HELP. this hobby is killing me

[MnFish1]

Thanks, it's not long it's like little furry patches with bubbles and spreads like carpet

Can you take a closeup?

 

[FriedReef TV]

Can you take a closeup?

It has sand all over it but yeah it's dotted all over the tank

 

[MnFish1]

It has sand all over it but yeah it's dotted all over the tank

Others will disagree but your tabk looks pristine to me. Do you mean the bright green areas in the picture?

 

[fish farmer]

Lot's of good advice here. I'd stick with the 20. just go slow and don't do anything drastic since it is a small tank. You can fix a lot of things in that size tank with a simple water change.

I bet you could make a DIY auto top off pretty cheap. You can figure out how much your tank evaporates a day and either add that much freshwater daily or rig up a slow drip system out of a container and drip water daily. It will take trail and error.

I made an ATO out of a container that acted much like a water cooler works, sealed container with a hard pipe in tank(for me it was a sump). When the water level dropped, air glugs into the container, water gets dispensed. It must be airtight or it will leak all the water out. No mechanical parts, just a hard plastic container I could fill and seal, with hard plumbing and a valve coming out the bottom.

I also agree you tank looks fine....I've had much worse algae.

 

[FriedReef TV]

Others will disagree but your tabk looks pristine to me. Do you mean the bright green areas in the picture?

yeah

 

[FriedReef TV]

Lot's of good advice here. I'd stick with the 20. just go slow and don't do anything drastic since it is a small tank. You can fix a lot of things in that size tank with a simple water change.

I bet you could make a DIY auto top off pretty cheap. You can figure out how much your tank evaporates a day and either add that much freshwater daily or rig up a slow drip system out of a container and drip water daily. It will take trail and error.

I made an ATO out of a container that acted much like a water cooler works, sealed container with a hard pipe in tank(for me it was a sump). When the water level dropped, air glugs into the container, water gets dispensed. It must be airtight or it will leak all the water out. No mechanical parts, just a hard plastic container I could fill and seal, with hard plumbing and a valve coming out the bottom.

I also agree you tank looks fine....I've had much worse algae.

ok thanks

 

[FriedReef TV]

Thanks so much to everyone who helped me out and sent their fishy wisdom my way. I really appreciate the support and kindness shown on this forum, it's helped me more than any other resource on the internert. Thanks guys

 

[FriedReef TV]

Thanks so much to everyone who helped me out and sent their fishy wisdom my way. I really appreciate the support and kindness shown on this forum, it's helped me more than any other resource on the internert. Thanks guys

internert. lol.

 

[MnFish1]

yeah

It will either be our competed or try to cover it with a coral. Imho it’s not something to chase

 

[FriedReef TV]

It will either be our competed or try to cover it with a coral. Imho it’s not something to chase

ok thanks man

 

[RJinPV]

I have a 550 gph powerhead

That should do. Good luck

 

[Oldsalt]

Patience my friend. Let it cycle. Your test kits will give you ball park figures. Your eyes and nose (I can tell a lot about my water by its smell and its viscosity - the way bubbles break for example - but that came with experience - and that came with lots of patience) can give you indications on the health of the tank.
Add stock slowly and wait a couple of weeks before adding anything else. 20 gallon will be very restrictive on stock amount but you can succeed. Try not to fret. We've all been there.

 

[Vin's Reef]

I hear you!! I want to pack it up and sell my stuff. I lost 22 fish to ick/velvet this past two weeks. I’m done. Lost my will to reef. Help

 

[MnFish1]

I hear you!! I want to pack it up and sell my stuff. I lost 22 fish to ick/velvet this past two weeks. I’m done. Lost my will to reef. Help

What do you think you did wrong - or incorrectly?

 

[H3rm1tCr@b]

Thank you. I see alot of people running really successful low budget low tech tanks but some people on the thread just give me a list of very expensive things I 'need' to buy when I ask for advice on how I can make due with what I have. I appreciate it when people like you understand that some people are poor but want a reef tank so they just give good advice lol. and do you think I'll be ok with this plan: save up and get some salifert tests, start a diy refugium (I have everything set up except a light and I need chaeto).

Hey! Don't worry! Just slow down and calm down . Losses happen. I have lost more little sea creatures in the past than I'd care to admit. I actually currently have a twenty gallon nano reef. I do not have a skimmer, refugium, sump, or expensive dosing or equipment by any means. You have a good portion of rock, which is a really good thing! The best thing I think you could do now is continue watching your current fish (like others said), do tons of research (also mentioned), and let the cycle do its thing. I also agree on the comment with the ich not being your fault. The fish look bright and healthy from what I could see, so just watch carefully and don't chase numbers too much yet and mess with stuff. I still need to work on that some more Every single one of the people on this forum and beyond have had things go wrong. Also look at the DIY section of reef2reef. nano-reef.com is also a really good one for information. You're off to a better start than I was! (Also, you could totally do a refugium! If you can't find chaetomorpha algae, try caulerpa or something. Worked for me in the past; and I still have some in my main tank. Cute fish by the way! I like your morph of clownfish! Good luck and do as much research as you can!!!

"The only dumb question is the one that is not asked." -IDK who said that, but it's good!

(P.S. If you can't already tell, I am also poor and on a tight budget, fancy stuff like skimmers (from what I have seen and researched on), isn't always necessarily needed on nano systems. Everyone's tanks are different. Oh! And I HIGHLY recommend asking around for stuff to seed your tank with (you need beneficial bacteria for the nitrogen cycle to occur). People are often very helpful with advice and such, and wouldn't hesitate to scrape some corelline algae and grab some detritus and sand for you! To be honest, the dirtier, the better! You want as much diversity as you can (or at least I do since I have no clue what I am doing most of the time!) Okay I'm gonna stop rambling and finish my homework; and hopefully get to sleep before eleven (fat chance, insomnia and the internet really enjoy messing up things!) Ugh. I have to wake up at six tomorrow. ;Inpain

 

[Durandal]

Regardless of whether you can afford a larger or more complex system, you will need at least three tanks if you want to keep a disease free reef tank.

1. Display.
2. Copper/CP/Hosptial tank for vertebrate treatment.
3. Invert isolation tank so you can fallow everything else for 7 weeks before introducing it into your DT.

My wife almost made me give the hobby up when she realized I needed to set up these extra tanks(in separate rooms to prevent cross-contamination no less!).

My two bedroom apartment is really comprised of two fish rooms and a bedroom.

If you don't mind occasionally losing all your fish to disease, then you can get away with one tank.