water conditions seem fine

[myescape0]

Here's my 10 gal. water conditions .....
Temp. ... 76-78
Alk....1.7
PO4...bet. 2.5-5.0
Calcium...420
Oxygen...7
Ph...8.2
ammonia...less than .025
nitrites... .5
nitrates.. 25
copper... .05
My problem is my l/r seems to have died along w/ the little anenomes and things on it. I have a brown algae all over my glass.
1- juv. french angel
1- puffer/toadfish ?
1- beau brummel damsel-?
1- coral banded shrimp
2- blennies
1- crab
some snails and hermits
l/s-less then 20 lbs.,4- asst. small l/r's,whisper filter.
I want to get a small powerhead and a 50/50 bulb to see if that will help.
Any suggestions what to do to help my tank ?

 

[myescape0]

Originally posted by jwtrojan44
It's a 10 gallon tank and you have all those fish in it? Is this a quarantine tank or your main display? There should be no fish in a system that registers ammonia or nitrites. These are toxic to fish and inverts. How long has this tank been set up?
It's been up for a couple of months now.It's my tank because I didn't want one as big as my husband's.All fish are small,biggest being between 2-3"and smallest being .I'm wanting to move my cbs to my 33 gal. but I'm afraid to because I have arrow crabs in there and I don't know much on them.And my 33 gal. has/had ich so I only have inverts left in it.Everyone seems fine just don't like the brown all over the glass.The l/r seems to be the only thing suffering...maybe because the brown is all over it, too. I cleaned it using a toothbrush taped to a stick so my hands don't go in the water, but it keeps coming back.

 

[myescape0]

Originally posted by jwtrojan44
First and foremeost, your tank is grossly overstocked, even if the fish are small. At tw months, a tank should have no ammonia or nitrites, unless the biload is so high that the filtration can not keep up with the waste. I'm thinking this is the problem. The rock is not the only thing suffering here, and should be the least of your concerns. Depopulate the tank. The only fish that could reasonable be housed there would be the blennies and perhaps the damsel. The others need much more room and even at small sizes will not do well in such a small tank. Why is there copper in the tank? Even at low concentrations, it can be fatal to inverts. I really don't know where to start other than the stocking problem, which I consider a main concern. Minus the fish and doing a 30% water change, you might help the situation. A powerhead and 50/50 bulb will not do much. What is your salinity?
A ten gallon is a very small and fragile system subject to rapid fluctuations in water quality. It must be very lightly stocked and monitored carefully.
Sal.=1.023 (using a refractometer)
I want to move the cbs and the puffer/toadfish to my bigger tank but I'm worried about the ich that got my grouper. That's why there's only been inverts in it since my grouper died a few weeks ago. I thought about making my 10 gal. into a hospital tank but was told it's too small for tangs.

 

[myescape0]

Originally posted by myescape0
Sal.=1.023 (using a refractometer)
I want to move the cbs and the puffer/toadfish to my bigger tank but I'm worried about the ich that got my grouper. That's why there's only been inverts in it since my grouper died a few weeks ago. I thought about making my 10 gal. into a hospital tank but was told it's too small for tangs.
What kind of lighting do you need for a hospital tank ? Do you need substrate in it or not ? I heard yes but I'm also hearing no.