New to the hobby....need some help!

[geoffz]

I am pretty new to SW tanks. My tank is a 55g FOWLR and has been running for about 5 months. I had it crash a month or so ago and have slowly tried to get everything back in order. I added a protein skimmer and now I have had some brown slime that covers my sand and it is difficult to syphon out. I didn't have a problem with it prior to the protein skimmer.
The only thing in the tank is the live rock, two small damsels, and some sort of eel that was hidden in one of the pieces of live rock I added today, and about 6 different snails.
My nitrates and nitrites are at 0, pH at 8.4, salinity at 1.022.
Any suggestions???

 

[emporer angel]

find out what eel it is. some are aggresive and almost all will outgrow your tank.

 

[reefkprz]

for the longevity of your snails I would boost your SG to 1.024 minimum. inverts need a higher specific gravity.

 

[shrimpi]

you got a hitch hiker eel? weird. post a pic!
I would get something to stirr up that sand like a diamond goby or nass. snails to filter the sand. Its the fastest way I think.