New to saltwater aquarium

[volt5015]

So I have had my 36 gal setup for about 3 months. I have lost many fish (2-coral beauties, 2- clown, 1- Cardinal Bangai, 1- blue damsel, 1- frag that just won’t grow). I think due to not changing the water weekly. Not sure. I just bought a master reef test kit to get levels more accurate (I was using test strips). I have a hang on back filter with two charcoal cartridges filtering the water. No wave maker. I have dry rock in my tank that gets black ’algae’ every couple of weeks on it. I take out my rock and spray it off. Currently I have 2 conch and 1 goby. Any advice on what I should do first to start adding some corals, anemones,etc. ??
any good experienced advice is greatly appreciated.

 

[Buckster]

Welcome to R2R! I tried after 7 months to add a leather and it died. I waited another 6 months and bought another which lived. I then slowly started adding more leathers and then expanded out. That's what worked for me.

 

[neonreef3d]

Stop removing the rock to spray it out, your killing whatever bacteria it was growing in it, instead brush the algae off with a brush, and get some turbo snails… patients is key,,, let the tank mature and change out 5 gallons per month…

fish may have been dying due to ammonia spikes from rinsing off your rock… remember that the nitrifying bacteria is the key to providing nutrient for all living things. The algae is normal, so don’t go rinsing the rock…

make sure you have a particle filter, and whatever that will pick up, you can rinse it off when needs cleaning.,, probably will have to do it 2-3 times a week.

Lighting is also important to keep corals, but I would wait until things stabilize, test your water weekly if you can for ph, ammonia, nitrates, and phosphate until you are getting the right numbers…

water changes are not as important for now, but using RO filtered water to top off your evaporated water is….

it would be a good idea to test all your water parameters to get the right advise, and post them to this thread.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

No wavemaker means no flow? Flow is extremely important in a saltwater tank, you should have 1-2 or more powerheads in your tank.

Activated carbon (charcoal) is good, but insufficient by itself to filter a tank. A skimmer helps clean and oxygenate the water, which might be a problem for you if you have no powerheads in your tank. Rock is the most important biofilter that will support life, should be somewhere close to 1 lbs per gallon.

Regular water changes are very important in the beginning.

Good test kits (not API) will tell you whats happening in your water.

Fish should be added 1 at a time.

this hobby requires a big commitment in the beginning, a lot of elbow grease and a lot of research, and usually a lot of money.

 

[Waters]

I don't think I would add anything until everything is properly balanced....sounds like you are attempting to solve a lot of issues that just need time/stability. My advice is to test your water, do water changes as needed to keep nutrients in check, and leave everything alone with a couple of fish for now. Unless you are leaving bacteria in your HOB filters using a wheel, media, etc. then your only bacteria in the tank is on your rocks, which you are removing and spraying with something that I assume isn't plain saltwater?

 

[volt5015]

I don't think I would add anything until everything is properly balanced....sounds like you are attempting to solve a lot of issues that just need time/stability. My advice is to test your water, do water changes as needed to keep nutrients in check, and leave everything alone with a couple of fish for now. Unless you are leaving bacteria in your HOB filters using a wheel, media, etc. then your only bacteria in the tank is on your rocks, which you are removing and spraying with something that I assume isn't plain saltwater?

Yes just spraying it with the kitchen sink sprayer and letting it dry

 

[volt5015]

No wavemaker means no flow? Flow is extremely important in a saltwater tank, you should have 1-2 or more powerheads in your tank.

Activated carbon (charcoal) is good, but insufficient by itself to filter a tank. A skimmer helps clean and oxygenate the water, which might be a problem for you if you have no powerheads in your tank. Rock is the most important biofilter that will support life, should be somewhere close to 1 lbs per gallon.

Regular water changes are very important in the beginning.

Good test kits (not API) will tell you whats happening in your water.

Fish should be added 1 at a time.

this hobby requires a big commitment in the beginning, a lot of elbow grease and a lot of research, and usually a lot of money.

API test kits are no good? I just got Al the API Reef Master test kit. What is a good test kit? Thanks for all your advice

 

[volt5015]

Stop removing the rock to spray it out, your killing whatever bacteria it was growing in it, instead brush the algae off with a brush, and get some turbo snails… patients is key,,, let the tank mature and change out 5 gallons per month…

fish may have been dying due to ammonia spikes from rinsing off your rock… remember that the nitrifying bacteria is the key to providing nutrient for all living things. The algae is normal, so don’t go rinsing the rock…

make sure you have a particle filter, and whatever that will pick up, you can rinse it off when needs cleaning.,, probably will have to do it 2-3 times a week.

Lighting is also important to keep corals, but I would wait until things stabilize, test your water weekly if you can for ph, ammonia, nitrates, and phosphate until you are getting the right numbers…

water changes are not as important for now, but using RO filtered water to top off your evaporated water is….

it would be a good idea to test all your water parameters to get the right advise, and post them to this thread.

Ok thank you for your advice. So no water changes for now but use RO to fill the evaporated water. Got it. Thanks

 

[neonreef3d]

Ok thank you for your advice. So no water changes for now but use RO to fill the evaporated water. Got it. Thanks

keep testing nitrates and phosphates, and when they rise, do a water change,, I personally dont do a water change because I keep a refugium and nutrients get gobbled up by my chaeto and corals, and I replenish my trace elements accordingly. I may dump out 5 gallons every 5 months or so to clean out detritus in the sump and frag tank, total volume is 160 gallons, so 5 gallons is not much.

 

[TL1]

Although wise, asking advice now will only be a bandage until the next issue arises.

It will help you in the long run to develop an understanding of the process going on in the tank. A good place to start is BRS's series on YouTube called "52 Weeks of Reefing". Take notes if it helps.

 

[volt5015]

Ok thank you for your advice. So no water changes for now but use RO to fill the evaporated water. Got it. Thanks

Any recommendations on particle filters

 

[neonreef3d]

Any recommendations on particle filters

DIY filters work the best,,, especially with a AIO system. You can cut up some floss filter

 

[volt5015]

DIY filters work the best,,, especially with a AIO system. You can cut up some floss filter

What is the AIO system? Sorry I’m new to this.