Need Help Please

[Kaz65]

Hi, as I said in my introduction I am new to Marine.
I purchased a 30 Gal Tank and contents on ebay, this tank has been up and running for 5 years I am told, there were just 2 Yellow tailed Damsells and 1 Blue Damsell already in the tank, I have since purchased a Lawnmover Blenny as there is some Green hair algae on the Live rock.
My questions are :
How ofen should I do a water change?
Do you vacumn the sand in the same way that you vacumn the gravel in a freshwater?
And I have a Bak Pak 2 which I am running, the guy told me not to touch the media filter, but surely I should clean it out, or is that all the good bacteria in there as he told me?

Thanks for any help in advance :)

[ToeJam]

Holy moly so you have an empty cup of marine knowledge that needs filling sir. Give me a min to type up something for you. Also please read some of the sticky posts I believe there is some guidance provided by this site for basics. I have never checked so I am assuming.

BRB I will answer your questions soon as I can.

[Kaz65]

Holy moly so you have an empty cup of marine knowledge that needs filling sir. Give me a min to type up something for you. Also please read some of the sticky posts I believe there is some guidance provided by this site for basics. I have never checked so I am assuming.

BRB I will answer your questions soon as I can.

Thank You

[ToeJam]

Hi, as I said in my introduction I am new to Marine.
I purchased a 30 Gal Tank and contents on ebay, this tank has been up and running for 5 years I am told, there were just 2 Yellow tailed Damsells and 1 Blue Damsell already in the tank, I have since purchased a Lawnmover Blenny as there is some Green hair algae on the Live rock.
My questions are :
How ofen should I do a water change?
Do you vacumn the sand in the same way that you vacumn the gravel in a freshwater?
And I have a Bak Pak 2 which I am running, the guy told me not to touch the media filter, but surely I should clean it out, or is that all the good bacteria in there as he told me?

Thanks for any help in advance :)

The Bak Pak 2 just be sure to get the instructions from CPR site if you can.

First: Get yourself a Marine Tank Water Chemistry book. Most marine stores should have them. You should build up you understanding of that. It's very important because most of what we do for maintenance is based solely on that.

Now for taking care of that tank:

Water:
RO/DI water...You can get Premix salt and RO water from local marine fish stores... OR you can buy water RO/DI from water places like Water To GO and mix your own salts and use it for top off water.

Tap water is not recommended because it introduces nitrates and phosphates to your system. That is what we want not in the system. Also the risks of other pollutants that can arise from municipal water supply.

Test Kits: Saliferts is a recommended one. API is ok if that is all you can get from local stores. It should cover Nitrates,Nitrites, Phosphates, Calc. , Alk, and High Range PH (able to test 8.4 range). Forgot to mention Ammonia test kit.

Salt water measurement tool. To keep an eye on salt water salinity. I keep mine around 1.023...1.020-1.024 is where you want to be in general.

Feeding... keep that feeding in control. Food should be gone in 5 min from water volume after feeding. The extra uneaten food will rot and add more Dissolved organic compounds into the water.. in turn increase Nitrate and phosphate build ups.

Basic Maintenance schedule:
I recommend once a week doing a 10% water change. Roughly 5 gallons for that tank size. To save you a bit of time...quick dip test strips ...I use them daily and once something goes wonky and changes color I do a accurate test with the test kit. You should be testing your water before water changes and after with the accurate test...not daily ...thats where the quick dip comes in mind.

Sand should not be disturbed because you can destroy the beneficial micro organisms in it. Let sand sifter type snails turn that sand for you. IN other words buy a tank critter clean up crew.
Astrea snails, Nesarious Snails, Turbo snails, Blue or red leg hermits.

Sand should only be cleaned once in a while as in a little bit every few months ..depending on tank...but after 4-6 months I will suck off the top 1/8" of sand and replace it .... Over a long period sand will clump or even harden in some spots...when that happens its time for a complete sand removal and replacement.

Skimmer maintenance the collection cup should be cleaned out ..dont let it fill up to full..dump it around half way mark to avoid forgetting and having it full by the time you check again...

Skimmer itself every few months depending on build up...if your neck of your collection cup is covered in mud like material its time to clean it. Clean the Collection cup and the neck out...just total clean up... the biological you mentioned will re-establish on its own... Its not detrimental...the biggest bio filter in your tank is live rock.

Live rock recommended is 1lb per gallon ...with sufficient live rock your bio is covered.

Did I miss anything posters? If so please add to this...if I have overlooked any advise.

DOH PS:

Algae the hair like algae is growing because there is food for it. Nitrates and Phosphates need to be tested. To lower those readings you must do a water change. For Phosphate removal or when you see an algae outbreak ... I recommend in the future purchasing a Phosban reactor and using the Rophos or Phosban media in it... You must remember phosphate removing media will impact PH levels so you must buffer your water with a PH buffer and always test PH at the END of the Photo Period..for accurate PH readings. Once its stable around 8.1-8.3 ..8.3 being ideal...you shouldnt need to buffer till it dips.

