Fish Tank Basics

[zgromie]

Hello, I am new to this site and need a little help.
I have had this fish tank for about 3 years and its fish only aquarium. I have a clown and a blue damsel with 2 little-medium sized live rocks. I been having a hard time keeping control of my salinity and algae. First, when I check my salinity its fine, but a week or two later its way above the normal and then when i try to do a water change it stresses out my fish. Its really kinda of aggravating because I need to be doing this right because I want to upgrade it in the future, but need to know how to do this properly. What I have is a 5gal bucket to do water changes with and a 29gal tank. I have a canister filter and a heater and that is it. Also I do my changes about every 2 weeks and my algae is out of control and don't know how to fix this. I would get something that eats it, but need help with the salinity first. When I check it I have the Instant Ocean checker. Please help me.

Thank You,

zgromie

[niles1967]

Salt does not evaporate. If you are topping off your tank with saltwater you are going to have a continuous rise in salinity. Top off with fresh water.

As for the algae, the cause can be from many sources. i would search the forums and see what applies to your tank. It is ususlly from too much light, too many nutrients in the water or high phosphates. Good luck.

[dlp211]

Are you topping off with salt water? If you are, that is why your salinity is jumping. Salt doesn't evaporate. Or are you not topping off your water which will also push your SG higher.

Is the live rock your only filtration?

[The Escaped Ape]

Possibly the best investment you could make right now is in an auto top-off device of some sort (I use the Tunze Osmolator). Stable water conditions are one of the best things for happy fish and coral and salinity is one the biggest factors, alongside cleanliness of the water and alkalinity etc. A small amount of fresh water added little by little during the day, not reliant on your own memory, will keep the water stable and a happier environment for your fish.

[zgromie]

I have a canister filter and would adding the fresh water be like a water change? and what should i have a salinity at when I do a water change?

[The Escaped Ape]

Adding the fresh water is not like a water change. It's just to maintain the same level of salt in the water. As water evaporates from your fish tank, it evaporates as fresh water. This means that the water left in the tank becomes more salty, as all the salt is still there, but some of the water isn't (having evaporated).

Topping up with freshwater is to maintain the salinity level and is a separate job than a water change. As I said, the best way is an automatic set up, so you only need to add fresh water to the auto top-off reservoir from time to time, rather than the situation where you're adding a little freshwater to the tank every day (and the salinity will still be fluctuating to an extent that way).

[zgromie]

What does the Auto-top of regulator "Tunze Osmolator" mentioned above do? does it add fresh water when it is needed by some sort of sensor on it?

[zgromie]

As for the algae what would the recommended amount of time for the light to be on for?

[The Escaped Ape]

What does the Auto-top of regulator "Tunze Osmolator" mentioned above do? does it add fresh water when it is needed by some sort of sensor on it?

That's exactly it. There are lower cost options if you are on a limited budget, but I've found the Tunze product reliable and accurate.

As for the algae problem, you need to give a few more details about the tank. How often do you do water changes? How often and how much do you feed? What sort of algae is it?

As for your canister filter, how often do you clean it out? How do you clean it?

I would always recommend a protein skimmer over a canister filter, but I've never kept a FOWLR tank. Do you have a sump you could put a protein skimmer in?

[zgromie]

I want to get a better filtration system when I get more experience more fish and when i move to my 55gal tank.

However, I clean my canister about once a month i take it apart and clean it out by rinsing. water changes every two weeks feed about 1-2 times a day with brine shrimp or fish flakes. The algae is more a a green color and kinda just sits there but then forms a layer on the sand.

[zgromie]

Could you tell me how exactly you do your water changes?

[The Escaped Ape]

zgromie, I do water changes of about 10-20% every 7-10 days. I feed a couple of times a day, but small amounts, about as much as can be completely eaten up in 2 minutes.

Do you have photos of your tank? That might help people identify what type of algae you have and any other problems. Also, are you using an RO or RO/DI filter to prepare your water or are you using tap water?

Also, this forum is really for detailed discussion of fish - this really belongs in the Reef Discussion forum.

[zgromie]

I use tap water and I don't have any photos. But it looks just like this ... http://www.saltwater-aquarium-online-guide.com/image-files/algae.jpg

[dlp211]

There is a chance that the tap water is fueling your algae. You should test your tap for NH3, NO2, NO3, and PO4. If any of them register, then they are getting into your tank.

If this is a problem and based on the size of your tank you could potentially just buy RO/DI water from your LFS.

[sandwi54]

Using tap water almost always introduces algae issue, because tap water contains phosphates and nitrates (and silicates) that fuel algae growth. It's better to buy a RODI unit and make purified water.

[NatureNerd]

Okay, let me try to make a suggestion or two. So, for top-off, I assume you just have the tank and no sump. If so, when the tank water level drops below where you normally have it. Use purified fresh water to bring it back to that same level. Check your salinity once in a while, but if you keep the tank's waterline at the same level, the salinity should stay constant. Only the pure water is lost with evaporation, as said above, no salt is lost.

Purified fresh water is better than tap water for our tanks, see above. A good source of decent water is your local fish store, lfs. You can also make your own purified water with an RODI system.

Water changes are simple. Syphon out 5% to 10% of your tank water. Use the opportunity to clean up the bottom and suck up detritus/wastes. Before you do the syphon, mix up a good salt mix with purified fresh water. Check the salinity and adjust until it is what you desire. Dump the old tank water and slowly add your newly made clean saltwater into the tank. Extra credit points for it being at the same temperature as the tank. For my 75g, I change out 5g every week. I have a lot of evaporation so I need to top-off/add almost 3g of freshwater per week. I hope this wasn't too basic. Good luck and look into some good website tutorials or books. Reading and learning about reef tanks is actually part of the fun of this hobby.

[Joshz400_03]

Use RODI water. Tap water is just feeding your algae. Cut way back on your feeding. I feed every other day. Lighting could also be fueling your algae. I'm pushing it and running 10hrs a day. I would cut back to like 7 hours a day for your tank to kill off some of the algae. Does your tank get natural sunlight? If so that's another thing that causes a lot of algae growth. Your water changes sound right just make sure you are topping off with fresh RODI water.