need some guidance

[jbiegs]

ok, i have been reluctant to show some ignorance herre, but now i am getting nervous that i am starting this hobby off on the wrong foot, so here goes:
i purchased a 29 gallon eclipse 3 salt tank setup. it has a cover that integrates a bio-wheel filter and light ( 2 X 18 watt fluorescent ). i put gravel in the tank, along with a piece of bleached coral, some synthetic decor, and an 8-lb piece of cured live rock. started the tank about 8 weeks ago, and have about 6 small fish in it ( 2 blue damsels, 2 3-stripe damsel, 1 clown, 1 red spotted hawkfish ) and some clean up crew ( 5 blue leg, 5 red leg hermits, 5 turbo snails, 5 astrea snails ) and a chocolate chipo starfish. i am unsure whether i want to go the invert route, or keep FOWLR. right now, it will most likely be FOWLR. i was dismayed with the growth on the rock, so i swapped out of the daylight fluorescents into a marine-glo and an actinic spectrum bulb ( about 1 weeks ago ). my amonia seems to be stable, salinity about 1.023 - 1.024, temp 78-80F
my questions :
is the tank overcrowded? it does not seem to be, but just checking.
what is the opinion on this filtration method? should i invest in the future and get a canister filter to better clean the water? what does a protein filter do for me that a canister filter will not? the water seems to be clean, and the nitrates seem to be balances right now. i do have more silicate growth than i would like, but from what i can see, that seems normal in the cycle of the tank, and the composition of the local water supply.
power head - how much circulation in a tank is necessary? power heads do not seem all that expensive, so this is an easy add on.
lighting - yes, i understand that lighting is very important. under the current set up, i am very limited. given this limit, does it even make sense to use the other other spectrum bulbs? should i just plan on scrapping the hood from eclipse and go another route?
any help would be appreciated. i would like to get some more unique fish into the tank ( at the expense of some of these cycle fish) but i am nervous that my setup is not adequate to support larger life.
thanks
jason

 

[pmauro]

Yes you are overstocked and most of the fish you have are hardy but agressive so there will be stress. What is your actual AMMO reading? aMMO is steady is like being almost pregnant, also what are your nitrates and nitrites like? exact #'s help us to determine the true status of your tank. as for the rest of your questions lets wait until we know where you stand whit the levels they are more important and the others things will not or may not save your fish at this point

 

[pmauro]

by the way welcome
and never wory about being ignorant here, you are only ignorant if you don't ask questions and alot of them especially when you first start. all of us here have made mistakes so don't worry about it

 

[aileena]

One inch of fish per 5 gallons is a pretty good measure...I would get more LR! in a 29 gallon 15lbs is a pretty good start...just make sure you don't use any medication to treat the fish otherwise the rock will die....powerheads are a must....i use two maxijet 900's....you may want to start with just one...get a protein skimmer...save up $$$ and buy a remora aqua sea...its an excellent skimmer....if cheaper is what you want seaclone...but I would go with the remora....lighting isn't really important unless you have corals...just get a blue actinic and a white light and you will be fine for now....

 

[ophiura]

Wowzers. For ths size anda ge of the tank, it is very overcrowded, and your saving grace has been that the fish are tough. Eventually, they will start killing each other, as they grow. I strongly sugget limiting it to 3-4 smaller fish, and I would strongly reconsider the damsels.
And I agree, what are your exact ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH, and alk readings? This is the only way to really begin to help further. You can tell a lot from this.
I don't think the gravel was a good idea, and I strongly suggest more LR. I am not a big fan of the eclipse system in a saltwater tank of that size. LR is necessary to give those damsels more territory, and to help in biological filtration.
But please let us know about those water parameters. They are very important.

 

[jbiegs]

ok, thanks for the replys
here are the specifics :
temp 78F
ph 8.20
nitrate .2mg/l
nitrite .1 mg/l
nh4 .1mg/l
all seems normal, but that brown algae is growing like wildfire any suggestions? and what is the opinion on cleaning the gravel - do it and stir up the tank, or dont do it and let the critters take care of as much as possible?
it there any benefit to doing the sump type of protein filter vs the remora acqua hang on? is it just a sheer volume and speed difference?

 

[mightyoxjuice]

For my coralline algae that is growing on my live rock I add calcium and strontium. Just for a little extra boost. I posted on another that the coralline algae will compete for nutrients with the brown diatoms. I did this with my 150 and the tank was free of brown algae in less than one week. HTH

 

[mightyoxjuice]

coralline algae

 

[jbiegs]

thanks juice, i'll try that. and the picture helped a great deal. i have that red / purple algae as well, but figured i'd deal with that after the diatom thing was under control.