Questions post-plunge into SW

T

tundrahombre

AC Members
Oct 9, 2007
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Hi,
I have been planning on making the plunge into SW and finally did it this w/e. I have a 47g bowfront. I purchased 100 lbs live sand last week. Yesterday I purchased 50+ lbs of Fiji live rock, 2 striped damsels, his 30 gallon tank, powerheads, and all of his water and chemicals since he is moving out of town, for $20.

Anyway, I added the sand, rock, and fish to my tank and there is a ton of red and green algae in the tank however the fish are quite happy. I am using a powerhead to keep flow. I also have a 305 fluval filter which I will be setting-up later today.

Please help me with a few questions. My water is still a murky green color. Will the water cloudiness likely improve with time and filtration just using my fluval filter? How often should I change the water in order to get the algae under control? What should I feed these little guys? I know damsels can be aggressive. What types of fish should I avoid in the future if I have them? Thanks for your time!
 
20$?? I'm so jealous.
 
Trust me, I have been thanking my lucky stars! I don't know that much about fish tanks but after checking the price of live rock on Ebay I thought I would get it when I posted for "Live rock" on Craigslist and this dude had it entered in his moving sale. Now to just figure out how to de-algae the water.
 
So the tank wasn't cycled? Knowing some specifics about what equipment you have would be helfpul in determining if you're experiencing algae or bacteria blooms. Give us details on equipment names, sizes and qty. Let us know what kind of water you're using and if you're adding anything to the tank from bottles, etc. Also, do you have test kits and if so what readings are you getting?
 
Thanks for the reply Grins,
The guy who owned the 30gallon tank, which I purchased yesterday and which I drained his water into my tank, stated that he had the tank for 8 years with few problems except algae blooms and some type of worms for which he was able to eradicate some time ago, so I would say the the tank was cycled. My guess is he fed his fish too much and loaded the tank with nutrients.

I added the live sand to my 47lb bowfront, then added his live rock and the water he had previously drained into covered containers, into my tank.Thats when I noticed how green his water was colored. Since I had so much live rock I did not need to add much water. I added some de-ionized water, probably 10 gallons, to top things off.

He had the sp grav at 1.022 and the temp at 76 degrees. I have yet to check the other other measurements. I currently have a aquaclear 301 powerhead, which he gave me, and a 250w submersible heater to maintain the temp at 76. I am getting my fluval 305 filter hooked up tonight, which has carbon added. Please be mindful that I am a newbie and I may be making big mistakes. Thanks.
 
One correction. I had so much live sand (100lbs which I purchased last week), not live rock. The live rock and the fish I received from the guy yesterday.
 
Could it be murky just from moving everything around? How long has it had to settle?
 
You are probably right. It was just moved last night. It does look much clearer over the course of this evening. I better practice patience. Btw, this seems to be a great site!
 
Right, but you're experiencing at the very least a mini cycle because the environment you put his things into was not cycled. From what you said it appears the following are your current specs:

47g bow
aquaclear 301
250 watt heater
Fluval 305 (not currently hooked up)
50#s liverock
100#s sand
2 damsels

water source (previous tank +DI)
SG 1.022
temp 76

Is that correct and are there any other factors left out? Especially the chemicals you mentioned in the first post.
 
Yep, thats what I have Grins. I did not like the looks of his crushed coral since it was full of red and green algae that was floating all throughout the bottom. Besides, I felt my live sand would be a better, and more attractive, substrate for the floor.

The only chemicals I used would be instant ocean to get the sp grav correct, and some Kent ammonia detox for the water change. Thats it. Thanks for your interest.

As a side note. The damsels are quite the hit with my 2-year-old! She has been wanting to see the fish all day. They come out to see her whenever she peers in but don't pay much attention to me.
 
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