New to saltwater and site

Banjo-king · Nov 18, 2013

I'd like to say hello my name is Donald and I'm from alabaster al. I'm fairly new to saltwater with only a years experience more than 3 years ago. I recently purchased a 20gal tall from a local in my area. The tank was in very poor condition with green hair algae and a very insufficient heater. I'm not sure the water had ever been changed. I got it back to my house saving the salt water existing in the tank. I purchased a new heater and a bag of live sand. There is about 20pounds of live rock and an inch and a half of sand. It came with a clarki clownfish. I tested the water with little testing supplies that came with the tank. Ph was 7.8 salinity was 1.019 nitrites didn't register. I raised the temp gradually to a now 82deg. I did a 2 gallon water change using ro/di water and mixing the salinity to 1.022. I messed up I think by not letting the water "age" and not raising the temp in the new water. I was in a hurry to save the clown and got ahead of myself. Anyways the tank looks better this morning and I was looking for advice. Should I keep changing the water daily or wait a week or so. Also the only filter is a hang on back it's pretty big but I'm not sure brand because I'm at work. I'm on a tight budget and was hoping to go very slow with this experience. Thanks a million.

revhtree · Nov 18, 2013

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GHill762 · Nov 18, 2013

:welcome:

once water change water is up to temp, the salt is dissolved, and you have salinity correct you're good to go..

since you're battling an algae problem, the more water changes the better, but I'd recommend about 20% a week until your algae comes under control.. also, what's the cleanup crew look like? may be lacking..

another thing with nutrient problems that many people overlook, detritus collects in your liverock, it's a good idea to buy a turkey baster and blast out your live rock on a regular basis to get rid of any built up waste in the rocks, run some filter floss to pull it out of the water column..

keep up with water changes, and cut down the detritus, possibly beef up your CUC and you'll be algae free soon enough..

Banjo-king · Nov 18, 2013

Thanks GHill for the reply. It didn't have a CUC when I got the tank and my local store was almost out so I was only able to purchase 5 astrea snails. 3 blue leg hermits and 3 red legs. Is filter floss something I can use instead of the media that came with the hang on back filter?

larangcon · Nov 18, 2013

Welcome to R2R

Banjo-king · Nov 18, 2013

Just realized I probably should start a new thread with all my questions. Instead of it being under meet and greet. I'm also new to threads. Haha. Either way I'm glad to be apart of this community.