New and needing help

[dianareef]

Hi
I got a second hand reef max Aquael tank yesterday set up with live rock, some corals, 3 fish, shrimp and snails. He had the tank next to another aquarium and it had too much light so had an algae problem. I reset it up but it is filthy, lots of dead algae on sand bed, back wall and rocks are covered too. Already lost at least one fish and cannot see the other two. Just don't know where to start. Do I just lose the lot and start with fresh rocks and sand or is there a way to salvage the coral? Any advice right now would be great.

 

[reefwiser]

It can be a lot of work to rescue a tank that is pretty far gone. If you have any friednds in the hobby they may have a place for your fish ,shrimp and corals that are left. I would start the tank overby cleaning the tank. Does the live rock have a lot of alage on it?

 

[dianareef]

Hi
Yes lots on the rock, it basically is everywhere, lots of loose algae just sitting on the sand too. I don't have anyone to look after the coral, that's even got layers of algae on some of it too.

 

[saltyphish]

Chances are the rocks will continue to leach nutrients into the water continuing the algae battle if it has been bad for a while. Like the above poster said starting over may be the best way to go. If you don't have someone to keep the fish and coral maybe a lfs could help you. You can beat the algae but it will be a long and slow battle. If your up to the challenge. I have read live rock can leach nutrients back into the water for over a year. Other info that could help with your problem is what type of filtration are you using and do you have a skimmer. What type of corals? Light cycle may be shortened.

 

[Shep]

Welcome to R2R and yea, I think sadly your best bet is going to be a fresh start. Even if you could get the algae problem under control, you will probably keep having problems from the way the tank was set up and cared for. Plus I think its a lot of fun to set a tank up and will help you learn a lot about the hobby. Happy reefing!

 

[reefwiser]

Hi
Yes lots on the rock, it basically is everywhere, lots of loose algae just sitting on the sand too. I don't have anyone to look after the coral, that's even got layers of algae on some of it too.

Is there a local aquarium store that you could give the corals too. I would be best to just start over. This is a lot of work to getting a tank back in shape and if you are new to the hobby it is just not a task you want to take on.

 

[Crow]

Welcome to reef2reef the friendliest reef forum out there!

Sometimes it's better to start new so you know what's going on in your tank.

 

[rayn]

Welcome to R2R! Gotta agree with the other on starting over. However you may be able to set up a smaller QT temporary tank to hold your fish. Get some bacteria to dose with to help you out.

 

[Reefing Madness]

 

[kireek]

*Welcome to Reef2Reef!* Definitely make friends with a local fish store or two,no matter what route you decide to take.Many of them offer free water testing.

 

[dianareef]

Hi
Thanks for all the advice so far! I got rid of all the old live rock and replaced it with new, kept the corals and the one surviving clown fish and shrimp. Plus did a fifty per cent water change. Did this on Tuesday. Just done a water test with the following results: PH 8.0, KH 8 to 9 drops to get it orange/red, NO2 0, NO3 <1, but Ammonia 1.0. What do I do next?

 

[camelcruiser]

Hopefully you didn't replace the old rock with dry rock because that rocks going to cycle and cause spikes in all of your parameters. Also if you replaced it with uncycled rock you probably lost all your denitrifying bacteria so you may want to get some ammonia binder and a bottle of dr. Tim's to get the initial cycle done a bit faster. I would say your best bet would be put everything in a 10 gallon with a piece of old live rock, heater and a hob filter for a couple of weeks and let the new rock cycle so you don't end up with a dead tank. Good luck buddy hope everything makes it.

 

[dianareef]

I got live, cycled rock. Little bit concerned with the ammonia level but otherwise all seems well. Also replaced live sand.

 

[kschweer]

Welcome! Lots of good advice in the previous posts. Glad you're starting to get a handle on things. Feel free to post anymore questions.