mchabot
Member
I just purchased a 75 gallon tank from someone who wasn't interested in the hobby anymore. I am using an eheim 2227 external canister filter and currently I am keeping the tank dark to reduce algae growth. Before you jump all over me about the canister filter I have read about it and I clean it / change the filter media regularly and have added bioballs to facilitate bacteria growth. It had some cured live rock in it (I would say 60 - 80 lbs) and I just added 100 lbs of bioactive aragonite reef sand. My ph, amonia, and nitrite test just fine but my nitrates are off the charts. The salinity is a bit high (1.028). I don't have anything live in the tank just yet except for one snail that climbed out of the rocks I got with the setup. I need to get this under control and would like advice on what to add to the tank next. I have been told by many that the next step is snails and hermit crabs to get ready for fish waste. Would chaeto algae work? I'm trying to move slowly and carefully so that this tank will look great for a long time.
Matt
Matt