Need advice before tomorrow afternoon - Please help (Thank you)

[rune]

Hello everyone,
I've posted here a couple times and you guys have always been so helpful and for that I am very thankful. I'm in a rough spot though and need some quick advice before we plan our LFS trips tomorrow. It's really the only chance we have to go in the next few weeks.
Equipment:
55 gallon
Approx 7 lbs of live rock
Approx 15 lbs of dead rock
2 Koralia 2 powerheads
50/50 and a 10,000k bulb HO Light System mounted inside the canopy (We run it for approx 12 hours a day with 2 sets of small blue LED lights all night)
Magnum 350 hang on canister that has a bio wheel / water polisher inside
Whisper "waterfall" filter (30-60)
Pro Clear Aquatic wet/dry with a Rio 2100 return pump
Appox 40 lbs of live sand by caribsea
Livestock:
3 damsels
13 hermit crabs (of which we have only seen 7 the last week)
Water Params:
Specific Gravity: 1.022
Salinity: 29
Nitrite: 0 (tested it with a strip and a drop test)
Amonia: 0
Alkalinity: 300
pH: 7.4
Nitrate: Approx 10
Heres the issue. We want to return the damsels as they arent going to work in our long term tank plan. We had done a lot of research before we started the tank but didnt realize how aggressive damsels really were until we found this website. Someone had even said they would kill other fish. The store is willing to take them back but we are a little concerned. Here is what we want to do:
We inherited a brand new tank and stand combo after we started the project. We want to switch over to it, since it shows less signs of wear and tear versus the one we are using now. We figured this is the best time to do it before we add any more live stock. Heres the problem.
1.) We seem to have a major algae issue. We arent sure if it's the good kind or bad but its not getting any better. Can anyone confirm that its OK? We are just worried.
Pictures are here, here, and here - That rock used to be completely white as evident here.
2.) We have 13 (or 7) hermit crabs we want to keep. Will the crabs survive without any fish for a few weeks? What will they eat?
3.) We want to eventually get some gobies. We had heard a lot of talk about establishing lattice work beneath the sand for them. Since we are putting together the new tank, any suggestions on the best way to do that and what we need to buy beforehand?
4.) Will pumping the water over from the old tank to the new tank cause any harm? I know the sand is going to be stirred up for a few days but we are hoping that it is.
5.) We havent been able to correctly monitor the params over the last month. How do we know the cycle is actually done if we never saw the spike?
6.) Our pH is low and we need to raise it.
7.) We want to add several lbs of live rock. Will that cause the cycle to restart? I know adding livestock causes the levels to change. Does live rock do the same?
Thank you so much for reading and for going through all of this.

 

[nycbob]

when u transfer over to the new tank, it will cause a mini cycle for sure. i would just take the hermets and put it in a bucket for a day or 2 with heater of course. then let the new tank cycle a bit. its a good time to pick up some live rocks while u r at the lfs. the more live rocks, the better for the overall health of the tank. algae is part of the cycle. hv a few turbo snails to take care of the algae problem. a tank wont settle down until 3-4 months. r u sure ur ph is accurate? at that ph, ur inverts would die. best sg is 1.025. why do u hv both a whisper and a magnum? there isnt a need for them. with over 70-80 lbs of lr, u dont need the filter. if u must, just use one and hv it run 2 weeks a month.

 

[teresaq]

first two things. your sg is a little low. Try and get it up to at least 1.025. your ph is very low. do you have any surface aggitation? try pointing on power head so it really works the surface, and the other mid way down on the other end.
do yo have test kits. if not get them. not the strips, but the real deal
your best bet is to add base rock to your tank. put the base rock down, then add sand, but not completly covering rock. leave the tops to build on. Just google tonga dry rock or base rock.
Is the new tank bigger?? if it is you will need more sand.

 

[sac10918]

WOW! You sure have a lot going on!
Here is what I think you should do... Go to the store tomorrow and return the damsels. You are definatley right to want to make the swtich to the nicer tank before you get things up and going. It is a true pain to switch tanks once you have fish, corals, and such....So definatley get it over and done with now.
Like I said, take the damsels back to the store. If you have enough extra equipment laying around, you can take your hermits and some of the water from the "old" tank and a heater and put them in a bucket with your 7 lbs of live rock. Now all you are left with is sand and water. I dont know much about the egg crate below the sand, as this is the first time I have ever heard of such a thing. It sounds like a decent idea though, but like I said, I dont know how it works and I cant really advise you on that.
Next, move your live sand and the display water over to the new tank. Its pretty difficult to move sand without disturbing it, so I would just go ahead and scoop it out and pour the same water over it (in the new tank). Its going to be clowdy and is going to need time to settle out. I think it might even cycle, so that is why the hermits are in the safe bucket. You can feed them flake or pellet and they should be fine for a few weeks in there (you might need to do some small water changes to keep the water quality up).
If you are planning on adding more live rock, I would just get it over and done with. Depending on what type of rock you add (cured or not) your tank is going to cycle. If I were you, I would try to buy all the rock that you intend to add. If it is uncured, you might want to scrub it off to get rid of all the die off. I have never been comfortable adding more rock later on down the road for fear of a cycle. Therfore, I always try to get the rock in there from the start. Aquascape it to your liking and let it sit. Here is your chance to be more diligent on the testing of the levels. Try to watch for a spike. Do your best not to miss it this time. You might even want to add a cocktail shrimp (for a a day or two) to help the cycle. I think this is a less cruel way to cycle a tank.
Other people here might have different suggestions, but I just wanted to respond to you since no one else had already.

 

[rune]

r u sure ur ph is accurate? at that ph, ur inverts would die
Thank you all very much for the information! We had to use a strip test to test the pH so it may not be right. We are going to get a reef master drop test and a refractometer soon. Only the nitrite and the amonia were using the drop test.
Problem is we have noticed the crabs are disappearing. We had 13 and while I know they do hide and are hard to find it seems like some of them may have died. pH may be the culprit.
why do u hv both a whisper and a magnum? there isnt a need for them.
The tank was a gift from a friend who was getting out of the hobby. He used to use it for freshwater so the filters (minus the wet dry) are leftover from his equipment. We mainly use the magnum as a sort of powerhead at this point.
do you have any surface aggitation? try pointing on power head so it really works the surface, and the other mid way down on the other end.
We have quite a bit of flow but it's all over the place. Here is a crude drawing of how the water is being forced about the tank.
Is the new tank bigger??
No, its also 55 gallon.

 

[teresaq]

point one of those to the top and that should help with ph and oxigen exchange.
do you see empty shells. hermits need thier shells to live, they also need extras to move when they want to. if you are having problems with inverts its prob your sg is too low.
T

 

[rune]

I'll try readjusting the power head. I have seen a few empty shells but not many. It's hard to see them underneath the algae.