New reefer in need of help

[Andres Pineda]

Hi, I'm a new reefer.
Are this 100 watts lights enough for my 20 gallon tank.
I'm planning to have all type of corals.
Also , I just went thu a algae invasion and had to clean everything and start over again.
My parameters look good but my fish is acting weird, also corals haven't came out yet.
Pdt: I saved 30 percent of the cycled water , so I don't have to wait a year again for it to cycle.

 

[JPM San Diego]

The bacteria that process nitrogen live on surfaces (rocks, sand, aquarium walls, etc.). Very little lives in the water. How "clean" did you clear your aquarium? For example, I will siphon detritus out of the sand bed but never actually clean the sand. Keep an eye out for ammonia.
What type of light do you have? I would base whether or not the light is sufficient on spectrum and less on watts. When I first started my lights were too "white" plus my tank was in a room brightly lit with sunshine (not direct, but still too much). My algae grew uncontrollably. Getting my lights more "blue" mimicking deeper water, my algae is controlled. Plus, having herbivorous fish was key.
Go slow in a small tank. Nothing good happens fast in a reef tank

 

[Andres Pineda]

Hi there, so I have nicrew 100 wt .
I used to let the sun hit my tank for a little bit every day , my corals were liking it. But I figured that was one of the main reasons of the age grow, anyway y put a black paper on the side of the tank and cover the window in it totality.
About how I cleaned.
I took everything out and had to though out the gravel and use new one.
Since the gravel were covered in algae.
About the live rock I brushed it out.
Same with corals, since they were covered in algae.
Ammonia looks fine.

 

[Andres Pineda]

The bacteria that process nitrogen live on surfaces (rocks, sand, aquarium walls, etc.). Very little lives in the water. How "clean" did you clear your aquarium? For example, I will siphon detritus out of the sand bed but never actually clean the sand. Keep an eye out for ammonia.
What type of light do you have? I would base whether or not the light is sufficient on spectrum and less on watts. When I first started my lights were too "white" plus my tank was in a room brightly lit with sunshine (not direct, but still too much). My algae grew uncontrollably. Getting my lights more "blue" mimicking deeper water, my algae is controlled. Plus, having herbivorous fish was key.
Go slow in a small tank. Nothing good happens fast in a reef tank

For cleaning crew I have 6 astrea snails and a shrimp

 

[JPM San Diego]

Glad to hear your ammonia is fine. Your light should be good. Glad to hear you have removed the sunlight from your tank. Don't make too many changes now. Let it settle in to current light, chemistry, etc. Assuming parameters are good your coral should rebound. Do you have stony corals? If so, are you checking alkalinity, calcium, and magnesium? If you have stony corals they will deplete the water with regards to alkalinity, calcium, and magnesium. Water changes will help but dosing alkalinity, calcium, and magnesium will be needed for stony coral especially as they grow or you add more

 

[Andres Pineda]

Glad to hear your ammonia is fine. Your light should be good. Glad to hear you have removed the sunlight from your tank. Don't make too many changes now. Let it settle in to current light, chemistry, etc. Assuming parameters are good your coral should rebound. Do you have stony corals? If so, are you checking alkalinity, calcium, and magnesium? If you have stony corals they will deplete the water with regards to alkalinity, calcium, and magnesium. Water changes will help but dosing alkalinity, calcium, and magnesium will be needed for stony coral especially as they grow or you add more

Ok thank you so much