Need help bringing old tank back to life

[SerenaWolf]

My dad has an old saltwater aquarium probably 2-3 years now. At one point we had two clownfish and a damselfish but one clown jumped because of aggression from the other bigger clown and the damsel. The other clown passed when we went on a two week long vacation. I have ZERO experience keeping saltwater fish but a couple years experience in fresh water aquariums. My dad is out of the fish hobby and barely cares for the tank anymore mostly because he went on a work trip and came back to a tank with dead coral and a dead expensive light. So I want to sort of bring it back to it's prime because not only has my mom became attached to the lone surviving fish but its also the main decor in our living room.

Some information about the tank:

-19gallons (I think il check when I can measure it)
-built in filter + protein skimmer
-two of those things that circulate the water(cant remember name)
-one yellow tail damsel fish
-live rock that i'm pretty sure is not "live" anymore(I added a piece of live rock from the store and some old live rock that was "dead" in an attempt for it to spread to the old rocks)

What should I do to start? I'm planning on buying some test kits because i;m sure the water isn't optimal quality. I know to test for ammonia, nitrate, nitrite, ph but is there anything else I should test? Eventually I want to add another fish but my priority is to make the tank suitable for the already existing fish first. Any information on lighting and coral would be of great help too. I've been doing a lot of research but the information seems really varied and it's a lot to take in.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

It’s actually quite easy. You do need to go slow.

You need to test salinity above all.
A refractimeter is your best bet.

You’ll probably want to start with Light cleaning and water changes.

Grab a bottle of dr Tim’s one and only , or bio spira , both are bottled bacteria.

Clean in small stages. Evry time you pull a sponge or filter it’ll make the water a bit dirty. So doing to much at once can be a hazard.

 

[SerenaWolf]

Okay thanks! Tomorrow im going to buy some salt water test kits because all of mine read 0 on everything pretty sure they are expired. Same thing happened with my fresh water test kits >.>. If I post my findings would you mind helping me figure out what I need to do to fix it?

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

You bet !
And welcome to Reef2Reef!

 

[SerenaWolf]

Thanks!

Okay I found this hydrometer. I'm 99% sure it measures salinity but i'm not sure i'm using it correctly. I also took some pictures of the tank to give you a better idea what were dealing with.

 

[Innovative Aquariums]

I use that exact hydrometer in tandem with my Refractomer. It gives you a ball park number on your salinity. I would do about 6 test or more then write them all down and find the average between all test results. Really look into investing into a refractometer.
https://www.amazon.com/Ade-Advanced...F8&qid=1514267524&sr=8-1&keywords=refractomer

As for the instructions, just full it up with tank water and place it on a flat surface and check results. Make sure after you`re done making multiple tests, you rinse it with freshwater. You don`t want saltwater to evaporate and salt making the 'needle' stuck.

 

[SerenaWolf]

Okay will do thanks! What salinity level is ideal for my little damselfish?

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

If you are going to a fish store , have them run the tests too.
Also ask them if they can test for copper.

If you don’t have any already , some granular activated carbon , and a GFO. And some media bags.

That salinity is fine for fish btw.

 

[Innovative Aquariums]

Just make sure that the store has saltwater reading 1.026 (ideal for reef tank systems).

Would`nt GFO be better for a Heavily stocked tank? Why not a Chaeto Reactor since at this point? Removing Nitrates and Phosphates are a priority.

Oh as for adding a 'dead rock' to live rock thats already on your display tank, all its doing is making it go through a mini cycle since one rock has to get filled with beneficial bacteria. The live rock should be fine. Unless theres copper on the tank like Saltyfilmfolks might be hinting to when he said that they should test for copper. Dont lose hope on this tank. It seriously has a lot of potential. Dont buy more fish. just get the tank running well first even though the tank looks empty, it`ll be worth it in the end .

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

Removing Nitrates and Phosphates are a priority.

There’s no coral. And fish are in effectted.

The low salinity is used in a Fowler to keep higher oxygen.

The gfo will pull many organics that may get stirred up while cleaning plus metals if the water has it been good for a while.
The carbin will work similarly, but for different organics

 

[PghReef]

Honestly, I don't think it looks all that bad. Pictures don't always do a good representation but the sand doesn't look dirty, the rocks looks nice and aren't covered with pest anemones, and I don't see a lot of algae either.

Give the walls a good scrubbing with a mag float or scraper and arrange the rock to create a scape you like. I agree some test kits are in order and you need to get an accurate reading on your salinity, nitrates, and phosphates. I used a swing up like that for all my water changes and always keep it filled with freshwater and soak it with vinegar every now and then, it has always been dead accurate. I use a refratometer for my DT AND check them against each other every now and then to make sure and it's never let me down.

