New tank

briank

briank

New Member
I have a small 15 gallon tank that has been set up for a few weeks. I have seven small fish and about 8 pieces of coral. The tank is doing well but getting alge build up on sides. What can I or should I do? :notsure:
Can someone tell me how to check calcium ?
www.krason.com/fish.htm
 
wrassecal

wrassecal

Active Member
Hi Brian, WELCOME to the board. Do you know if your tank cycled through and ammonia and nitrites are at 0 and nitrates are under 80? If you have cycled are you seeing green algae on the glass? That is normal and you need a magnet glass cleaner like magfloat from the lfs. I will tell you that you have too many fish in there even if it is cycled. They will create a very heavy bioload and you will have even more problems. Your tank is not ready for coral at all yet. See if your lfs will take everything back. You need to add slowly and as your tank is ready. I almost can't believe you have all that already. The most you should have IF your tank is cycled is 1 small hardy fish at this point. What kind of lighting do you have?
 
elfdoctors

elfdoctors

Active Member
Welcome to the Boards!
The general rule of thumb is 1 inch of fish for every 5 gallons of tank until the tank is fully established (usually 1 year), then you can try to push up to 1 inch for every 2 gallons. It is also recommended that this also take into account the adult length of the fish. This contrasts to a typical freshwater tank stocking ratio of 1 inch for every gallon.
You should probably try to remove some of your fish as your tank would be considered prone to crash. I would also feed them only lightly. Consider adding some snails to help keep the glass clean. Many people only use mechanical cleaners on the front glass as the tank is usually healthier with some algae growth.
 
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