad, then either buy ro/di from your lfs or use distilled (that will get expensive) (you might start looking at a ro unit of your own.
if you are moving all your fish to qt for treatment, then you can really work on your tank.
I would take the rocks out one at a time and rinse them in the water you remove from your water change. Get a small new scrub brush and brush all the algea off.
Add a couple of powerheads for flow, and add some chemi-pure or chemi-pure elite to your filter. Cut your lights back to about 5 hr a day for a while.
This should start to clean up your problem.
When you do your water changes, you can also use your syphone hose to suck out the cyano from the sand and rocks, just be careful not to suck up your sand.
T

 

[joe____17]

Originally Posted by saltwaterbliss
http:///forum/post/2999932
Yes the Cyano...
I went and bought the test kit so test every thing myself..Nitrate is 30, so I tested my tap water and it to is 30..... I turn my lights on at 7:30 a.m and they go off around 11 p.m.......from what I've found on Cyano it blooms in higher Nitrate levels...and it has covered every thing!! I did a 10 gal water change yesterday, changed my filters and set up my QT. Do I dare do another water change and add distiled water to it now?
You're lights are on a long time. I only try to leave mine on for at least 7-8 hours. That might help it a bit.

 

[natclanwy]

Be very careful using chemi-clean, I have read about many tanks that have crashed after its use. Increasing your flow and doing a few large water changes with RO water will help with the cyano, cyano won't hurt anything, while ugly to look at just be patient and it will go away on its own no chemicals needed.
Definitely will be ideal if you can get your own RO system.

 

[small triggers]

A big factor in cyno bacteria is OVERFEEDING, with the all of 4 fish in you tank you should only be needing to feed like one small frozen cube A DAY. It sounds like you are feeding alot with the mix yu stated. Also, the flow is a culprit of why you only have it on the top of the rocks, so ,, replace your powerhead with 1 or 2 other ones depending on flow. ALso, i have used chemiclean, but you must follow the directions perfectly, especially since you have put corals in your tank... Good luck, dont get frustrated, do lots of water changes, less food, and more flow and you should be able to get rid of it on your own, (give it a month) if not THEN try the chemiclean

 

[fishstick4sale]

yes get some powerheads get that water moving, try an get a sump going, but water movement is very crucial to life underwater. those fish r tiny one cube a day might still b a tad much i would say go for 1 cube every other day i have 5 fish and thats what i feed.

 

[saltwaterbliss]

TeresaQ~thanks, some times a deep breath is so easy to forget!!

I have tried to do everything right with my tank....and I AM NOT a patient person!!! Yet the 3 1/2 month wait for my fish was worth it! I'm very fustrated with the local pet store

, he should have tested for that in the fist place, he knows ecactly what I'm doing and what I've done! And do you know he never told me to QT my fish before putting them into my tank!! I alos told him I'd do daily or weekly water changes if it was better for my tank, he said monthly was fine!!!UG!!!
So now the question I have is how often and how much should I be changing my water? I would like to hear what every one has to say as far as what protien skimmers to look at, and what size powerheads do I want to replace the one that quit. Also I would like to know if there is any good links or feel free to give me your input on a sump.....my tank is not drilled. I'll look into that as well.
And as far as feeding...my frozen food is not in cubes? I feed a tiny bit!! I break it off with a butter knife and crush 1-2 flakes in to tiny pices and I feed every other day and on the off days I add phytoplankton and calcium .....What is the cube size? Any feeding sug?
What is a good length of time to have my lights on? And I was told at the local pet store

that my lights were fine for the corals I have......so witch one/all need different light? What kind should I have MH? I don't have a canopy for my tank so didn't buy the MH's....
Any thing eles?? I'M ALL EARS!! You guys are more reliable than the pet store!!