Just an opinion, damsels can be aggressive little buggers and in a small that like that you need to choose tankmates carefully.

 

[SerenaWolf]

I got a salt water master test kit. I'm pretty sure nitrite is 0, nitrate 20, I think the ph is between 8-8.4. However ammonia is a bit weird for me to read. The water is cloudy which with my fresh water kits its not. The water isn't yellow or green. I also tested for calcium because the petstore guy told me to buy it. Calcium is 440. I could only find one copper test kit and it was $25! That's the sale price too. I think il order one online or get a fish store to test it for me but it was packed today because of boxing day. The colors show up different in the photo especially the nitrate which shows a lot darker. But I want to know what you guys think.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

You’ll want to use some bottled bacteria, you may have a bit of ammoina.

The no3 is high , but that’s not unexpected.

Water changes will help.

Where do you get the top off water ?
And new salt water.

 

[ChrisOFL]

That tank looks like it's doing just fine from the pictures. Yellow-tail can be aggressive and with the size of the tank I think the fish would do best by itself. Maybe some fire shrimp would be a good addition for some more life. If you want to keep corals this is something you should do a bit of research into so you can understand how to maintain reef building elements in the water, lighting requirements, and getting used to just normal maintenance like water changes/testing will let you know if you can do this long term.

 

[SerenaWolf]

I can't exactly remember, in the past I think my dad mixed salt water in a big bucket. We have lots of aquarium salt but i'm not sure what water he used. I've seen him buy jugs and I've seen him use tap water. I use our tap water dechlorinated for my fresh water tanks. When the water evaporates my dad fills a cup with tap water and pours it in without dechlorinating it. He always tells me that there's "barely any chlorine in our tap water so it doesn't matter" I don't know how true that is but I always add dechlorinater to my water just in case.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

That’s probably where a lot of you’re nitrates are coming from.

If you want coral, you’ll want to change to RODI water.
SOME tap is ok (mine is not) , and where I live we use copper pipes in our houses.

So it’s probably fine for just fish but..

 

[PghReef]

Pictures of test kits are terribly inaccurate. FWIW API kits arent the greatest, but I always used them for cycling with the ammonia and nitrite levels. For nitrate salifert always seemed to be more accurate but with corals it was more important. Get some seachem prime on hand and dose that accordingly, it will lock up the ammonia so it will still show up on your test kit but will not harm the fish. Nitrite and nitrates are not really harmful to fish and are more of an issue with corals and algae battles. I wouldn't test for copper if you never added any medications to the tank, it is important to note though I believe seachem prime is fatal to fish if dosed into a tank with copper.

If you want an easy coral go with a Kenya tree you won't be able to kill it lol.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

Pictures of test kits are terribly inaccurate. FWIW API kits arent the greatest, but I always used them for cycling with the ammonia and nitrite levels. For nitrate salifert always seemed to be more accurate but with corals it was more important. Get some seachem prime on hand and dose that accordingly, it will lock up the ammonia so it will still show up on your test kit but will not harm the fish. Nitrite and nitrates are not really harmful to fish and are more of an issue with corals and algae battles. I wouldn't test for copper if you never added any medications to the tank, it is important to note though I believe seachem prime is fatal to fish if dosed into a tank with copper.

If you want an easy coral go with a Kenya tree you won't be able to kill it lol.

Prime will mess with the api ammoina test.
A bottled bacteria like dr Tim’s will eat the ammoina.

 

[SerenaWolf]

Atm I have no time for coral I just want to learn how to maintain the tank and i'm perfectly fine having the damsel by himself maybe a snail or something similar would be great. A lot of my time is being taken up by raising baby axolotls but once they grow to a sellable size I can spend an hour or two a day researching/caring for the tank. As far as I know we have never medicated the or really any fish before. I have prime I assume it's good for salt and fresh? If so would the dose be the same per gallon? As for water changes what percent would be a good amount, I don't want to stress the last remaining fish too much.

 

[PghReef]

Prime is good for both fresh and saltwater, can't really overdose I never never measured just guessed and poured.

I've used Dr time for freshwater, never salt, and wouldn't use it again. Years ago it used to come in on dry ice to stay cold during transport and that stuff worked, then it started to come in regular truck delivery and my tank still had to cycle. Can't rush nature IMO it's all snake oil but some people swear by the stuff.

Also prime will not mess with your yet results. It will lock up the ammonia so it's non toxic but it will still be present.
http://www.seachem.com/support/forums/forum/general-discussion/2146-prime