Next water change by the way using water from the change put the LR in the bucket and scrub that algae off it ...
Be sure to test for phosphates because if they register ...you will get algae blooms.

The combination of keeping Phosphates at unreadable..nitrates at unreadable ..clean up crews and weekly water change with proper water...will prevent your tank from being polluted up to where you will get algae problems. Worst case scenario.. Cyano algae and other types of algae that are very big pain in the neck things.

[Kaz65]

Thank You so much much ToeJam, this has been very helpful ;))
It's very exciting starting up a SW tank....I have wanted to do so for the longest time now :))

[ToeJam]

I am sure you will be back for specific more advanced help =) ... taking your time is the key to this hobby... there is no instant gratifications in it.... Rushing things cause problems remember that.

OMG I forgot to ask the most important question:

How new is this tank? if you just set up recently you have to cycle..and you will see wonky tests and algae...

There is a sticky about Cycling a marine tank..

My method is get the tank up... aquascape and drop a shrimp in and let it rott and wait till the algae blooms come...its roughly a month or few weeks... cycle should show no more ammonia readings...and after the first big water change after cycle.. you should see no nitrate or phosphate present if all is cycled and done...then you can add stock slowly....start by adding clean up crews first.

[Kaz65]

The tank has been up and running for 5 years apparently, I just moved it to my house, this last weekend.
My water tests all seem to be OK, I was not sure if I may have got a mini cycle, but it seems stable ATM.
Do you think it will be OK?

[ToeJam]

The tank has been up and running for 5 years apparently, I just moved it to my house, this last weekend.
My water tests all seem to be OK, I was not sure if I may have got a mini cycle, but it seems stable ATM.
Do you think it will be OK?

If its a simple tank transfer i do not think you gota worry about cycle...

Just be sure to get the test kits...and change water weekly.... Scrub that algae off...and test for the two things that promote its growth. Nitrate and phosphates... see if something is high...

its all about just maintenance from here I think.

[Captian 150g]

I've Just started in the world of saltwater tanks myself been watching a lot of posts on here to try and learn before I start with living creatchers. My big one is for clean up crew how mutch would i need for 150G tank

[Captian 150g]

So far I have 150G with twin 6x9" overflows, AquaC EV-240 Protein Skimmer, 1Super Mag-Drive 1200(1200gph) 1 Blue Line 70(1750gph) 1Amp Master(3000gph) And two 300watt Visi-Therm Heaters. I also have a 29G and smaller heater for a quarintine tank or sump or fudg.

[ToeJam]

So far I have 150G with twin 6x9" overflows, AquaC EV-240 Protein Skimmer, 1Super Mag-Drive 1200(1200gph) 1 Blue Line 70(1750gph) 1Amp Master(3000gph) And two 300watt Visi-Therm Heaters. I also have a 29G and smaller heater for a quarintine tank or sump or fudg.

I dont know what rule of thumb to go by. The store I get most of my sps from advises 1 snail per gallon for astrea and same goes for nesarious snails.
And hermits...

But they have critter clean up packages http://www.barrierreefaquariums.com/productCart/pc/home.asp

Look at there critter packages to get an idea...i dont have anything as good as they provide... I just have lots of astrea ...some margaritas...3 turbos...and lots of nesarious snails in the sand. I am sure I could get more.

[Captian 150g]

yeh gets exspensive for me up here in canada for most of the packages (air fraight then most won't cross border any more to mutch red tape)i GUESS IT WILL JUST BE A COUPEL AT A TIME TILL i get stocked to were i want it

[fsn77]

I've always found it better to stock the clean-up crew on an "as needed" basis. In newer tanks, if 1 snail / gallon is introduced, more than 1/2 of them will likely starve to death before there's ever enough for them to eat. Same goes for hermits -- 1 hermit / gallon will just as likely end up in many of them starving to death. Even if 1 snail / 2 gallons and 1 hermit / 2 gallons are introduced, there's a greater chance of the hermits killing and eating many of the snails in a newer tank, simply because it's easier than searching for other food that's scarce to begin with.

To start, I'd suggest only a handful or two of each, even in a larger tank. While this doesn't allow for any money savings by purchasing a large quantity all at once or some cookie cutter package online, it shouldn't result in as many of the snails / hermits dieing. If you notice they aren't keeping up, select a species of snail or hermit that tends to target whatever the current nuissance algae problem is, then add a handful of them to the tank. Repeat as needed until the total clean-up crew is keeping up like you want them to.

Since adopting this kind of clean-up crew stocking strategy, I've noticed that all of our snails and hermits live longer. I rarely need to replenish their numbers. Sure, it costs me more per snail and hermit, but I don't have to buy as many of them and it's become quite clear that I don't need anywhere near 40 of each to keep our 90g the way I like it.