just got a used aquapod 24

[blazing]

wussup everyone i just bought a AP24 yesterday i wanted to get some mod ideas. but first let me tell ya what was included with the tank. i got a AP24 tank,4-5 pieces of LR, about an 1"-1 1/2" of live sand, upgraded MH lighting (dont know the wattage),some rubble rock, about 8-10 muchrooms, few zoas, some snails and hermit crabs, a wild maroon clown, diamond goby, and a tang (for got the name and yes i know its in too small of a tank). i got the tank for $220 bucks which i think is a pretty good deal. the tank has a lot of "?micro algae?" one he said was devils finger but i dont know what it is. i just tested my water today and it reads

sg- 1.019
PH-8
ammonia-0
nitrite-0
nitrate-10
phosphate-.5
cal-400
KH-8 dkh

now i want to know what are some "must do" that u guys might think i want to do. any ideas would be great. and can anyone ID the algaes that are in the tank? its the last 2 pics

http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv203/blazedapurp/DSC02760.jpg
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv203/blazedapurp/DSC02761.jpg
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv203/blazedapurp/DSC02763.jpg
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv203/blazedapurp/DSC02762.jpg

[nate82]

Ok your nitrates are a little high I'd watch those. You should do some water changes and SLOWLY bring up your sg to around 124-126 (126 is ideal at 35ppt)

[ReeferChick85]

Did you get the live rock like that or did this outbreak happen when you set it up? Since you don't have much in the tank yet,i'd try manually removing the algae.Just a thought :)
That top green algae looks like this maybe
http://www.saltcorner.com/sections/guest/algaepage/Green/caulerpa/Cserrulata.htm
As for the other one down below. Check this site out for id.
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/trialalgaeid.htm

This site is what I use to id algae and it helps a lot. Check it out.
http://www.saltcorner.com/sections/guest/algaepage/algaepage.htm

I have an AP24 too and I love it! You should definitely use all the plates and close off all the grates except the top one so you can create an overflow to skim the surface. I would move the Koralia to the other side. There is an Aquapod24 owners thread in this section. Check it out. Lots of helpful stuff. Good luck on your tank :)

[DSR]

presently the nitrates are fine. no worries until you get closer to 20...unless you are keeping SPS. No mod suggestions here, looks good. What r your plans with it?

[blazing]

nate82- i am going to be rasing sg up to 1.025. i need to raise it up cuzz i need it to come close to my other tank(which is 1.026)

ReeferChick85- i got the tank like this. the rocks were already covered in the algae. i like the idea of covering up the vents so i will be doing that soon and i will check out the AP24 owners thread. if u did the vent block off thing what did u use for that? i was thinking of using that puddy thing that they use for corals. and thxs for the id site.

DSR- my plan as of now is to get the water up to specs and transfer all my corals from my 55 over to the AP24. my 55 gal has really really high phosphate (5.0) and my corals are not doing so good. gonna hold them in the nano till i can get my water up to specs in my 55. after that i plane on doing the foam background and have a mix reef with my LTA and picasso clowns. thats the plan for now until i can think of somthing else.

another question i wanna ask is are these algaes in my tank micro algae? and are they good or bad?

[ReeferChick85]

the algae you have are macro algae from the look of it.

Did your tank come with little black plates that slide down? All Aquapods come with it. But if you don't have it,you can always take a sheet of plastic (i found one at home depot that works great!) and cut it down to size and slide it down behind the grates. Make sure you cut it a little lower than the top of the teeth to create an overflow. Check out this link and click on the link I posted about a nano surface skimmer.

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1658218

Nice avatar btw!! That guy on South Park is hilarious!!! hahaha